Howard County delegation approves amended community-college governance bill and theater liquor-license clarification

The Howard County delegation voted Wednesday, March 5, 2025, to approve amendments and pass two local bills: HOCO 1, which alters governance and training rules for the Howard County Board of Community College Trustees, and HOCO 20, which clarifies the county liquor board’s authority to set hours, fees and other conditions for liquor licenses at movie theaters.

The votes came at the start of the delegation’s March 5 meeting so members with other obligations could attend later committees. Delegation counsel explained the substantive changes before members debated and recorded their votes.

Mister Moriarty, counsel to the delegation, described the HOCO 1 amendment as establishing “that 5 members of the Board of Community College Trustees by Howard County constitutes a quorum,” and said it also “alters the training requirements” and removes language related to renewal of the college president’s contract. He told the delegation the amended bill would require the board to provide ongoing governance training at least every two years and would change a six‑month reporting requirement on the faculty union contract so an update is no longer required “once the faculty union contract has been…