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Committee considers pilot-notification, exemptions for pre-procurement testing
Summary
Council members proposed requiring notification reports before pilot tests of new technologies, outlining purpose, length, data management and disposition; county staff said pre-procurement testing is common and suggested narrow exemptions so testing can proceed while protecting data.
Lawmakers and staff spent a significant portion of the Feb. 2 session discussing how the bill should treat pilots and pre-procurement testing. A councilmember proposed an amendment that would require departments to file a notification report to the council before a pilot test, including the pilot’s purpose, duration, data-management and disposition plans and an explanation of why the test would not be used for surveillance. Proponents said that approach would generate evidence to inform the impact report and regulatory process.
Haley Beckett, deputy director for policy at MCDOT, said Montgomery County runs different pilot models — including MOUs with WMATA and vendor-supplied testing — and recommended clearer language about when county policies should exceed state law and when grouped regulatory packages could streamline repeated procurement for similar technologies (for example, license-plate cameras used for multiple operational purposes). Police staff suggested requiring notification plus data-protection conditions for pilots rather than a total ban on testing.
