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Local legislation to expand the voting rights of the student member of the Montgomery County school board and to allow wineries to sell their product at farmer's markets in the county took a step forward Friday.

The county's House delegation voted in favor of the bills, which likely will be filed in the General Assembly ahead of a deadline later this week. Bills filed after the deadline are considered late and must be approved by the House Rules Committee in order to move forward.

One bill would give the student member of the county school board the right to vote on collective bargaining agreements, capital and operating budgets and school closings, reopenings and boundary lines.

The student member, who is elected by county middle and high school students, currently is prohibited from voting on such issues.

The student member still would be prohibited from voting on suspensions and firings of teachers, issues that could drag on for several years beyond the student's one-year term.

The bill, sponsored by Del. Anne R. Kaiser and Del. Tom Hucker, received a 19 to 1 favorable vote. Del. Luiz R. S. Simmons (D-Dist. 17) of Rockville voted unfavorable.

"We've had very high quality, very sophisticated student members of the board for years," said Hucker (D-Dist. 20) of Silver Spring, who was one of three delegates absent from Friday's voting session. "It makes sense if you're going to have student members to make that a real job and not a ceremonial post."

Students should have the right to vote for their representative on the board, just as adults do, Hucker said.

"Students are really the consumers of the school system as much as the taxpayers are," he said.

Students who run for the board are thoroughly vetted by student nominating committees, said Kaiser (D-Dist. 14) of Burtonsville.

"By the time they are on the school board, they have had to jump through so many hoops and other things," she said.

The wineries bill, sponsored by House delegation Chairman Brian J. Feldman (D-Dist. 15) of Potomac, would grant permits to wineries to sell wine at state-sponsored farmers' markets in the county. The Maryland Department of Agriculture's Web site lists 14 farmers' markets in Montgomery County.

The bills could be withdrawn should they receive an unfavorable reception from the Senate delegation, which has yet to act on the legislation.

Wineries would not be permitted to sell wine by the glass at the markets, only tastings and bottles for home consumption.

The bill is seen as a way to market county wineries. A statewide bill to allow direct shipping of wine to and from Maryland has met resistance in the Senate.

As local legislation, the bills must be approved for sponsorship by the county delegation before being introduced in the General Assembly. They would apply to Montgomery County only.

The delegation voted 16 to 1 in favor of the bill. Del. Saqib Ali (D-Dist. 39) of Gaithersburg voted unfavorable.

For a full list of legislation being considered by the delegation, go to www.montgomerycountydelegation.com/ or call 301-858-3010.