Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Montgomery County Council's Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee met on October 8, 2026, for a scheduled 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. session in Room 3CHR. The committee reviewed two bills: Expedited Bill 32-26 on expanded survivor benefits and Bill 33-26 on community media organization contracting requirements. Both bills received unanimous favorable recommendations to the full council.
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to this session of the Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee. We have two bills we'll we'll be reviewing today. The first is expedited bill 32-26 employees retirement system, survivor benefits, death during line of duty, expedite eligibility to groups E and J. We have Councilmember Lukey here joining us for this portion of our committee session. And also lead on this bill was Councilmember Katz. And I think everyone on the council co-sponsored this legislation. But first I will turn to my committee members, particularly Councilmember Katz to see if you have anything to say, and then turn it over to Councilmember Lukey. No, thank you. I I believe this is something that should have been done a long time ago. It's taken us longer than it should. And that doesn't mean that that uh even though it's taken longer than it should, it doesn't we certainly are gonna, I believe, take care of this today. Uh everyone knows that that when someone gives their life, literally, for uh their their work in uh in uh Montgomery County, they're deserving of uh their families are deserving of all the survivor benefits. So I thank all of my colleagues for working with us on this and everyone else associated with it. Okay, Councilmember Evans, do you have anything or I'll turn it over to Councilmember Lukey? Okay, Councilmember Lukey. Thank you, madam chair. Um yes, this is uh a bill that is simply an extension of the work that we uh already started with the HERO Act last year covering our uh firefighters and police. Um and I want to thank um McGeo for working with us on this bill and on the timing of it uh because I respect our collective bargaining processes, and so uh the reason why we are here now with this as opposed to having done it earlier was because they were in the middle of bargaining, and that's important. So um with that, I think it's very straightforward. It simply adds the two additional um retirement groups to uh the the law that to make the changes that we had already applied um for fire and rescue service uh career firefighters as well as our law enforcement at MCPD. Um and with that, turn it back to you, Madam Chair. Thank you. Um I'll turn it over to Ms. Wellins to walk us through it. Great, thank you so much. Uh thank you and good morning, council members. Um the expedited bill 32 26, um, as has been noted would expand upon the HERO Act, which the council enacted in 2025. That was Council Bill 3525, which increased survivor benefits available to police officers and and firefighters if there's a line of duty death. And um so this again, you know, as uh the lead sponsor stated, it will expand um expand the the additional uh line of duty death survivor options um to members of of retirement groups J and E, which are um employees uh working in correctional facilities, emergency communications, and which also includes correctional officers and sworn deputy sheriffs. Um the bill is relatively straightforward in that respect. There is um one potential amendment for the committee's consideration, and that is um to align the provisions of uh bill 3626 with the provisions of bill 2126, which the council recently enacted um in conformance with the bargain the current bargain agreements with McGeo, and that bill took out um certain age requirements for uh being qualified to be eligible to retire. And so, in accordance with that bill, we need to tweak the language of Bill 3626, and um the potential amendment for your consideration is at pages three and four of the staff memorandum. So happy to try to answer any questions on that one. Thanks. Any questions, Councilmember Katz? I would certainly make uh move to uh to uh approve that amendment. Okay. Okay, any questions? Councilmember Evans. No, so at the onset, I didn't say anything. I just want to say it's a no-brainer, which is why I believe all of my colleagues signed on. And so no, I'm very supportive of this. All right. I think without objection, we'll accept that amendment. Yeah. Thank you.