Prince George's County committee holds one bill, advances five measures including youth advisory seats and marijuana-hiring protections

The Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee of Prince George's County on June 10 held one bill for further drafting and voted to move forward on five other legislative items, including a measure to add youth advisory seats on county boards and commissions and a revised draft protecting applicants for uniform public-safety jobs who disclose prior lawful marijuana use.

The committee held CB 29-20-25, a proposed repeal of police facility ‘‘adequacy’’ requirements in the county subdivision regulations, after committee members said they need more time to resolve new numerical standards. ‘‘Our intention is to hold the legislation today,’’ the vice chair said, adding that the committee is working on an emergency resolution to suspend new numbers and preserve current ones until a later meeting. A motion to hold CB 29 passed on a roll call (motion carries, 4-0).

Why it matters: the held bill would remove a current statutory adequacy requirement from subdivision rules; the committee signaled it wants a short-term resolution to preserve existing standards while staff and members refine new figures.

Votes at a glance - CB 29-20-25 (police facility adequacy): Motion to hold passed, motion carries 4-0. (Held for additional work; committee intends an emergency resolution ahead of recess.) - CB 37-20-25 (procurement practice revisions): Withdrawn by the administration on June 5; no committee action taken. - CB 49-20-25 (youth advisory inclusion): Moved favorable, motion carries 5-0. The bill would create two youth seats (ages 16–24) on each county board or commission subject to enumerated exemptions; the committee approved sponsor amendments that narrow the boards subject to the requirement and add an absenteeism removal provision. - CB 54-20-25 (supplementary appropriations): Moved favorable, motion carries 4-0. The measure declares additional revenue and appropriates $131,475,500 to the general and internal service funds, funded by $26,684,000 in additional income-tax receipts and $104,791,500 in Board of Education outside sources; $17,200,000 is reallocated from non-departmental contingency for agency-level cost-of-living and merit adjustments. - CR 50-20-25 (compensation for general schedule employees, Salary Schedule G): Moved favorable, motion carries 4-0. The resolution implements cost-of-living adjustments; the Office of Budget and Policy estimated an adverse fiscal impact of approximately $1,363,711 for FY2025. - CR 3-20-25 (request to state: allow grocery stores to receive a retail beer-and-wine license): Moved favorable with technical amendments from the administration and passed 4-0. Administration and liquor-board staff recommended changing references from a "Class A" to a "Class D" license (Class A reserved for liquor stores) and replacing the term "light wine" with "wine." Sponsors said the change is intended to support recruitment of larger grocers to commercial corridors. - CB 16-20-25 (public-safety employment and prior marijuana use): Passed on draft 2, motion carries 4-0. Draft 2 replaces earlier language with text described by staff as "protecting the eligibility of applicants for uniform public safety positions who disclose prior legal marijuana use," and the committee approved that change.

What committee members and staff said - On CB 49, several members praised the proposal as a way to expand youth access to public service. Council member Blague, speaking during the roll call, said, "It really takes one to go through this to understand the importance… His commitment to the county really spears from him being included on that school board." (Roll-call comments are recorded verbatim in the transcript.)

- On CB 54, the Office of Budget and Policy said enactment would be "net neutral" because the increased appropriation authority equals the additional revenue sources identified; the office provided an agency-by-agency adjustment list in the fiscal note.

- On CR 3, Terrence Shepherd, representing the liquor board process, said the draft should use Class D to align with county licensing practice because "all Class A licenses are reserved for liquor stores," and recommended replacing the phrase "light wine" with "wine."

- On CB 16, public-safety officials described how state certification rules and local background processes interact. Captain Paul Schweinsberg, representing the police, explained the state standard in practical terms: "One of those justifications is marijuana use within the past 12 months." Anne Koshy of the Office of Law clarified that the applicable COMAR regulation examines cannabis use in the 12 months preceding the "date of application for certification." Chief Green of the Fire Department said the department corrected an application question after it was discovered and that "CB 90 was very clear in the application phase. For us, it's question 19… Once it was brought to the fire department's attention, we corrected it and made sure we addressed all those applicants so that they did not, again, unfairly, not be put into a background process."

Discussion versus decisions - Held: CB 29 was held for additional drafting; members said they wanted an emergency resolution to preserve current adequacy numbers pending a later vote. - Withdrawn: CB 37 was withdrawn by the administration on June 5; no committee vote occurred. - Passed/moved favorable: CB 49, CB 54, CR 50, CR 3 (with technical amendments), CB 16 (as draft 2). For each passed item the committee recorded roll-call votes; the motions and outcomes are listed above.

Clarifying details recorded during the meeting - CB 54: additional income-tax receipts of $26,684,000; Board of Education outside sources $104,791,500; total additional appropriation authority $131,475,500; $17,200,000 reallocated from non-departmental contingency to agencies for COLA/merit. - CB 49 amendments: add a code section addressing removal for absenteeism; replace an exemption-by-list approach with a targeted list of boards subject to the youth-advisory requirement; sponsors indicated the Board of Education would be struck from coverage because a student seat already exists. - CR 3 technical changes requested by administration/liquor-board staff: change "Class A" to "Class D" (line 6, page 1) and replace "light wine" with "wine." - CB 16 draft 2 language: strike prior text and insert "protecting the eligibility of applicants for uniform public safety positions who disclose prior legal marijuana use" (title and text changes reported by staff).

Proper names mentioned in the meeting Prince George's County; COMAR (Code of Maryland Regulations); Board of License Commissioners; Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority; Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission; Board of Education; Office of Budget and Policy.

Meeting context and next steps The committee said it expects to revisit the held CB 29 item and to introduce an emergency resolution before the council's summer recess. Several bills advanced to the full council with a favorable committee recommendation; the administrative liaison confirmed technical revisions on several items would be supplied to the clerk.

Ending The committee adjourned after approving the listed measures and recording roll-call votes; the full council will receive the committee's recommendations and any administered technical amendments.