(a) Definitions. In this Section, the following terms have the meaning indicated.
Business means a business that has an “other tobacco products retailer” license, a food license, a license for on-site cannabis consumption, or a liquor license where the products sold are consumed on-site at tables or at other areas designated for consumption by the business.
Business does not include lodging or hospitals, as those terms are defined under Chapter 59.
Department means the Office of the County Executive or one or more offices or departments designated by the County Executive.
Late night business means any business that:
(1) is open to the public at any time between 2:00 AM and 5:00 AM; or
(2) is open to the public at any time between midnight and 2:00 AM and, within the previous 12 months, has been the subject of 2 or more service calls for law enforcement regarding alleged serious incidents occurring on or originating from the premises.
Late night business safety plan means a plan approved by the Department in accordance with this Section.
Relevant departments mean the Montgomery County Police Department, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Permitting Services, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Regional Service Centers, and the Board of License Commissioners.
Serious incident means a crime identified as a serious incident by the Department in Method (2) regulations.
(b) Requirements.
(1) Without first submitting a proposed late night business safety plan to the Department, a person must not operate a late night business:
(A) between the hours of 2:00 AM and 5:00 AM; and
(B) between the hours of midnight and 2:00 AM, if the business is a late night business under paragraph (2) of the definition of late night business.
(2) After the Department provides written notice that the Department has disapproved a proposed late night business plan, a person must not operate the late night business:
(A) between the hours of 2:00 AM and 5:00 AM; and
(B) between the hours of midnight and 2:00 AM, if the business is a late night business under paragraph (2) of the definition of late night business.
(3) After the Department approves a proposed late night business safety plan, a person who owns or operates the late night business must do so in accordance with that approved plan.
(4) A late night business plan expires three years after approval, after which a late night business must obtain a new approved late night business plan from the Department in order to continue operating:
(A) between the hours of 2:00 AM and 5:00 AM; and
(B) between the hours of midnight and 2:00 AM, if the business is a late night business under paragraph (2) of the definition of late night business.
(c) Regulations. The Department, after consultation with other relevant departments, must promulgate Method (2) regulations to implement the requirements of this Section. The regulations must establish:
(1) the process for the owner or operator of a late night business to submit a proposed late night business safety plan to the Department;
(2) the process for the Department to consider and approve, after consultation with other relevant departments, a proposed late night business safety plan;
(3) a process for the Department and other relevant agencies to provide training to businesses regarding safety and to periodically verify compliance with a late night business safety plan;
(4) in consultation with relevant departments, a template that a late night business must use to submit a proposed late night business safety plan; and
(5) the minimum requirements of a late night business safety plan, which:
(A) must require:
(i) an emergency evacuation plan;
(ii) 24-hour contact information for the business owner or manager;
(iii) exterior bathroom doors that are free opening at all times, if the bathroom facilities use bathroom stalls;
(iv) an acknowledgement that the business has received late night business training from the County; and
(v) an acknowledgement that the business is in compliance with applicable law, and a statement regarding any resolved or pending citations issued by a government entity within the prior 3 years; and
(B) may require, with written justification, any or all of the following:
(i) security personnel and training;
(ii) exterior lighting; and
(iii) high-definition digital security cameras that provide video monitoring and recording, without audio recording capacity, of the interior and exterior of each entryway into the late night business and the cash register or till.
(d) Security Camera Requirements. If a late night business safety plan requires the use of security cameras, then the plan must also require that the late night business owner or operator post signage in a conspicuous location on the interior and exterior of the business notifying the public that the late night business is subject to video surveillance monitoring.
(e) The Department must not require a late night business to:
(1) search patrons by the use of metal detectors, magnetometers, or pat downs; or
(2) provide video recordings to the Department or other relevant departments except as required by law.
(f) Appeals. A late night business may appeal the disapproval of a plan, or the identification of a business as a late night business under paragraph (2) of the definition of late night business, to the Board of Appeals under Chapter 2.
(g) Penalty for violating Section.
(1) Any violation of this Section is a class A violation.
(2) Each day a violation continues is a separate offense.
(h) Voluntary plans for certain businesses.
(1) Any business that operates between the hours of midnight and 2:00 AM may submit to the Department a late night business safety plan.
(2) The Department must:
(A) review a plan submitted under this subsection; and
(B) provide recommendations to the business regarding the plan.
(i) Grant program.
(1) Program established. There is a late night business safety grant program.
(2) Criteria to receive a grant. A late night business, or a business that has submitted a plan and agrees to implement Department recommendations under subsection (h), may qualify to receive a grant under the program if:
(A) the grant is used solely to offset the costs of implementing an approved or recommended late night business safety plan; and
(B) the grant application is submitted in the form and manner prescribed by the Department.
(3) Funding and limitations.
(A) Grants provided under the program are subject to appropriation.
(B) The Department must prioritize awarding grants to late night businesses over awarding grants to businesses that submit plans voluntarily under subsection (h).
(C) The Department may seek federal or state funding to support the program.
(j) Annual Reporting. The Department annually must report to the County Council regarding:
(1) plans reviewed under this Section;
(2) late night businesses that have not submitted late night business safety plans;
(3) recommendations for the improvement of late night business safety;
(4) grants provided under this Section; and
(5) crime data for the area of each late night business before and after the approval of a late night business safety plan for the business. (2023 L.M.C., ch. 17, § 1.)
Editor’s note—2023 L.M.C., ch. 17
, §§ 2 and 3, state: Sec. 2. Implementation. The Department must promulgate and submit proposed regulations to the Council for review within 180 days after this Act becomes law. Within 90 days after notice of the approved regulations is published in the County Register, each late night business must submit a proposed late night business safety plan to the Department for review. The County Executive should make a good faith attempt to notify each affected late night business of its obligation to submit a proposed safety plan.
Sec. 3. Expedited Effective Date; Transition. The Council declares that this legislation is necessary for the immediate protection of the public interest. This Act takes effect on the date on which it becomes law. The requirements of Section 35-13D(b), added by Section 1 of this Act, must not take effect until 90 days after notice of approved regulations is published in the County Register under Section 2 of this Act.