Prince George's General Assembly Committee reviews local bill priorities, approves enabling changes and holds others ahead of Oct. 1 deadline

The General Assembly Committee of the Prince George's County Council met Sept. 9 and reviewed a slate of county-only bills to transmit to the county delegation before the Oct. 1 deadline. Chair Waneka Fisher said the committee’s work is time-sensitive: “Local bills are due October 1,” and the committee must finalize which Prince George’s-only proposals will be pursued.

The meeting focused on whether to advance, hold or seek amendments for a range of bills affecting utilities, transportation safety, development finance, procurement, supplier diversity, environmental fees and courthouse transparency. Committee members voted to adopt enabling language for an impact-fee deferral, to seek local authority over a portion of the 10¢ bag fee, to support a Prince George’s-specific courthouse transparency proposal for certain pretrial bond hearings, and to approve supplier-diversity authority for county procurement. Several other measures were held for follow-up with the county executive or sponsoring members.

Why it matters: the committee must submit county-specific local bills to the county delegation by Oct. 1 for the 2026 Maryland General Assembly session. Decisions this month determine which proposals the delegation will carry and how staff and delegates will frame testimony in Annapolis.

Most significant outcomes

- Deferral of impact-fee collection (county enabling bill): The committee voted 4–0 to support an enabling local bill allowing Prince George’s County to defer collection of impact fees until later in the development process, subject to enabling language that would allow the county to design details locally. Council members debated how the tool should be targeted (for example, toward multifamily housing) and whether enabling legislation should include geographic or product-type limits. Council member Meredith Ivy said the change “doesn't decrease the amount of money that the county receives” but would lower financing costs for developers; other members urged drafting that avoids incentivizing sprawl and that includes provisions to manage short-term cash-flow gaps for bond payments.

- 10¢ bag fee revenue-sharing (enabling amendment): The committee voted 4–0 to support seeking enabling state legislation that would allow the county to receive a portion of the 10¢ bag fee revenue rather than require a specific statewide split. Members noted the current local practice leaves revenue with retailers and that public perception is the county already collects the fee. Vice Chair Oriada argued for flexibility so local leaders could determine any split or use of funds.

- Supplier diversity and procurement unification authority: The committee voted 4–0 in favor of enabling local authority to establish supplier-diversity participation requirements for county procurement and to pursue unification of business registration/procurement processes across county agencies. Members discussed whether memoranda of understanding (MOUs) among agencies or enabling legislation was the faster path; staff were asked to consult with the county executive and institution leaders (Prince George’s County Public Schools, Prince George’s Community…