The Education and Workforce Development Committee of the Prince George's County Council met on Monday, September 14, 2026, at 1:30 PM in Committee Room 2027. Chair Shayla Adams-Stafford called the meeting to order with three members present; Council Member Dernoga arrived at 1:32 PM. The committee considered one piece of legislation, CB-105-2026, and received three briefings on apprenticeship best practices, artificial intelligence (AI) platforms in schools, and AI pathways at Bowie State University. The meeting adjourned at 3:02 PM.
Adam Stafford and I serve as chair. Today is Monday, September 14th, 2026, and we'll start with a roll call. Chair Adam Stafford. President. Councilmember Olson? Here. Councilmember Harrison. Three members present at roll call. Thank you. For today's agenda, we have one piece of legislation and three briefings. To all of our presenters, we're so appreciative of your time. Thank you for being here today, and we truly look forward to a robust discussion and the opportunity to collaborate. Our first agenda item will be CB 105 2026, an act concerning high-wage employer fast track program. I will now turn it over to our EWD staff for an overview. Thank you, Madam Chair, and good afternoon, Council members. Dr. Run Parakin, Director of the Education and Workforce Development Committee. The first agenda item is CB 105 2026 and that concerning high-wage employer fast track program for the purpose of creating an expedited coordinated development review pathways for employers that meet defined wage investments and job quality standards, establishing a dedicated project management structure and integrating inspections for workforce recruitment and providing incentives into a six into a single accelerated approval process regarding workforce uh development. I'll now turn it over to Mr. Caleb Callender for the policy analysis and fiscal impact overview. Thank you, Dr. Braggan. Enactment of CB 105 2026 will likely have an immediate, slightly adverse fiscal impact on the county. Uh implement implementation of the proposed program as currently drafted is expected to result in additional administrative costs to the Department of Permitting Inspections and Environment. DePI stated that if the bill were to move forward, the department would need permit project managers funded for each qualified high wage employer company. The department also expressed concerns regarding the current budget and staffing constraints, but did highlight the programs conducted by the department that currently expedite permits. However, the suggested amendments through draft two may mitigate some of the potential costs by distribution distributing responsibilities among the agencies whose existing roles and functions most closely align with the requirements of the program. Also, to the extent that the program successfully attracts qualifying high wage employers to the county, the resulting increase in business activity, employment and related economic activity could expand the county's tax base and generate additional tax revenues. Thank you. This concludes my report. Thank you. Um at this time I will turn it over to the county executive's office for any comments. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm looking over uh draft two, and so we're we're still uh unsure about some of the changes. As noted by our agencies, however, though, current implementation of this does have a negative fiscal impact. And while we are in line with the with the goal and purpose of the bill, I do not believe there's budget for it currently, and so there is some hesitation as well as um some questions about exactly some of the qualifications that are included in the bill that some of the agencies have. Okay, thank you. Um I appreciate your feedback. Now we will hear from the office of law. Thank you, madam chair. The office of law has reviewed this um legislation for legal sufficiency, and we find it to be in proper legislative form. Thank you so much. Um, before turning it over to my colleagues for discussion, I have a few comments. I agree with the goal of this bill. I think we do need to attract high-wage employers to our county. With that being said, we hear the feedback from DPI and our policy team and in coordination with Chair Oriada's office. I propose draft two in lieu of draft one for CB 105 2026. Draft two states that the Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation shall administer the program in coordination with the Department of Permitting Inspections and Enforcement, DPI, employee Prince George's and the Office of Procurement and other agencies as appropriate. Additionally, draft two states that accelerated approval processes are for employers that are participating in the high-wage employer fast track program. The language for participation in the program was added for clarity.