City Council Hearing: Public Safety Committee; October 27, 2026

The Baltimore City Council Public Safety Committee met on October 27, 2026, to consider two bills sponsored by Councilmember Felicia Porter. The committee voted to advance Council Bill 20-26-0160, requiring firearm dealers to post safe-storage and suicide/self-harm prevention information, including 988 resources, and Council Bill 26-0240, requiring domestic-violence awareness and victim-resource materials in city-owned and occupied buildings. Both bills passed favorably as amended and will proceed to a second reading at the next Council meeting. Amendments discussed included making 988 information available by call or text and identifying it as free, using “behavioral health” language, providing multilingual materials, and adding enforcement and implementation details. For the firearm-dealer bill, Baltimore City Police was identified as the enforcement agency, with an amendment to be prepared for the next reading. For the domestic-violence posting bill, the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, General Services, and community organizations discussed coordination and implementation.

Agency reports indicated no expected city enforcement fiscal impact for the firearm-dealer bill and minimal printing-related impact for the city-building postings. No contract awards, vendor selections, purchasing decisions, or other procurement activity were identified. The meeting focused on public-safety and behavioral-health measures and improving access to prevention and support resources.