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Record of Proceedings

Prince George's County Council Committee of the Whole Meeting - May 26, 2026

County Council & Boards — Tuesday, May 26, 2026
BodyPrince Georges County, Maryland
SessionCounty Council & Boards
DateTuesday, May 26, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

All righty, good afternoon.

0:06

We have returned and are now sitting as committee of the whole again.

0:10

Today is Tuesday, May 26, 2026.

0:13

Madam Clerk, can I please have a roll call?

0:15

Good afternoon, Chair Oyeva.

0:17

Here.

0:17

Mr.

0:18

Adams.

0:19

Present.

0:19

Ms.

0:20

Adam Stafford.

0:21

Present, Mr.

0:22

Burroughs.

0:23

Present.

0:23

Mr.

0:24

Denoga.

0:24

President.

0:25

Mr.

0:25

Harrison.

0:27

Ms.

0:27

Hunter.

0:28

Present.

0:29

Here.

0:29

Vice Chair Olson.

0:31

Here.

0:31

Nine members present at roll call.

0:33

Thank you.

0:33

I'm gonna jump around on the agenda, colleagues.

0:41

So I'm gonna start with CR.

0:48

53, 2026, a resolution concerning amendment of Section 813 Charter of Prince Shorty's County for the purpose of proposing an amendment to Section 813 of the Charter of Prince Shorts County to exempt from referendum taxes and fees imposed upon operations and business uses deemed to have adverse impact on community health safety and welfare on county economic development and generally relating to approval of new or additional taxes and referendum.

1:18

I will now have a staff overview.

1:27

And then after this, just for staff, we'll move to CR 57 2026.

1:33

Okay, good afternoon, Council members.

1:35

Josh Hemlin, legislative attorney.

1:45

It to be make it very brief, what this would do is exempt from the existing chart, the charter requirement that any new or increased fee or tax other than those which are specifically exempted within that section be submitted to the voters uh at the next general election for the House of Representatives, so every two years.

2:06

Um what this would do is um add an exemption specifically for taxes and fees to imposed upon operators of business uses deemed to have an adverse impact on community health, safety and welfare or county economic development.

2:22

It it gives some examples that are non-exclusive, uh, which are sellers of alcoholic beverages or tobacco products and consolidated storage uses.

2:32

Um basically again to be clear, what this does is remove the referendum requirement that is in the charter that doesn't grant any additional authority directly.

2:44

I think that's pretty much it.

2:46

Thank you.

2:46

Um next we'll turn to the sponsor.

2:48

That is me, his colleagues, as you know.

2:51

Uh, when we worked on uh passing the quality of life uh impact fee, uh that addressed the oversaturation of liquor stores, uh 24 hour tobacco stores, um, the self-storage in our community.

3:07

Um we talked about also uh updating the charter uh to strengthen our ability to do that.

3:14

And so this legislation is what I promised we would do, um, which is also make sure that we put this on the referendum to continue to look at uh the types of impacts that we see with industries like the over saturation of to 2024 hour tobacco stores, the liquor stores, and the peripheration of um self-storage.

3:39

So do can I have an opinion from Office of Law The Office of Law reviewed uh this resolution for legal sufficiency finds it to be in proper form, and uh that there are no legal impediments to its uh adoption.

4:03

Thank you, county executive.

4:09

The county executive is in support of the resolution.

4:14

Thank you.

4:15

Um you have any speakers seeing none.

4:19

Uh like to make a motion to recommend.

4:23

Uh do I have a second?

4:26

Uh motion by myself, seconded by council member Olson and Fisher.

4:30

Can we have a roll call?

4:33

Chair Oye then.

4:34

Aye, Mr.

4:35

Adams.

5:00

But that was specifically targeted to these specific areas and not a means for us to look forward to target other businesses.

5:07

And so this isn't a general business plan that we have for targeting any other businesses, but just specifically for this.

5:23

And we have included that we will review it and make sure that it is accomplishing what we choose.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural████████████████████████████████32%
Government Operations█████████████████████████████29%
Public Works█████████████████████21%
Zoning And Land Use█████████9%
Public Safety████4%
Education Policy███3%
Public Engagement██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Prince George's County Council Committee of the Whole Meeting - May 26, 2026

The Prince George's County Council, sitting as the Committee of the Whole, convened at 12:57 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, and adjourned at 2:26 p.m. The meeting addressed 13 legislative items: six county bills (CB-041 through CB-046) related to clean communities, vacant properties, illegal signage, and a beautification incentive program; five bond bills (CB-051 through CB-055) for capital projects; and five charter amendment resolutions (CR-053 through CR-057). All items were presented with staff overviews and sponsor comments, followed by votes.

Consent Calendar

  • No consent calendar was used; each item was discussed and voted individually.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public provided testimony. Only council members, staff, the County Executive's liaison, and the Office of Law participated.

Discussion Items

  • CB-041-2026 (Clean Corridors and Rapid Response Program): Creates a program for expedited removal of illegal dumping in designated corridors. Sponsor Council Chair Oriadha noted potential amendments to shift enforcement to the Strike Force team. Held unanimously (8-0) to allow for amendments.
  • CB-042-2026 (Clean Communities Transparency Dashboard): Requires a dashboard for illegal dumping and litter cleanup data. Held unanimously (9-0) for amendment discussions.
  • CB-043-2026 (Vacant Property Maintenance and Abatement Act): Strengthens enforcement and increases fines for vacant property violations. Held unanimously (9-0) pending agency restructuring amendments.
  • CB-044-2026 (Illegal Signage Enforcement Act): Increases fines and requires utility removal of illegal signs. Held unanimously (9-0) for agency adjustments.
  • CB-045-2026 (See It, Snap It, Get Paid Act): Establishes a program allowing residents to submit photo evidence of violations and receive 50% of collected fines. Held (8-0) for amendments.
  • CB-046-2026 (Vacant Real Property Tax Rate): Creates a special tax rate for vacant properties to incentivize rehabilitation. Revenue estimated at $5.5 million from 452 unresolved accounts. Held (9-0) with a request to delay implementation to FY28 by the County Executive's office.
  • CB-051-2026 (Borrowing for Community College Facilities): Authorizes up to $67,306,000 in bonds for community college capital projects. Favorably recommended to the County Council (7-0).
  • CB-052-2026 (Borrowing for Public Works and Transportation Facilities): Authorizes up to $140,089,000 for roads, bridges, parking, and maintenance. Technical amendments corrected a typo and underline. Favorably recommended as amended (8-0).
  • CB-053-2026 (Borrowing for County Buildings): Authorizes up to $117,848,000 for county building projects. Favorably recommended (8-0).
  • CB-054-2026 (Borrowing for Library Facilities): Authorizes up to $33,656,000 for libraries. Amended to add the word "will" on page 3. Favorably recommended as amended (7-0).
  • CB-055-2026 (Borrowing for Public Safety Facilities): Authorizes up to $53,503,000 for public safety and fire department facilities. Amended to remove underline from "including Fire Department Facilities." Favorably recommended as amended (7-0).
  • CR-053-2026 (Charter Amendment – Section 813 – Exempting Certain Business Taxes from Referendum): Exempts taxes/fees on businesses with adverse health or economic impacts from referendum requirements. Favorably recommended (8-0, with 2 abstentions: Harrison and Ivey).
  • CR-054-2026 (Charter Amendment – Section 305 – Redistricting by Bill): Requires changes to redistricting plans to be done by bill, not resolution. Amendments addressed SB29 compliance (removed double negative and legal mechanism language). Favorably recommended as amended (6-0).
  • CR-055-2026 (Charter Amendment – Section 908 – Federal Mediation for Labor Disputes): Adds the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service for arbitration of labor disputes. Favorably recommended (6-0).
  • CR-056-2026 (Charter Amendment – Section 602 – Purchasing Agent Signature Authority): Grants full signature authority to the County Purchasing Agent and allows cooperative purchasing. Amended to change "not expand" to "maintain." Favorably recommended as amended (6-0).
  • CR-057-2026 (Charter Amendment – Sections 301, 303, 307, 307A – Repealing At-Large Council Seats): Repeals at-large council member positions, effective December 2030. Staff noted possible legal concerns about prior charter amendments due to state law SB29. Favorably recommended (7-0, with 2 abstentions: Harrison and Ivey).

Key Outcomes

  • Six county bills (CB-041 through CB-046) were held unanimously to allow the County Executive's office to prepare amendments regarding agency restructuring and implementation timing. All are expected to return for further committee discussion.
  • Five bond bills (CB-051 through CB-055) were favorably recommended to the full County Council, with some receiving technical amendments. Votes ranged from 7-0 to 8-0. These bonds will appear on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot for voter approval.
  • Four charter amendment resolutions (CR-053, CR-055, CR-056, CR-057) were favorably recommended to the full Council. CR-054 was favorably recommended after amendments to comply with state plain-language requirements (SB 29). Vote tallies varied due to absences and abstentions, with most passing 6-0 or 7-0.
  • The meeting adjourned at 2:26 p.m. by unanimous consent.

Meeting Transcript

All righty, good afternoon. We have returned and are now sitting as committee of the whole again. Today is Tuesday, May 26, 2026. Madam Clerk, can I please have a roll call? Good afternoon, Chair Oyeva. Here. Mr. Adams. Present. Ms. Adam Stafford. Present, Mr. Burroughs. Present. Mr. Denoga. President. Mr. Harrison. Ms. Hunter. Present. Here. Vice Chair Olson. Here. Nine members present at roll call. Thank you. I'm gonna jump around on the agenda, colleagues. So I'm gonna start with CR. 53, 2026, a resolution concerning amendment of Section 813 Charter of Prince Shorty's County for the purpose of proposing an amendment to Section 813 of the Charter of Prince Shorts County to exempt from referendum taxes and fees imposed upon operations and business uses deemed to have adverse impact on community health safety and welfare on county economic development and generally relating to approval of new or additional taxes and referendum. I will now have a staff overview. And then after this, just for staff, we'll move to CR 57 2026. Okay, good afternoon, Council members. Josh Hemlin, legislative attorney. It to be make it very brief, what this would do is exempt from the existing chart, the charter requirement that any new or increased fee or tax other than those which are specifically exempted within that section be submitted to the voters uh at the next general election for the House of Representatives, so every two years. Um what this would do is um add an exemption specifically for taxes and fees to imposed upon operators of business uses deemed to have an adverse impact on community health, safety and welfare or county economic development. It it gives some examples that are non-exclusive, uh, which are sellers of alcoholic beverages or tobacco products and consolidated storage uses. Um basically again to be clear, what this does is remove the referendum requirement that is in the charter that doesn't grant any additional authority directly. I think that's pretty much it. Thank you. Um next we'll turn to the sponsor. That is me, his colleagues, as you know. Uh, when we worked on uh passing the quality of life uh impact fee, uh that addressed the oversaturation of liquor stores, uh 24 hour tobacco stores, um, the self-storage in our community. Um we talked about also uh updating the charter uh to strengthen our ability to do that. And so this legislation is what I promised we would do, um, which is also make sure that we put this on the referendum to continue to look at uh the types of impacts that we see with industries like the over saturation of to 2024 hour tobacco stores, the liquor stores, and the peripheration of um self-storage. So do can I have an opinion from Office of Law The Office of Law reviewed uh this resolution for legal sufficiency finds it to be in proper form, and uh that there are no legal impediments to its uh adoption. Thank you, county executive. The county executive is in support of the resolution. Thank you. Um you have any speakers seeing none.

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