On Tuesday, the Montgomery County Council will introduce legislation that would make it easier for the county government to hire federal workers affected by the mass layoffs since President Donald Trump took office in January.
The council will also hold public hearings on legislation calling for a home demolition tax as well as a bill proposing standards for surveillance tools used by the county for law enforcement. The council will also vote on legislation that would allow the county to make abandoned pets available for adoption more quickly.
The council will meet at 9:15 a.m. in the Stella Werner Council Office Building in Rockville for its regular weekly business meeting. Here’s what to expect:
Federal worker legislation
Legislation that would make it easier for the county government to hire federal workers impacted by mass layoffs is set to be introduced Tuesday.
The bill, sponsored by council Vice President Will Jawando (D-At-large) and co-sponsored by President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) and councilmembers Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1), Marilyn Balcombe (D-Dist. 2), Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5) and Laurie-Anne Sayles (D-At-large), would allow the county to give preference to displaced federal workers when hiring.
To qualify, federal workers would have to be county residents who lost their jobs with the federal government on or after Jan. 1, 2025, and who can demonstrate a loss of income because of the separation from federal employment.
County law includes a precedent to give preference to certain groups during hiring processes, according to the legislation packet. These groups include veterans and people with certain disabilities.
If passed, the bill would go into effect immediately after being signed into law by County Executive Marc Elrich (D) and would sunset a year after that date.
“We’ll be working very closely with our Office of Human Resources to make sure that with this bill and other efforts that we can take in the county, that we’re making sure people are aware of the jobs that are open and that we’re connecting them to appropriate jobs,” Stewart said during a press briefing Monday.
The layoffs and firings of thousands of federal workers in recent weeks were ordered by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as part of Trump’s promise to reduce the country’s federal workforce. According to Newsweek, more than 220,000 federal workers across the country have been laid off since Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
More than 70,000 federal workers live in the county and the Trump administration’s layoffs and firings have already impacted more than 1,000 residents, according to county officials.
During a Feb. 13 press briefing, Maryland Secretary of Labor Portia Wu said the state is looking for opportunities to potentially funnel laid-off federal workers into vacant state and county government positions.
“These [federal workers] are people with excellent qualifications and very strong backgrounds,” Wu said. “We’ve been in contact with the counties to figure out how we make sure people are aware of opportunities right here in their neighborhoods.”
Stewart said she sees the legislation as “one piece in many things” the county is doing to address the impact of layoffs on the local federal workforce, including a weekly webinar series.
Proposed demolition tax
The council will hear from the public on legislation that would establish an excise tax on certain demolitions and renovations of single-family homes, with the tax revenue directed to the Montgomery Housing Initiative and used exclusively for the Housing Production Fund. The proposed tax is designed to help retain affordable homes in the county.
According to a council staff report, a $20,000 excise tax rate would apply to certain total demolitions and partial demolitions of attached or detached single-family homes in the county. A “partial demolition” is considered construction or renovation that results in the destruction or removal of at least 50% of an existing single-family home.
Under the bill, the council would have the authority to raise the tax rate in accordance with inflation, subject to a public hearing. The legislation is sponsored by Mink.
Some houses, including those being demolished for safety reasons, would be exempt from the rule. Exceptions would also apply if the original homeowner agrees to own and live in the replacement home for at least five years, or if the new construction includes moderately priced dwelling units (MPDUs). According to the county’s Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the MPDU program aims to produce moderately priced housing, distribute low- and moderate-income households across the county’s growth areas, expand and retain an inventory of low-income housing in the county and provide funding for future affordable housing projects.
The Montgomery Newsletter, an independent publication focused on real estate in the county, reported last month that several local developers are opposed to the legislation, stating that it would “make a challenging situation even more difficult.”
Surveillance standards legislation
The council also will hear from the public on proposed legislation to require surveillance technology to meet certain standards before being approved for use by the county government. The legislation would apply to the county’s Drone As First Responder program, which deploys drones to help police assess potential public safety threats, as well as any other future public safety programs that involve surveillance.
Such technology would be subject to reports on its impact before it could be deployed and use of facial recognition in surveillance would be limited. The proposed legislation also would require the establishment of oversight standards for use of the technology. It is sponsored by Stewart and Mink.
“New technology is always advancing and can be used in ways and deployed to help advance our public safety goals,” Stewart said when introducing the bill in February. “Because it is advancing rapidly, we need to make sure that we have good procedures and guidelines in place to protect people’s privacy and their civil rights.”
Animal impoundment bill
The council will vote on proposed legislation to allow the county to put abandoned pets up for adoption more quickly, reducing issues at the county’s animal adoption center in Derwood, according to the bill’s sponsors.
Under current county law, an impounded animal, or an animal repossessed by the county, is considered abandoned and becomes county property if it is not redeemed by its owner within five days after the owner is notified of the impoundment by the county. If passed, the proposed legislation would decrease this period to three days.
According to councilmember Sidney Katz (D-Dist. 3), one of the bill’s lead sponsors, the change in the law would “reduce overcrowding at the animal shelter, reduce the time that the animal is held at the shelter and accelerate the timeline for the adoption process.”
On average, only 3.6% of impounded cats and 5.4% of dogs are reclaimed after three days, indicating that the vast majority of cats and dogs are either reclaimed within three days or go unclaimed, according to data from the county’s Office of Animal Services and Adoption Center.
Mink and councilmember Dawn Luedtke (D-Dist. 7) are also lead sponsors of the proposed legislation.
