Today, CLPA highlights the Montgomery County Delegation. As the name would suggest, the Delegation is made up of policymakers currently serving in the Maryland General Assembly representing Montgomery County. The Delegation's primary role is to develop policy and advocate for Montgomery County's interests in Annapolis. Delegate Marc Korman (D-16) is the current Chair of the Montgomery County House Delegation, and Delegate Al Carr (D-18) is the Vice-Chair. Senator Ben Kramer (D-19) is the Chair of the Montgomery Country Senate Delegation, and Senator Susan Lee (D-16) serves as Vice-Chair.
Along with House and Senate Delegation leadership, the Montgomery County Delegation has policy committees that create and debate policy to be introduced into the General Assembly. All local and bi-county bills are assigned to one of four policy committees before being voted on in the full House Delegation. Once approved, the committee then votes to make a recommendation to the entire Montgomery County delegation.
The Committees of the Delegation are:
Economic Development Committee- Works on all local legislation, except for transportation and public safety-related bills.
Education, Elections, and Housing Committee- Works on all local legislation and policy positions related to public education and school financing.
Land Use, Transportation, and Public Safety Committee- Works on M-NCPPC bills that deal with land use issues and any legislation related to transportation and public safety issues.
Metro Washington Area Committee- Works on all WSSC bills and M-NCPPC bills that do not deal with land use or transportation issues.
The Delegation hosts two public hearings in the fall so the Montgomery County residents and organization can voice their opinion on Delegation priorities and local and bi-county bills. Hearings. Once the Delegation drafts the bi-county and local bills and posts them on the website, the hearings will be scheduled. Bills filed late will have a hearing during the legislative session but only after being accepted by a supermajority (2/3) of the House Delegation. Testimony, as of now, is being accepted virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but when public hearings are scheduled, you can sign up to speak using this link.
The next Delegation meeting is scheduled for September 27th at 2:30 pm in the Metro Washington Area Committee. The committee will receive a briefing from WSSC and will be livestreamed on the Delegation's YouTube page. If you want to view the complete calendar of scheduled meetings, visit the Montgomery Country Delegation's website.