Prince George's County Council - Reference No. CB-098-2024

• Reference No.: CB-098-2024
• Draft No.: 3
• Type: Council Bill
• Status: Enacted
• Meeting Body: County Council
• Meeting Date: 11/19/2024
• Introduced Date: 10/22/2024
• Public Hearing Date: 11/19/2024 @ 10:00 AM
• Effective date: 2/4/2025
• Title: AN ACT CONCERNING BUSINESSES AND LICENSES - SHOPPING CART CONTROL for the purpose of keeping shopping carts out of communities by requiring retail businesses to label and equip shopping carts with control devices; imposing penalties on non-complaint businesses; providing for appeals of such penalties; and authorizing the promulgation of implementing regulations.
• Proposers/Sponsors: Ingrid S. Watson, Calvin S. Hawkins, Jolene Ivey, Thomas E. Dernoga, Wanika Fisher, Eric C. Olson, Edward P. Burroughs, Sydney J. Harrison, Krystal Oriadha, Wala Blegay
• Code sections: 05-275 - Reserved, 05-276 - Reserved, 05-277 - Reserved, 05-278 - Reserved, 05-279 - Reserved, 05-280 - Reserved, 05-281 - Reserved
• Contact: Eric Irving

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
12/20/2024	3	County Executive	Unsigned
11/19/2024	3	County Council	public hearing held
11/19/2024	3	County Council	enacted	Pass
10/22/2024	2	County Council	amended (1)	Pass
10/22/2024	2	County Council	amended (2)	Pass
10/22/2024	2	County Council	introduced
10/10/2024	1	Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee	Favorably recommended with amendments	Pass
9/24/2024	1	County Council	presented and referred

Title

AN ACT CONCERNING BUSINESSES AND LICENSES - SHOPPING CART CONTROL for the purpose of keeping shopping carts out of communities by requiring retail businesses to label and equip shopping carts with control devices; imposing penalties on non-complaint businesses; providing for appeals of such penalties; and authorizing the promulgation of implementing regulations.

Background

The purpose of this bill is to address the public nuisance created by abandoned shopping carts by requiring retail business owners to take reasonable steps to prevent their removal.  The bill requires large retail establishments to install security mechanisms to restrict carts from leaving the business premises by May 2025. Additionally, the bill imposes a daily fine on business owners who fail to retrieve carts found in the community within three business days. Finally, the bill authorizes DPIE to carry out compliance inspections and develop regulations to implement this legislation.