(a) Members. The County Executive must appoint, subject to confirmation by the County Council, a Committee Against Hate/Violence. The Committee consists of 15 voting members and 6 ex- officio nonvoting members. Each voting member must, when appointed, reside in the County.
(1) Voting members. The voting members must broadly reflect the geographic, economic, and social diversity of the County.
(A) At least 9 voting members should be identified with ethnic or other groups in the County frequently subject to acts of hate/violence.
(B) At least 2 voting members should be parents of school-age children.
(C) At least one voting member should be identified with the County business community.
(2) Nonvoting members. The County Council, County Executive, Department of Police, Commission on Human Rights, Montgomery County Public Schools, and Montgomery College, should each designate an ex-officio nonvoting member of the Committee.
(3) Term. Each voting member serves a 3-year term. A voting member must not serve more than 2 consecutive full terms. A member appointed to fill a vacancy serves the rest of the unexpired term. Members continue in office until their successors are appointed and qualified.
(4) Compensation. Voting members receive no compensation for their services.
(5) Removal. The County Executive, with the consent of the County Council, may remove a voting member for neglect of or inability to perform the duties of the office, misconduct in office, or serious violation of law. Before the Executive removes a member, the Executive must give the member notice of the reason for removal and a fair opportunity to reply. Section 2-148(c) applies only to voting members of the Commission.
(b) Chair and Vice Chair. The Committee must annually elect one voting member as chair and another as vice chair, and may elect other officers.
(c) Meetings. The Committee meets at the call of the chair as often as required to perform its duties, but at least 10 times each year. The Committee must also meet if a majority of the voting members file a written request for a meeting with the chair at least 7 days before the proposed meeting. A majority of the voting members are a quorum for the transaction of business, and a majority of the voting members present at any meeting may take any official action.
(d) Staff. The Office of the Commission on Human Rights must provide the Committee with staff, offices, and supplies as are appropriated for it.
(e) Duties. The Committee must:
(1) adopt rules and procedures as necessary to perform its functions;
(2) keep a record of its activities and minutes of all meetings, which must be kept on file and open to the public during business hours upon request;
(3) develop and distribute information about hate/violence in the County;
(4) promote educational activities that demonstrate the positive value of ethnic and social diversity in the County;
(5) advise the County Council, the County Executive, and County agencies about hate/violence in the County, and recommend policies, programs, legislation, or regulations necessary to reduce the incidence of acts of hate/violence;
(6) submit an annual report by October 1 to the Executive and Council on the activities of the Committee, including the source and amount of any contribution received to support the activities of the Committee; and
(7) establish a subcommittee, with members designated by the Executive under Section 27-26(a)(4), to manage the Partnership Fund for Victims of Hate/Violence.
(f) Contributions. The Committee may solicit and accept contributions from public and private sources to support the activities of the Committee notwithstanding any provision of Chapter 19A to the contrary. Committee staff must not solicit or accept contributions for the Committee, but may be assigned administrative tasks related to Committee fundraising.
(g) Advocacy. The Commission must not engage in any advocacy activity at the State or federal levels unless that activity is approved by the Office of Intergovernmental Relations. (CY 1991 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1; 2005 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 2; 2006 L.M.C., ch. 33, § 1; 2016 L.M.C., ch. 15, § 1; 2018 L.M.C., ch. 25, § 1.)
Editor’s note—See County Attorney Opinion dated 4/13/99-A discussing what should occur when an Ethics Commission member holds over as a result of the Council not having confirmed a newly appointed member.