A bill is a draft of proposed legislation that has potential to become a law, if it is successfully passed by the County Council and approved by the County Executive. In the Montgomery County Council, a bill must be introduced in a legislative session by a Councilmember, the Council, or a Council Committee. Each bill is assigned to one of the Council’s six committees, which each have three councilmembers:

• Education & Culture (EC)

• Government Operations & Fiscal Policy (GO)

• Health & Human Services (HHS)

• Planning, Housing, & Economic Development (PHED)

• Public Safety (PS)

• Transportation & Environment (T&E)

If a bill successfully passes through the committee, the bill goes to the full Council for work sessions and a vote. For a bill to become a law, a majority of five votes is required. If the five votes are received, the bill is sent to the County Executive, who has 10 days to approve or veto the bill. In cases where the Executive vetoes a bill, the Council has 60 days to override the veto by the vote of six members.

For all proposed legislation, the Council is required to hold a public hearing. This allows Montgomery County residents to voice their support or disapproval of proposed legislation to members of the Council. Public hearings are posted on the Council’s website. Once passed and signed, a bill becomes law and is incorporated into the County Code.

A resolution states the intent of the County Council. Unlike adopted legislation, resolutions are not law and most do not have binding effect. Examples of resolutions that do have binding effect are: appropriations, tax resolutions, and resolutions making or confirming appointments. The approval of the County Executive is not required for most resolutions, except where the law that authorizes the resolution specifically requires the Executive to approve it.

A Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) is a legal change to the existing Zoning Ordinance. A ZTA may be introduced when an older provision of the Zoning Ordinance no longer best serves the public interest. As Montgomery County and its communities evolve, it is necessary to update provisions of the Zoning Ordinance.

In Montgomery County, ZTAs may be introduced at any time. Any individual or government agency can request the Council or a Councilmember to support a ZTA, but only a Councilmember has the authority to introduce a ZTA. Before a public meeting is held to formally introduce the ZTA to the public, the Council is responsible for sending the proposed ZTA to the Planning Department’s Director, the County Executive, the Board of Appeals, and the Hearing Examiner for review and commentary. The protocol for each of these parties is outlined below:

• Planning Department Director: Required to publish a report and recommendation seven days prior to the public meeting, which must be made available to the public

• Planning Board: Required to submit a recommendation to the Council prior to the public meeting, which must be made available to the public

  • Has the option to consider the Planning Department Director’s report and recommendation as a consent item on its agenda or hold a public hearing

• County Executive, Board of Appeals, and Hearing Examiner: Have the option to submit a recommendation to the Council

Sixty days after a ZTA is introduced, the Council is required to hold a public hearing to receive public opinion and feedback. For a ZTA to be adopted, five Councilmembers must vote in support. A ZTA comes into effect 20 days after the Council adopts it, unless stated otherwise. Unlike with a bill, the County Executive does not have the authority to veto a ZTA.

The General Plan is a broad policy document that guides how the county will change and develop over multiple decades. The General Plan covers multiple topics, including land use, transportation, environment, housing, design, arts, and culture. The General Plan differs from master plans, sector plans, and functional master plans because it does not recommend specific zoning.

The first General Plan in Montgomery County was developed in 1964 and called, On Wedges and Corridors. Growth was to occur in development corridors, while the wedges were to be reserved for open space and very low density development.

A critical update to the 1964 plan took place in 1969. The 1969 plan re-emphasized the goals of the 1964 plan, but also included important recommendations and zoning mechanisms that would help implement those goals. These recommendations helped pave the way for laws such as the 1974 Moderately Priced Dwelling Units law and the 1980 Preservation of Agriculture and Rural Open Space Functional Master Plan.

The General Plan plan also received another update in 1993. The 1993 plan reaffirmed the goals of prior plans, but also outlined and set forth the character and location of four geographic components: the Urban Ring, the Interstate-270 Corridor, Suburban Communities, and the Wedge, divided into Residential and Agricultural Wedges.

To form a vision for what the future will look like, the feedback and participation of Montgomery County residents is crucial. Before a draft for the General Plan is authored by the Planning Department, staff conducts outreach receive guidance from residents.

Once the draft has been finalized, it is once again up for public review and comments. The General Plan is edited and voted on by the Planning Board and then transmitted to the County Council. The County Council has its own work sessions on the plan and then votes to approve the final plan.

A master plan is how individual communities plan for the future. Unlike a General Plan, a master plan contains specific recommendations for future development by creating comprehensive guidelines on how public and private land will be used in the future, including components such as density, zoning, environment, parks and community facilities, transportation, and much more. These plans are updated every 15 to 20 years to reflect changes that are occurring within a given community.

Two other types of plans developed by the Planning Department are functional master plans and sector plans. Functional master plans address systems (e.g. general circulation, environmental systems) and policies (e.g. housing). Sector plans provide land use recommendations for smaller geographic areas within a master plan area, such as a central business district or an area experiencing high levels of development.

The Planning Department does not create master plans for the cities of Rockville, Poolesville, and Gaithersburg because each has its own zoning authority and planning agency that develops their master plan.

• Step 1 - Working Draft: A working draft is presented by the Planning Department to the Planning Board, and made available to the public to comment on. The Planning Board makes preliminary changes.

• Step 2 - Public Hearing Draft: After these changes are made, the document becomes the Public Hearing Draft, which is prepared for the purpose of receiving public testimony. The Public Hearing Draft is the formal proposal to amend an adopted master or sector plan, but is not necessarily reflective of the Planning Board’s recommendations. Following the public hearing, the Planning Board holds public work sessions to review testimony and implement changes. The document then becomes the Planning Board Draft.

• Step 3 - Planning Board Draft: The Planning Board Draft reflects the recommendations of the Planning Board based on revisions made during public work sessions. It is then passed onto the County Council and County Executive. Within 60 days, the County Executive must prepare and deliver a fiscal impact analysis of the Planning Board Draft Plan to the County Council. The County Executive may also forward other comments and recommendations to the County Council.

• Step 4 - County Council Committee Draft: After the fiscal impact analysis, the County Council holds a public hearing to receive testimony. The Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) then holds a public work session, and makes recommendations to the full Council.

• Step 5 - Approval and Adoption: The full Council then holds work sessions and eventually adopts a resolution approving of the final version. After Council approval, the plan is forwarded to The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission for adoption. Once adopted by the Commission, the plan officially amends the master plans, sector plans and functional plans cited in the Commission’s adoption resolution.

During specific phases of the drafting process, residents are encouraged to provide feedback. The Planning Department also holds hearings to receive testimony from residents throughout this process. Master plan recommendations are not implemented until the County Council can approve a Sectional Map Amendment (SMA). An SMA is a comprehensive action covering a section of the County, usually the same as a master plan. SMAs propose the application of various zones to individual tracts of land, as recommended in the master plan. Any property owner affected by recommended zoning changes are individually notified to testify at the County Council’s public hearing on a proposed Sectional Map Amendment. SMAs must be approved by majority vote of the Council.

The county budget is divided into the capital and operating budgets. The capital budget includes spending for longer term projects such as construction of schools and roads and is largely financed by bonds. The operating budget includes expenses for personnel, programs, and capital budget debt service.

Each September, the County analyzes economic indicators to predict the economic outlook for the County and estimates the County’s resources based on tax revenue and state/federal grants.

The Council sets affordability guidelines based on this information. The "spending affordability" guidelines place a ceiling on property tax revenues, a ceiling on the total operating budget excluding certain grants and enterprise funds, and allocate the projected revenue among the agencies. If proposed agency budgets exceed the affordability guidelines, they must attach a prioritized list of spending reductions to fit within the guidelines. Any aggregate operating budget exceeding these guidelines must be agreed to by seven (rather than a simple majority of five) of the nine Councilmembers.

The Capital Improvements Program (CIP) is prepared every other year. The CIP is a comprehensive six-year program for capital spending. It includes a statement of the objectives of capital programs and the relationship of capital programs to the County's long-range development plans; recommends capital projects and a construction schedule; and provides an estimate of costs, a statement of anticipated revenue sources, and an estimate of the impact of the program on County revenues and the operating budget. The Council may amend an approved CIP at any time by an affirmative vote of six councilmembers.

Capital Budget Timeline: Budget forums for the capital budget are held in June. The County Executive submits the proposed CIP and capital budget to the Council by January 15th and public hearings are held in early February.

Operating Budget Timeline: Operating budget forums are held in October and provide an opportunity for county residents to provide input on spending priorities. The County Executive must submit the proposed operating budget to the Council by March 15th and public hearings are held in early April.

Budget amendments (called supplementary appropriations) can be made at any time during the year and have their own public hearings. By June 1st, the council must take final action on the budget (operating and capital) for the fiscal year, which starts July 1st.