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County submits legislative package to delegation, including caregiver unemployment and MDH inspection bill
Summary
Staff presented a slate of bill requests for the county delegation — proposals include unemployment insurance for unpaid caregivers, mandated Department of Health inspections of living facilities every 60 days, project labor agreements for state-funded construction, third-party utility termination notices, a Maryland Reparations Commission request and speed monitoring on MD Route 210. Council voted unanimously to ask the delegation to sponsor the bills.
County staff presented a package of legislative bill drafts to the Prince George's County Council on Oct. 29 and the council voted unanimously to ask the county House delegation to carry the measures in Annapolis.
"Our 1st legislative bill submission is unemployment insurance for caregivers," Jabari Cooper, staff lead on the legislative package, told the council. Cooper outlined multiple drafts: a caregiver unemployment-insurance proposal to offer protections for unpaid family caregivers; a bill that would require the Maryland Department of Health to inspect living facilities in the county every 60 days with written reports posted publicly within 30 days; project labor agreements for state-funded construction in the county; a third-party notification requirement when utilities issue termination-of-service requests; a request that the General Assembly establish a Maryland Reparations Commission; speed monitoring on MD Route 210; and a Board of Appeals amendment designed to prevent meetings from failing for lack of quorum.
Council members raised fiscal questions about the caregiver proposal and Cooper said the county would await a fiscal note from the Department of Legislative Services. Cooper also noted that the Maryland Department of Aging currently administers limited caregiver-related funding (he cited an existing program of roughly $306,100 in assistance), and that the unemployment-insurance idea would be structured as a state-funded change.
After questions and brief discussion, the council moved to request that the county’s House delegation sponsor the package; the motion (Burrows, 2nd Fisher) passed on a roll call vote recorded as unanimous.
If the delegation advances any measure, the council’s staff said the fiscal and implementation details will be developed and returned to council for further direction.
