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Montgomery County Council enacts community reinvestment commission and tenant‑safety bill; both pass unanimously
Summary
The council unanimously passed Bill 4‑24 to establish a local Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund Commission for state cannabis reinvestment dollars and Bill 7‑24 strengthening tenant safety/notification and emergency planning requirements; amendments clarified membership categories, prohibited law‑enforcement spending, and allowed DPS discretion on targeted high‑call multifamily addenda.
The Montgomery County Council on July 16 enacted two measures aimed at community reinvestment and tenant safety.
Bill 4‑24 — Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund Commission
The council approved Bill 4‑24 to establish the Montgomery County Reinvestment and Repair Fund Commission to advise on uses of the county’s local share of the state Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund created under the Maryland Cannabis Reform Act of 2023. The legislation sets membership criteria, staffing, and allowable uses for grants and explicitly prohibits using the funds for law‑enforcement agencies or activities consistent with state guidance.
Committee changes adopted before final passage included expanding eligible commission representation to include providers of youth engagement, education, job‑training, housing and unhoused‑prevention services, clarifying that the $1,000 stipend is annual, and adopting a working definition of “community‑based organization” to mirror other local jurisdictions. The council accepted a technical amendment to remove a reporting clause that the state law had superseded.
Bill 7‑24 — Landlord‑tenant relations and tenant protections
The council also enacted Bill 7‑24, which requires residential leases to include specific emergency‑safety and building‑safety information (sprinkler status, renter’s‑insurance acknowledgment, elevator‑service notifications), assigns the Department of Permitting Services (DPS) to approve emergency safety plans and to renew them every three years, requires a landlord to provide a 24‑hour available building representative for emergency situations, and tightens tenant notification requirements.
A notable amendment (moved by Council Member Mink) gives DPS discretion to require an emergency‑plan addendum for multifamily properties that generate a high volume of fire‑related service calls — the department suggested a threshold of 10 calls within a 12‑month period as a trigger for follow‑up, but retained capacity to exercise discretion.
Roll call and outcome
Both bills passed on unanimous roll‑call votes. Council members who recorded “yes” include Luecke, Mink, Sales, Glass, DeWanda, Katz, Albernaz (Albornoz/Albernaz in the transcript), Fannie Gonzales, Balcom, Stewart, and Friedson.
Why it matters
Bill 4‑24 creates a local governance structure for distributing state reinvestment dollars intended to support communities disproportionately harmed by past cannabis enforcement. By law the funds cannot be used for law enforcement, and the commission is intended to place community members and impacted stakeholders in a central advisory role.
Bill 7‑24 responds to several high‑profile emergency incidents and tenant concerns raised last year; it standardizes tenant notice, codifies DPS review of emergency plans, and provides a path for targeted interventions in buildings that repeatedly draw fire‑rescue responses.
Ending
Both measures now move to implementation steps: staff will finalize administrative processes for commission appointments and grant procedures, and DPS will draft guidance and operational procedures for emergency‑safety plan review and any targeted addenda. The council noted that technical clarifications adopted during committee work will be applied in ordinance language.
