Joint GO/PS Work Session on Expedited Bill 29-26 (Community Trust in County Employees Act)

The Montgomery County Council's Government Operations & Fiscal Policy (GO) and Public Safety (PS) committees held a joint work session on Monday, October 19, 2026, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. to consider Expedited Bill 29-26, Personnel and Human Resources – Eligibility for County Employment, also known as the “Community Trust in County Employees Act.” This work session followed the committees’ initial discussion on October 1, 2026. The bill is intended to preserve community trust by restricting county employment for individuals who worked for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), or who participated in federal immigration detention, removal, or deportation work. Staff attorney Ms. Wellons led the discussion; panelists included Luisa Cardana from the County Executive’s Office and Dr. Lisa Whedon from the Office of Human Resources (OHR).

Discussion Items

• Restricted applicant definition: The committee reviewed an amendment narrowing the definition from individuals who participated in “enforcement of federal immigration laws” to those who participated in “detention, removal, or deportation of individuals under federal immigration laws.” The amendment also excluded adjudicated whistleblowers, exempted CBP employees assigned to the Office of Trade, Office of Trade Relations, Office of International Affairs, or Office of Laboratories and Scientific Services, and retained the existing exclusion for individuals whose federal employment/contract ended on or before six months after the assignment date. Chair Katz supported the language, saying Montgomery County police hiring was already highly selective and the bill would not affect qualified hires. Councilmember Luedtke expressed strong concern, calling the prohibition “governmentally blessed discrimination” based solely on prior employment and saying it prevented applicants from even being considered. Councilmember Mink defended the bill as a response to a discriminatory and unconstitutional federal immigration system that had eroded community trust.
• HR implementation: OHR described a self-reporting process in which applicants who fall within the restricted applicant definition would not be considered for sensitive positions in direct services agencies. Councilmember Evans asked whether the bill would impose additional HR workload; OHR confirmed it would not require new staffing. OHR also said an applicant who fails to self-report and is later discovered would normally be terminated for dishonesty.
• Direct services agencies: The committee approved expanding the definition of direct services agency to add the full community engagement cluster, MC 311, Alcohol Beverage Services, Animal Services, Department of Finance, and Office of Procurement.
• Sensitive positions: The committee voted to shift responsibility for identifying sensitive positions from OHR to individual hiring departments, on the grounds that departments are better able to identify which positions require heightened scrutiny.
• Regulations and transparency: The committee agreed to add a non-codified section requiring OHR to adopt regulations within 90 days after the effective date, with implementation to begin immediately upon adoption; OHR said the full 90 days was needed. A committee member asked that materials sent to the full Council make clear that only specific sensitive positions are covered, not all positions in the listed departments, and that job advertisements identify those positions. OHR said sensitive positions would be listed in each advertisement, and staff agreed to add this context to the packet. The member abstained pending that information.

Key Outcomes

• Adopted the restricted applicant definition amendment 5-0.
• Adopted the direct services agency expansion 5-0.
• Adopted the sensitive position identification amendment unanimously.
• Adopted the 90-day regulations amendment unanimously.
• Adopted the technical amendment unanimously.
• Voted 4-0-1 to advance Expedited Bill 29-26 to the full Council with a favorable report as amended, with one abstention.