Del. Julie Palakovich Carr: A Champion for Progressive Reform

Julie Palakovich Carr was elected Chair of the Montgomery County House Delegation, the largest delegation in the General Assembly in November, 2022. As Chair, Del. Palakovich Carr is committed to lifting up the priorities of all Montgomery County residents by considering the needs of her 25 colleagues along with the concerns of her own district. Through coalition building and collaboration, she is committed to leveraging the multitude of perspectives and geography reflective of Montgomery County’s increasing population growth, diversity, and urbanization.

First elected as a Montgomery County District 17 Delegate in 2018 and re-elected in 2022, Palakovich Carr is known for championing progressive reforms in elections, transportation, and taxation. 

In the following interview, Delegate Palakovich Carr shares her thoughts on some of the legislation that she considers key to improving all communities in Montgomery County.  

As the Chair, what are your priorities for the 2023 legislative session?

While our Delegation’s legislative priorities will be set in January, education and transportation are two perennial issues the Maryland House of Delegates will consider in 2023.

As the State rolls out and implements the landmark Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform law, we need to ensure the County gets the resources and support our unique, diverse school system needs to maintain its excellence.

For instance, many counties saw a sizable drop in public school enrollment during the pandemic. Montgomery County, as well as other districts, still haven’t returned to pre-pandemic enrollment levels. Because funding formulas for State aid to Maryland public school districts are calculated in part on school enrollment, this decline has financial implications for our school system.

Even though we did not lose out on funding over the last two years due to fixes through the Governor’s budget and legislation, present enrollment continues to pose a funding issue. The delegation hopes to form a coalition with other counties and is working with the Maryland Association of Counties to find the best path forward to maintain needed funding. 

Public transportation is another area where the House delegation and I share a deep interest. Many of us are members of the General Assembly’s Transit Caucus. We recognize that County residents need an efficient, well-connected transit system.

Over the past four years, we succeeded in getting new investments for public transit in Montgomery County, ranging from sustained funding for Metro to pushing for the expansion of the MARC commuter rail service. Last year, we succeeded in securing one-time and on-going funding for bus rapid transit in Montgomery County—funds that are essential as the County continues to build out new bus rapid transit lines. The Veirs Mill corridor coming online and the buildout of the Route 355 corridor will transform communities and help countless residents access better jobs and education opportunities, such as  Montgomery College. 

Another priority for me and many members of the delegation is to reverse the disturbing increase in pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities. In 2019, I sponsored legislation to adopt Vision Zero, which set a statewide goal of no deaths or serious injuries on our roadways by 2030. This goal covers all modes of transportation and includes those who are walking, biking, or riding in a vehicle. Despite the bill being signed into law, crashes and roadway fatalities continue to trend in the wrong direction. The current mindset is to write off a roadway crash as the cost of business because it happens all the time. 

Vision Zero is a model adopted worldwide that is based on the premise that we don’t have to accept roadway fatalities. Instead, we can design transportation systems to be safer. We know people make mistakes on the road, but that doesn’t mean they have to die.

Delegation members have been trying to tackle this issue from different angles such as making the routes children take to school safer and addressing roadway safety through better infrastructure. My colleagues are also pushing the ball forward by seeking funding for projects that make pedestrians and bicyclists safer. I am hopeful that with a new Administration and new leadership at the Maryland Department of Transportation, we will have a partner that understands the importance of setting a new direction because the status quo doesn’t cut it. Too many people are dying on our roads.

What plans are there for addressing the acute shortage of affordable housing in Montgomery County and the State? 

Montgomery County needs more housing at all price points but affordable housing is especially needed. A study commissioned last year revealed that the State was short 85,000 affordable units, and the shortage is projected to double over a decade. In our area, the cost of land is a big factor in driving up the price of affordable housing development projects. In other parts of Maryland, a lack of building sites is a real issue. 

We need all levels of government working on resolving this problem, but ultimately, it comes down to decisions made by counties and municipalities that have land use authority. They are the entities that set the master plan and zoning laws and approve or reject proposed affordable housing developments.

One action that the State can now take is to donate or sell a building or land it doesn’t need for use as affordable housing. This change in law is the result of a bill I sponsored. If excess state-owned property is suitable for housing and it is no longer needed for a government purpose, and local government doesn’t want it, the State can donate it or sell it to an affordable housing developer. This will drive down the cost of housing on former state-owned properties. 

Also on the table this year, we need to provide more targeted help to low-income Marylanders at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness. To get the State involved, some of our Delegation members are working on legislation to provide cash assistance to low-income Marylanders and families who don’t get public housing assistance During the pandemic, robust Federal funding for housing assistance for families facing eviction flowed to the State and counties. Despite a continuing need, Federal funding is drying up, so the State must provide additional funding to help low-income families get through another year.

How can organizations like the Women's Democratic Club help move forward legislation around reproductive rights, building the structure for cannabis legalization, or ending the automatic charging of juveniles as adults?

I appreciate the advocacy of WDC and its members. Keep doing what you are doing. It is important that people stay engaged. Reach out to the sponsor of bills of interest and offer to testify at a hearing or submit written testimony. Also, many legislators have high-quality newsletters that provide great information on what’s going on in Annapolis and share news from the State perspective. Sign up to receive these newsletters. And don’t hesitate to reach out to your elected representatives—we’re here to serve you.