Montgomery County House Delegation unanimously advances a package of local bills

The Montgomery County House Delegation on Feb. 7 heard committee reports and unanimously approved a series of local and bi‑county bills from its standing committees.

Economic Development committee - MC 18‑25: Allows a single person to hold two Class B (BD/BWL) liquor licenses for separate establishments with limits on the second license (on‑premise sale of beer, wine and liquor; off‑premise sales limited to private‑label products). Sponsor: Delegate Vogel. The committee moved the bill and the full delegation passed it unanimously. - MC 15‑25: Directs the Department of Commerce to coordinate a study of the Ag Reserve’s tourist and visitor economy, identify barriers to growth, and recommend policies to support small businesses, recreation and historic sites. Delegates adopted technical amendments clarifying partners, data sources and methodology; the bill passed unanimously. - MCPG107‑25 (bi‑county): Requires Montgomery County to grant certain Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) system development charge exemptions (including a first‑come/first‑served application process up to a statutory limit), allows non‑property owners to apply and requires reporting to the delegation. Sponsors said amendments reflect county administrative practice and permit up to three years of retroactivity for eligible childcare and similar entities; the bill passed unanimously.

Land use, transportation and public safety committee - MC 17‑25: Authorizes placement of speed monitoring systems on county highways identified as high‑risk for serious injury or fatal crashes, ties eligible locations to locally adopted road safety plans or the county strategic highway safety plan, and requires revenue to be invested in safety improvements at those sites. A narrow amendment expanded the set of qualifying local plans; the delegation passed the bill unanimously. - MC 8‑25: Revises earlier school bus camera revenue provisions. An amendment removed a requirement to spend revenue on median strips and extended the deadline to install a crossing guard or traffic control device at sites with 400+ violations from December 2026 to December 2028 to give the county and school system more time. The bill passed unanimously as amended.

Metro Washington committee - MCPG116‑25: Clarifies municipal authority to regulate construction, repair or remodeling of single‑family structures and small multifamily buildings (four units or fewer), narrows the scope of municipal authority and adds constraints to prevent municipalities from imposing more restrictive rules on multifamily than on single‑family homes. Sponsors said the amendment reflects input from municipalities and the planning board; the bill passed unanimously.

Votes were taken by voice and recorded as passed unanimously on each item; committee chairs and sponsors described amendments adopted in committee and on the floor. Where the record did not include roll‑call tallies, the delegation recorded unanimous approval by voice vote.