Prince George's County Council Legislative Day 14 Meeting – April 28, 2026
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Prince George's County Council Legislative Day 14 Meeting – April 28, 2026
The Prince George's County Council held its Legislative Day No. 14 meeting on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. The meeting was scheduled for 12:00 p.m. and convened at 1:17 p.m. in the Council Hearing Room of the Wayne K. Curry Administration Building, Largo, MD. Ten members were present at roll call; Council Member Wala Blegay participated remotely and Council Member Sydney J. Harrison arrived at 1:22 p.m. Chair Krystal Oriadha presided. The agenda included a consent calendar, a briefing from the 2025-2026 Charter Review Commission, second reading of CB-021-2026, and public hearings on bond legislation and motor vehicle takeovers.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the minutes of the April 21, 2026 County Council meetings (regular and 6 p.m.).
- CB-035-2026, concerning day care center use regulations, was presented by Chair Oriadha and referred to the Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee.
- CB-036-2026, concerning women's health workplace protections for employees with severe menstrual or uterine fibroid-related symptoms, was presented by Council Member Blegay and referred to the Public Safety, Health and Human Services (PSHHS) Committee.
- CR-030-2026 (fibroid healthcare support) and CR-031-2026 (insurance and healthcare access for fibroids) were introduced and referred to PSHHS; CR-032-2026 (County Council budget parity) was introduced by Council Member Ivey and referred to the Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GOFP) Committee.
- An additions package adding CB-037-2026, the Apprenticeship Incentive Program bill, was accepted by an 11-0 vote. CB-037-2026 was presented by Council Member Adams-Stafford and referred to the Education and Workforce Development (EWD) Committee.
- The consent agenda was adopted by an 11-0 vote.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No requests by members of the general public to address the Council at the start of the meeting.
- At the public hearing on CB-012-2026 (motor vehicle takeovers and unlawful speed contests), Assistant Deputy Chief Travis Rickert of the Prince George's County Police Department testified in support of the legislation. He said the department had responded to 38 events, made 20 arrests, and recovered 13 handguns and 3 rifles, and called the regional problem alarming because it is occurring outside the usual summer months. He also referenced an incident in Howard County that left one person dead and five injured. The hearing was continued to May 5, 2026 at 10 a.m.
- No speakers signed up for the public hearing on CB-004-2026.
Correspondence / Administrative Officer's Report
- The Council authorized a letter to Dr. Shawn Joseph, Interim Superintendent of Prince George's County Public Schools, supporting FY 2026 Board of Education Transfer Request #2, by a 10-0 vote (Council Member Ivey absent). Dr. Arun Puracken, EWD Committee Director, reported the transfer would increase the operating budget by approximately $36.6 million, drawing about $38.8 million from the fund balance, bringing the total FY 2026 operating budget to $2,995,312,763. He also noted the fund balance was projected to decline from roughly $217 million at the end of 2025 to about $77-78 million by the end of 2026. The EWD Committee had voted 4-0 to recommend approval.
Discussion Items
- Camille A. Exum, Chair of the 2025-2026 Charter Review Commission, presented the Commission's final report and recommendations, joined by Senator Gloria Lala as transcribed. Established under Charter Section 1106, the Commission made five recommendations: (1) technical charter amendments to Sections 308 and 406 on compensation to comply with state law; (2) amendment to Section 814 to allow county executive approval of certain appropriation transfers, with transfers exceeding $1.5 million requiring Council approval; (3) amendment to Section 908 to add arbitration and Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service language for collective bargaining disputes; (4) amendment to Section 602 to grant the purchasing agent full signature authority; and (5) amendment to Section 603 to streamline competitive bidding and add requests for quotations. It also urged gender-neutral language in the charter. Council Member Dernoga raised a past redistricting resolution issue and suggested a charter cleanup. No formal vote was taken.
- CB-021-2026, concerning community resources information in Fire/EMS ambulances, received its second reading. Council Member Fisher reported the PSHHS Committee's favorable 3-0 recommendation. The Office of the County Executive supported the bill's intent but suggested a QR code alternative; no amendment was needed because the draft language allowed flexibility. The bill was introduced with sponsors Council Members Olson, Oriadha, Adams, Hunter, Dernoga, Fisher, and Adams-Stafford.
Public Hearings and Enactments
- CB-004-2026, an emergency act authorizing the issuance and sale of general obligation and stormwater management bonds, was enacted after a public hearing that convened at 1:50 p.m. and at which no one spoke. The authorization is for up to $751,371,000 in general obligation bonds, $152,452,000 in general obligation stormwater management bonds, and up to $903,823,000 in bond anticipation notes. The emergency was declared to take advantage of 2026 interest rate market conditions. The vote was 9-0, with Council Members Burroughs and Ivey absent (the roll call was initially announced as 8-0 before being corrected).
- CB-012-2026's public hearing convened at 1:52 p.m. and was continued to May 5, 2026 at 10 a.m.; Council Member Burroughs was added as a co-sponsor.
Key Outcomes
- Consent agenda adopted 11-0.
- Letter to PGCPS supporting FY 2026 BOE Transfer Request #2 authorized 10-0.
- CB-004-2026 enacted 9-0.
- CB-021-2026 introduced; further committee process will follow.
- CB-012-2026 public hearing continued to May 5, 2026.
- Charter Review Commission briefing held; recommendations received for Council consideration.
- The meeting recessed at 1:56 p.m. to the Committee of the Whole; a separate 6:00 p.m. budget public hearing was also scheduled.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everyone. We are now sitting as the county council. Today is Tuesday, April 28th. Madam Clerk, can you please call the roll? Good afternoon, Chair Oriega. Here. Mr. Adams. Here. Miss Adam Stafford. Present. Miss Plague. She's present. We'll work on her audio. Mr. Burroughs. Present. Mr. Denoga. Present. Miss Fisher. Present. Miss Hunter. Present. Miss Ivy. Here. Vice Chair Olsen. Here. Ten members. President Rogel. Thank you. We'll now have the invocation. You can come forward and we'll have any special intentions from the council. I do have one as I had shared before. I had a cousin that was in the hospital. We did lose him. And so just want to keep my family lifted in prayer. Anyone else have any uh special intentions? Thank you. Councilmember Fisher. I just want to um pray for, I don't know if you all saw in our neighboring county in Columbia. There was a death with another car racing roundup. Um, and I just want to pray for those, and especially in our county, um, when it comes to being victims of crime, and particularly, I know our chief went and helped um with our sister county in uh in our Howard County, Columbia area. So thank you. Thank you. Any other special intentions? Um seeing none, I'll pass it to you, Raven Butler. Okay. As I pray in my tradition, I invite you to pray in yours. Can we all bow our heads together?
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