Bills on speed camera revenue, voting rights for the student member of the county school board and wine sales at farmer's markets are among legislation that Montgomery County's state lawmakers are considering as they prepare to return to Annapolis for the General Assembly that begins Jan. 13.
The county's delegation to the House of Delegates will hold a public hearing on the bills at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Stella Warner Council Office Building in Rockville.
Among the bills up for consideration is a measure that would require the county to distribute half of the revenue collected each fiscal year through speed monitoring cameras to the municipality in which the camera is located.
Any revenues greater than 10 percent of the municipality's total revenue for a fiscal year would be returned to the state general fund, as is the case under current law.
Montgomery County House delegation Chairman Brian J. Feldman said he is sponsoring the bill "as a vehicle to have a conversation between the municipalities and the county over how the revenue is dispersed."
Those conversations are ongoing between the county and places without police forces like Chevy Chase, Kensington and Poolesville. Poolesville commissioners have complained that while towns with police forces have reaped the revenues from the cameras, other jurisdictions with cameras that are bringing money to county coffers aren't benefiting.
Feldman (D-Dist. 15) of Potomac said that it is possible that he could withdraw the bill, even before Tuesday's hearing, if the issue is resolved.
Another bill would give the student member of the county school board the right to vote on collective bargaining agreements, capital and operating budgets and school closings, reopenings and boundaries.
The student member, who is elected by county middle and high school students, is currently prohibited from voting on such issues.
"The student who is elected as the student member has always been a terrific member and brings in a great perspective that almost no one else has," said Del. Anne R. Kaiser, the bill's lead sponsor.
The student member still would be prohibited from voting on suspensions and firings of teachers, issues that could drag out for several years beyond the student's one-year term, said Kaiser (D-Dist. 14) of Burtonsville.
Another bill, sponsored by Feldman, would grant permits to wineries to sell their products at state-sponsored farmer's markets around the county.
"We have an emerging wine industry here in Maryland," Feldman said. "The intent of the bill is to make it easier for Maryland wineries to showcase what they have at these farmers markets."
Wineries, however, would not be permitted to sell wine by the glass at the markets.
As local legislation, the bills must be approved for sponsorship by the county delegation before being introduced in the General Assembly. They would apply to Montgomery County only.
To sign up to testify or for a full list of legislation being considered by the delegation go to www.montgomerycountydelegation.com or call 301-858-3010.