Baltimore County Council passes inspector general legislation after chair withdraws amendments

Baltimore County legislators unanimously passed a pair of bills Monday enshrining the Office of the Inspector General into county law in a highly anticipated vote after Council Chair Julian Jones Jr. announced he was withdrawing widely criticized amendments that would have hamstrung the watchdog agency. The County Council voted 7-0 to pass two bills that codify the three-year-old office into the county charter and require public hearings and written notice to justify any future attempts to shrink the agency’s budget.