Sec. 27-26B. Interagency fair housing coordinating group.

The County Executive must designate an interagency fair housing coordinating group. The purpose of the coordinating group is to facilitate and promote the County's efforts to prevent discrimination in housing.

The County Executive appoints the members of the coordinating group, subject to confirmation by the County Council. The coordinating group consists of one or more employees of each of the following agencies:

The Executive also may designate, subject to confirmation by the County Council, one or more members of the Executive's staff, and employees of any other County department or office, to serve on the coordinating group. The Executive must also invite the County Council, the Montgomery County public schools, the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission to designate one or more staff members to serve as full members of the group.

The Executive must designate a chair of the coordinating group, subject to confirmation by the County Council. The chair or the Executive may call meetings. The group may form its own subcommittees.

Meetings of the coordinating group and its subcommittees are subject to the Maryland Open Meetings law. In order to create a public forum and encourage diverse participation, the Executive must invite representatives of the housing industry and active community groups to participate in meetings. The group must not be governed by Chapter 2 or Chapter 2A.

With staff support from the Fair Housing Coordinator, the coordinating group must submit to the County Council and County Executive an annual report on housing discrimination in the County. This report must:

include the views of the Fair Housing Coordinator and any member whose views differ from those of the report.