Committee clarifies and approves expansion of public-safety homeowner tax credit to bi‑county officers working in Prince George's County

The Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee on Feb. 27 voted unanimously to advance CB 8 (2025) with technical amendments that clarify who qualifies for the county’s public-safety officer real property tax credit. The bill expands eligibility to include public safety officers employed by bi-county agencies — including the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC), the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) and the Washington Suburban Transit Commission (WSTC) — provided those officers work full time in Prince George's County.

Why it matters: The tax credit is intended to encourage public safety personnel to live in the county, which proponents said supports neighborhood stability and public-safety benefits. The committee approved two clarifying amendments that focus on work location and employment status so the credit applies only to officers who work full time in Prince George's County.

Key points from the hearing - Staff and sponsor presented fiscal estimates and explained uncertainty: council staff estimated that extending the credit to MNCPPC could create an annual cost in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on participation, and staff noted they lacked comprehensive personnel records from the bi-county agencies. Council staff referenced an estimate of about 38 MNCPPC officers who live in Prince George's County and said an upper bound of applicants would likely be lower than some earlier estimates. - Office of Finance raised administrative concerns: staff said the county would rely on bi-county agencies to provide accurate personnel and residency information (including timely notice of separations) to administer and, when necessary, recapture credits. The acting county executive liaison said the administration “takes no position” but expressed concern about operational issues and funding lines for bi-county agencies. - Union and agency testimony: representatives of the Fraternal Order of Police and multiple MNCPPC officers and leaders spoke in favor of the change, saying Park Police provide countywide policing and that the credit would incentivize officers to live in the county. Jonathan Ness, president of FOP Lodge 30, told the committee, “M and C Park Police officers already qualify for the property tax credit as the law is written,” and described challenges applying because the online portal required a county employee ID.

Committee action and amendments - The committee approved a first technical amendment changing the bill language to read “employed full time by a public safety agency of Prince George's County government” (passed 3–0). A subsequent amendment clarifying eligibility for “public safety officers employed full time in Prince George's County by a bi-county agency” also passed 3–0. After the amendments the committee voted to move CB 8 favorably to the full council (3–0).

Next steps: The bill, as amended, will go to the full County Council. County staff and the sponsor indicated they will continue to work on administrative details, including how bi-county agencies will provide timely personnel and residency data to the Office of Finance.

Speakers quoted are listed below and are drawn from committee testimony recorded in the Feb. 27 transcript.