Baltimore County Council changes rules, gives public more time to weigh in on legislation – beragampengetahuan – Beragampengetahuan

Baltimore County residents will have more time to weigh in on pending legislation after the council passed a resolution overhauling its rules for passing new laws and conducting meetings.

Going forward, the council must give the public at least two chances to weigh in on proposed bills during work sessions before they’re voted on at a legislative hearing, according to a resolution the council passed 6-0 on Monday. Republican Councilman Todd Crandell was absent and did not vote.

Currently, the council only requires that potential laws be discussed at a single work session. The new rules would not elongate the 30-day cycle process for passing a law.

Council members must also now make public by 10 a.m. the day of a scheduled bill vote any substantive amendments they intend to propose to that bill, and agendas must be published five days ahead of a meeting. Technical minor amendments can still be proposed during meetings; council members must now vote to suspend the rules in order to consider any larger, substantive amendments if they haven’t been introduced before the new 10 a.m. deadline on the day of voting.

Resolutions, unlike legislation, do not require the county executive’s signature. Councilman Pat Young, a Catonsville Democrat who sponsored the resolution, said the changes will make the county legislative process more transparent and orderly.

“I look forward to a culture change,” he said.

The resolution goes into effect April 1.

The rules changes come after a dust-up in December over a law the council passed codifying the Office of the Inspector General. Then-Council Chair Julian Jones, a Woodstock Democrat, circulated among the council a series of last-minute amendments that would have hamstrung the office, with which he had previously clashed.

Jones declined to formally introduce the amendments following criticism from residents, good-governance groups, and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., a Democrat, who said neither he nor Inspector General Kelly Madigan saw the amendments before they leaked to the press.

County Attorney James Benjamin also cited the council last year for violating the Maryland Open Meetings Act by meeting in secret to discuss conditions for youth inmates in the county jail.

Last-minute amendments have previously defanged legislation. In 2019, the council passed a bill from Republican Councilman David Marks that requires developers to pay fees on planning projects to offset the impact upon nearby schools and roads. Marks said his fellow members introduced a “flurry” of final-hour additions that significantly watered down the law.

The beragampengetahuan reported that the county recouped $0 in impact fees in the two years after the law passed.