From the Office of Council Member Tom Dernoga March 2026

The District 1 team thanks and congratulates Daniel Douglas as he embarks on his next life chapter. While on our team, he served as a Constituent Services Specialist. He is now off to Belgium to continue his studies. He is pictured here with J.D. Perkins, President of the Vansville Heights Citizens Association (VHCA).

Legislative Updates

As we move into March, things are picking up in Largo and in Annapolis. Last month, I wrote about the Governor's Housing bill (HB 239/SB 36) that would allow a major increase in residential development density and last year's Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) bill that will become effective later this year. There has been a fair amount of pushback to the Governor's Housing bill, and there are many proposed amendments. Working with our State representatives, I am hopeful that there will be little or no impact to the Beltsville area. The region needs more affordable housing, but I believe that this growth should be targeted to transit stations, as our Comprehensive Plan (Plan 2035) proposes.

I am proposing a bill to place on the November ballot the repeal of the At-Large Council seats. If approved by the voters, this would return the Council to 9 District seats. Because all Council seats, including the At-Large seats, are on the ballot this year, the repeal would take effect for the 2030 election. That is, those who are elected this November will serve a 4-year term, and then the seats would terminate. I spoke out vocally against the At-Large charter amendment in 2016 pushed by special interests and I have yet to see any real value for County residents and those seats cost well over $1 million annually. I would love to get public support for this bill.

The Council has proposed a flurry of bills and resolutions aimed at protecting County residents from Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

CB-5-2026 would make certain ICE and CBP employees ineligible for future county employment.

CB-6-2026 (“The Community Safe Spaces Act”) restricts ICE access to County facilities and prohibits ICE usage of County-owned facilities for surveillance, staging, processing, detention, or vehicle storage.

CB-7-2026 ("The Resident Kidnapping Protection Act") would allow residents observing immigration enforcement activity to call 9-1-1 to request assistance from the Police Department to verify the identity of persons engaged in such activity.

CB-8-2026 prohibits facial coverings for law enforcement that conceal or obscure the face while interacting with the public in the performance of official duties (with exceptions). The bill also requires a law enforcement officer to display the officer’s name and identification number issued by the law enforcement agency that they represent without obstruction.

CR-8-2026 urges the Maryland-National Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), the Prince George’s County Board of Education (BOE), the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System (PGCMLS), and the Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) to prohibit the use of public property under their control for civil immigration enforcement.

CR-9-2026 directs that the County partner with a local non-profit entity to develop a roster of all residents of the County in potential ICE custody.

Upcoming Events

On Wednesday, March 11, at 6:30 PM, I will host a Community Conversation with Major Saul Serpas, the new Commander at the District VI Police Station in Beltsville. The meeting will be held at the Laurel-Beltsville Senior Activity Center, 7120 Contee Road, Laurel, MD 20707. Come meet the new Commander (and Captain Patrick Devaney) and hear his vision for enhancing public safety and reducing crime.

I will be sponsoring two shredding events this month. The first will be Saturday, March 7, at 9 AM at Montpelier Elementary School, 9200 Muirkirk Road, Laurel, MD 20708. The second will be Saturday, March 21, at 9 AM at Beltsville Academy, 4300 Wicomico Ave, Beltsville, MD 20705.

Minor Amendment to the Subregion 1 Master Plan

Finally, the Minor Amendment to the Subregion 1 Master Plan has been progressing, and there was a large turnout of interested residents for the Open House on January 21. The Amendment will update development policies for much of the undeveloped land between Beltsville and Laurel. If you could not attend the Open House, the website allows you to view the presentation, overview context boards, and map activities to get caught up. Visit the website at https://tinyurl.com/Sub1MPA.

Contact Us

Please keep in touch by emailing us at councildistrict1@co.pg.md.us or call 301-952-3887.