Racial Equity Bill Unanimously Passed By Montgomery Council

ROCKVILLE, MD — The Montgomery County Council unanimously passed a bill Tuesday that aims to combat racial inequities in the region.

The Racial Equity and Social Justice Act — spearheaded by Montgomery County Council President Nancy Navarro and co-sponsored by all nine council members — creates a legal framework that county officials will use to address systematic discriminatory policies.

More specifically, the bill establishes an Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice with an annual budget of $375,860, requires leaders to adopt a countywide racial equity and social justice action plan, and creates a Racial Equity and Social Justice Advisory Committee consisting of members of the public.

It also requires that future legislation, government programs, and public policy initiatives include a racial equity and social justice impact statement.

"The Racial Equity and Social Justice Act reinforces our commitment to being a welcoming community where all of our residents are treated with respect and dignity and provided with opportunities to succeed," Navarro said.

"Although not unique to our county," Navarro continued, "many of our community members suffer from stark disparities linked to hundreds of years of institutionalized racism, and this will persist without intentional intervention. Bill 27-19 will ensure that county government is working to dismantle inequity on an individual, institutional and structural level in an organized way with established goals and ongoing benchmarks to evaluate our progress."

Work on the bill first began in April 2018 when the former county council passed a resolution that established a framework to tackle racial and social inequities. That resolution was also spearheaded by Navarro.

Since then, the county council and County Executive Marc Elrich have held multiple meetings with the community on racial equity and social justice issues.

Many of those conversations, according to officials, centered on the fact that key decisions — be it education, health care, or housing — were made by county officials. And that there was a need for some sort of racial equity and social justice reform.

CASA, the Latino and immigrant advocacy group, is one of the organizations that has thrown support behind the Racial Equity and Social Justice Act.

"This is a significant step towards closing the opportunity gaps in Montgomery County. We look forward to working with our partners, elected officials, and the community to ensure full implementation of the bill," said CASA Executive Director Gustavo Torres.

There are, however, a number of Republicans and Democrats who've expressed doubts about the legislation. As The Washington Post reported, American University professor and former Chevy Chase mayor David Lublin said the bill does little to address long-standing racial issues in the county.

"Unfortunately, this bill will do little to address either racial equity or social justice in any meaningful way," Lublin said in an Oct. 29 blog post. "But it will create a new county office and take up many hours of time by county bureaucrats in other offices that could be better spent on county services, including existing policies that promote the goals of the legislation."

In recent weeks, the Montgomery County Racial Equity Network, also known as the MORE Network, presented several amendments that made it into the final version of Bill 27-19. The following are some of the amendments:

• To increase the number of community members on the Racial Equity and Social Justice Advisory Committee from three to eight;
• To mandate that all bills, except for expedited ones, have a racial equity analysis before being enacted
• To provide an annual $2,000 stipend for community members on the committee;
• To require racial equity and social justice training for all county staff

"We are ecstatic that the Montgomery County Council adopted many of the suggested amendments that members of the MORE Network advocated for, and excited for the enormous possibilities this ground-breaking legislation opens for Montgomery County," said Jayne Park, the executive director of IMPACT Silver Spring, an organization that focuses on community building in a multicultural society.

Navarro called the vote a victory and said the bill "sends a strong message to county residents, the state of Maryland, and the region that Montgomery County not only celebrates its diversity, but it passes policies that seek to break down racial and social barriers, so all residents have the same opportunity to thrive."