A vote on new rent stabilization regulations, decisions about November ballot initiatives and a discussion on upcoming state legislative priorities top the Montgomery County Council’s agenda this week.
The council will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the Stella Werner Council Office Building in Rockville for its regular weekly business meeting. Here’s what to expect:
Vote on new rent stabilization regulations
The council will vote on an executive regulation order from County Executive Marc Elrich that would create new rent stabilization regulations.
In July 2023, the council passed a rent stabilization bill that permanently capped annual increases at the region’s consumer price index plus 3%, with a hard cap of 6% of the base rent.
Elrich’s order focuses on addressing and refining regulations pertaining to several areas of the rent stabilization law, including:
- Rent increases for multi-year leases;
- Troubled or at-risk properties;
- Previously vacant properties;
- Limited surcharges for capital improvements;
- Fair return rent increases;
- Exemptions for substantial renovations; and
- The regulation of rental fees
The council’s Planning, Housing and Parks Committee has recommended the full council pass the regulations.
Decisions about ballot initiatives
The council will vote on whether three ballot initiatives to amend the county charter should appear on the ballot in the November general election.
Councilmembers Sidney Katz (D-Dist. 3) and Gabe Albornoz (D-At-large) are sponsoring a resolution that would change the number of councilmember votes needed to approve certain budget decisions, based on a recommendation from the county’s Charter Review Commission.
Another proposed charter amendment, recommended by the commission and sponsored by Katz, would amend the county charter to confirm automatically any appointment made by the county executive to a non-merit position if the council has not voted on the appointment within 60 days after receiving a nomination from the county executive.
According to the county code, non-merit positions include directors of the regional services centers, the director of the Office of Community Partnership and the director of strategic partnerships, assistant chief administrative officers and special projects managers.
A third proposed ballot measure has been proposed by members of the public via petition. It could result in a referendum for a two-term limit on the county executive appearing on the November ballot. The initiative is sponsored by the Committee for Better Government, which is led by former Montgomery County Republican party chair and 2022 GOP county executive nominee Reardon Sullivan. The committee has submitted a petition to the Montgomery County Board of Elections to request that the referendum be placed on the ballot.
The elections board announced the petition is 626 valid signatures short of the minimum of 10,000 required to place the question on the ballot. The committee has until July 29 to submit additional signatures to the board. Sullivan told MoCo360 in an email that he delivered more than 7,000 additional signatures to the board to be vetted.
Briefing on upcoming state legislative priorities
The council will hear a briefing on proposed legislative priorities for the Maryland General Assembly 2025 session from Elrich’s office.
Each year, the council and county executive prepare lists of priorities and suggested legislation they would like the Montgomery County delegation in Annapolis to focus on during the session. Tuesday’s briefing will begin the conversations leading up to the beginning of the session in January.