Montgomery County Council Bill 3-22
On July 12, 2022, the Montgomery County Council passed Council Bill 3-22, requiring climate assessments for future legislation. The aim is to provide decisionmakers with information on climate implications (emissions and resilience) of decisions they may make. The legislation responded to the Council’s Resolution 18-974 in 2017, which declared a climate emergency and set emissions goals.
Bill 3-22 has five key components:
- Requires the Director of the Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) to prepare a climate assessment for each bill
- Requires the Planning Board to prepare a climate assessment for each zoning text amendment, master plan, and master plan amendment
- Outlines the contents for climate assessments
- Requires climate assessment templates to be published
- Amends the law governing enactment of legislation
The climate assessments are required to include:
- Potential positive and negative effects on climate change of the bill, zoning text amendment, master plan, or master plan amendment
- Quantitative or qualitative evaluation of the effects on community resilience and adaptation
- Recommendations for amendments to mitigate adverse climate impacts
Publication Date: July 2022
Related Organizations:
- Montgomery County Council
Resource Category:
Resource Types:
- Legislation
States Affected:
