A number of County and City Councils are on recess for August, but there was still a lot of activity last week. Here is CLPA’s weekly recap of what occurred last week as well as a list of upcoming meetings.
CLPA Weekly Recap (August 1st-August 7th)
Maryland
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan recently announced new vaccination protocols for Maryland state employees who work in group settings. Effective September 1st, employees in 48 state facilities will be required to show proof of vaccination, or adhere to strict face-covering requirements and submit to regular, ongoing COVID-19 testing.
Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks reinstituted an indoor mask mandate due to a continued rise in COVID-19 metrics. This mandate affects all residents and visitors over the age of five, even if they are fully vaccinated. The mandate went into effect Sunday, August 8th at 5:00 p.m.
The Montgomery County Council, voted, unanimously, to require all residents, regardless of vaccination status, to wear face coverings indoors now that Montgomery County has become an area of “substantial transmission” of COVID-19. The mandate took effect on Saturday, August 7th at 12:01 a.m.
Virginia
It was announced last week that, in the fall, Alexandria City Public Schools will require masks for everyone inside all buildings and school vehicles regardless of vaccination status. The decision was made during a special school board meeting and public hearing last Tuesday. The hearing was originally planned to discuss the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief III Fund.
Washington DC
At its most recent Legislative Meeting, the DC Council took the second of two necessary votes on the Local Budget Act, which is the component of the District’s multi-bill budget package that deals with specific dollar amounts. After last weeks’ vote, one more budget vote remains for the Council, which will happen at the next Legislative Meeting this Tuesday, August 10th. It is at this meeting where the Council is set to vote on the Budget Support Act (BSA).
The Council budget approved include these additional provisions:
$41 million in total aid for excluded workers ($15 million in the original proposed draft budget, $20 million added by the Council at the prior meeting, and a further $6 million added now)
$6.1 million for additional violence prevention programs, including funds for the Office of the Attorney General’s Cure the Streets program and the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement Leadership Academies, and other efforts
Funding to hire full-time school librarians at all DC Public Schools that do not currently have one on staff
$5 million for new Metropolitan Police Department recruits and cadets
$5 million for $500 payments to the DC residents whose unemployment insurance payouts were delayed by sixty or more days
Funding for Yards and Canal Park maintenance, staffing for the now-public Roosevelt High School pool, and a roving Ward 7 Clean Team
These recently passed provisions build on the budget items passed during the Council’s last budget meeting. These budget items include:
“Baby Bonds” of up to $1,000 a year to be provided to low-income youth at age 18 for educational, entrepreneurial, or property ownership uses
Expansion of Paid Family Leave for medical/self-care from two to six weeks
Initial steps to expand all three categories of Paid Family Leave (parental, family care, and self-care) to 12 weeks
$50 million in public housing repairs
Providing stable housing for over 3,500 residents facing homelessness or precarious housing
Provide increased wages to infant and toddler educators at childcare providers
Expand DC’s Earned Income Tax Credit, later be paid out a monthly basic income
Breaking up the dysfunctional Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs into a construction-oriented Department of Buildings and a consumer-oriented Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection
Pilot funding for the Generating Affordability in Neighborhoods (GAIN) Act, to allow for the conversion of unaffordable housing into affordable housing using funded covenants
Funding for the creation of the Office of the Ombudsperson for Children, the Office on Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing, and the Deputy Auditor for Public Safety, a recommendation of the Police Reform Commission
$80 million in additional relief for hotels, restaurants, and small businesses
Civil legal services for low-income individuals facing eviction and loss of services
August 9th-August 13th Meetings
Washington DC
DC Council
Legislative Meeting-Tuesday August 10th at 12:00 pm
Prince George’s County
Board of Education
Operations, Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee Meeting – Wednesday, August 11th at 5:00 P.M
Board Meeting-Thursday, August 12th at 7:00 pm
Charles County
Charles County Commissioners
Special Meeting- Tuesday, August 10th at 5:00 pm
Alexandria City
Board of Education
Ad Hoc School Board Advisory Support Committee Meeting- August 11th at 7:00 pm
Arlington County
Arlington County School Board
School Board Meeting- August 12th at 7:00 pm
Comments