Montgomery County Leaders Urge the Census Bureau to Withdraw a 2030 Rule, With Comments Due Monday

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and Council President Natali Fani-Gonzalez, on behalf of the County Council, have submitted the county's formal public comment urging the U.S. Census Bureau to withdraw a proposed rule that would change who is counted in the 2030 Census and what it asks, the county said. The comment reflects the County Council's resolution opposing the rule, which the council approved unanimously on Tuesday, October 27, according to the council's session recording reported by TANTV News.

The proposed rule, published September 10 as 91 FR 57524, would leave out every resident who is not a U.S. citizen or green-card holder, including students and workers on visas, DACA recipients, TPS holders and asylees, the county said. It would remove race and ethnicity questions, asked in every census since 1790, bar questions on sexual orientation, and count people where administrative and tax records place them instead of where they live, according to the county's summary. A later Federal Register notice extended the comment period to Monday, November 2.

Taken together, county officials said, the changes would cost Montgomery County federal funding for a full decade without reducing the number of residents it serves, and would strip away the data the county uses to enforce civil rights and voting rights laws. "The Constitution says count every person," Elrich said in the county's release. "We're telling the Census Bureau to drop this rule and do its job: count everyone, once, and in the right place."

"Montgomery County deserves a census that reflects everyone who lives here," Council President Fani-Gonzalez said. Comments on the proposed rule are due November 2 through regulations.gov.