Prince George’s County will see significant political changes next year: New county executive, new state’s attorney, six new County Council members, three new state senators and six new members of the House of Delegates. Though in typical Prince George’s fashion, some of the newcomers are repurposed politicians who previously served in other offices.
One significant and relatively unexplored change is the expansion of the County Council, from nine members to 11. County voters chose to add two at-large Council members, elected countywide, to the Council roster, whose nine other members are elected by district.
To accommodate the change, the current County Council on Thursday voted to restructure its committee system. Beginning in January, the Council will have six standing committees compared to its current number, five.
“This will give us the first opportunity in almost 25 years to rearrange the Council’s committee structure,” said current County Council Chairwoman Danielle M. Glaros (D). “Additionally, the restructuring will offer an important opportunity to reframe some of the critical conversations happening in the County and build synergies among different agencies.”
Under the new legislation, the following standing committees will be appointed by the chairman of the Council at the beginning of the new term in office, which starts in December:
*Education and Workforce Development
*Health, Human Services and Public Safety
*Planning, Housing and Economic Development
*Government Operations and Fiscal Policy
*Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment
*General Assembly
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Josh Kurtz over at Maryland Matters