Montgomery County Council Committee Meetings on March 19, 2026
MARYLAND, March 19 - For Immediate Release: Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Committees will review legislation to update and clarify statutory role of Arts and Humanities Council, an appropriation for Arts and Humanities Council funds, the Advisory Workgroup Recommendations on Strategic Planning for County Grants, the Montgomery County Public Schools Capital Improvements Program and legislation to modify Office of Legislative Oversight reporting requirement on the County’s minimum wage
The joint Education and Culture (EC) and Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee will meet on Thursday, March 19 at 9:30 a.m. to review Expedited Bill 10-26, Arts and Humanities Council – Amendments, and a $53,788 supplemental appropriation for the Department of Recreation and Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County.
The members of the EC Committee include Chair Will Jawando and Councilmembers Shebra Evans and Kristin Mink.
The members of the GO Committee include Chair Kate Stewart and Councilmembers Evans and Sidney Katz.
The GO Committee will meet at 11:30 a.m. to review the Advisory Workgroup Recommendations on Strategic Planning for County Grants.
The EC Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to review the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027-2032 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS).
The Joint Economic Development (ECON) and Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to review Bill 1-26, Human Rights and Civil Liberties - County Minimum Wage - Actual Impact Analysis – Amendments.
The members of the ECON Committee include Chair and Council President Natali Fani-González, Council Vice President Marilyn Balcombe and Councilmembers Evan Glass and Laurie-Anne Sayles.
The members of the HHS Committee include Chair Sayles and Councilmembers Andrew Friedson and Dawn Luedtke.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Expedited Bill 10-26, Arts and Humanities Council – Amendments
Review: The joint EC and GO Committee will review Expedited Bill 10-26, Arts and Humanities Council – Amendments, which would establish requirements for the Board of Directors of the Arts and Humanities Council and establish appointment and confirmation requirements for members of the Board of the Arts and Humanities Council. In addition, Bill 10-26 would establish certain operational requirements of the Arts and Humanities Council, require the establishment of a racial equity and social justice policy by the Arts and Humanities Council, and establish a plan and timeline for implementation. The purpose of Bill 10-26 is to update and clarify the Arts and Humanities Council’s statutory role and responsibilities and strengthen its relationship with the County to reflect current governance standards.
The lead sponsor of Expedited Bill 10-26 is the Council President at the request of the County Executive. Councilmember Sayles is a cosponsor of Expedited Bill 10-26.
Review: The joint EC and GO Committee will review a $53,788 supplemental appropriation for the Department of Recreation and Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County. These funds will be used to address a remaining balance owed to Metric Arts Consulting for work completed under the Arts and Humanities Council Cultural Plan. The funding is needed due to the results of a recent internal audit.
Advisory Workgroup Recommendations on Strategic Planning for County Grants
Review: The GO Committee will review the Advisory Workgroup Recommendations on Strategic Planning for County Grants. The workgroup was established in 2025 after the Council’s approval of Resolution 20-780. The workgroup is tasked with creating a strategic plan for the Community Grant awards process, developing a strategic plan for the Community Grants Legacy Awards process, developing consistent criteria and a process for the annual Cost Sharing: Capital Improvements (CIP) grants. The final report from the Advisory Work Group on a Strategic Plan for County Grants is available in the Council staff report.
FY27-32 Capital Improvements Program - Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)
Review: The EC committee will hold its third meeting to review the more than $2.79 billion FY27-32 CIP for MCPS requested by the Board of Education. At this meeting the committee will conduct a project-by-project review of the MCPS CIP and consider recommendations for the full Council. This level of funding represents an increase of more than $1 billion from the FY25-30 amended CIP of $1.76 billion. The County Executive’s recommended FY27-32 CIP for MCPS includes $2.14 billion, which represents an increase of $380 million from the FY25-30 amended CIP. The County Executive’s recommendation is $652.3 million less than the Board of Education’s proposal.
The committee began its review of the MCPS FY27-32 CIP at a meeting held on Jan. 30, during which the committee received a presentation from MCPS representatives to provide an overview of factors that impact the CIP including enrollment, the ongoing boundary change processes, the facility condition index planning work and CIP prioritization criteria.
At a second meeting held on Feb. 23, the committee reviewed a package of non-recommended reductions, which were requested from MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor. The purpose of the non-recommended reductions is to align the Board’s proposed CIP with the County Executive’s assumed General Obligation (GO) Bond totals.
Review: The joint ECON and HHS Committee will review Bill 1-26, Human Rights and Civil Liberties - County Minimum Wage - Actual Impact Analysis – Amendments, which would remove the requirement that the Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) provide an annual report regarding the implementation of the County minimum wage and the local economy.
Bill 1-26 is needed because the U.S Bureau of Economic Analysis discontinued collecting County-level data for four indicators presented in previous versions of OLO’s previous annual reports. In addition, due to the length and timing of the 2025 Federal Government shutdown, a majority of economic data used for the report was not available on a timeline that could meet the legislative requirements.
In 2017, the County Council enacted Bill 28-17, which increased the County Minimum Wage from $11.50 to $15. The legislation also required OLO to provide an annual report containing data related to the implementation of the County minimum wage and the local economy by Jan. 31 of each year. In response, OLO developed a list of seventeen economic indicators it used to monitor post-minimum wage implementation and issued six updates to the indicators. Bill 1-26 would remove the requirement that OLO provide this report to the Council by Jan. 31 of each year.
The lead sponsor of Bill 1-26 is Council President Fani-González. Councilmember Stewart, Council Vice President Balcombe and Councilmembers Luedtke, Katz and Sayles are cosponsors of Bill 1-26.
The Committee meeting schedule may change from time to time. View the current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review on the Council website.
Council and committee meetings are streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube and on Facebook Live and can be watched on County Cable Montgomery on Xfinity/RCN 6 HD 996/1056, Fios 30, and on the CCM live stream.
Release ID: 26-106
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