WASHINGTON — The Montgomery County Council has voted to amend laws and penalties pertaining to prostitution, tobacco sales to minors and radon testing.
New prostitution penalties target people buying sex
Montgomery County police now have alternative methods of enforcement. At an officer’s discretion someone soliciting sex can be charged with either a civil or criminal offense.
“Prostitution is increasingly in this day and age a vehicle for human trafficking, probably more so than ever and this gives us a new tool to deal with it,” says Councilman Marc Elrich.
Similar to traffic violations, civil fines for buying sex could be paid immediately with violators choosing not to go to court. The theory for how that would reduce human trafficking and prostitution is that if you make penalties more expensive, fewer people will risk doing it and demand will go down.
Civil penalties for a first offense now are up to $500. Subsequent offenses could be fined up to $750. Criminal penalties for soliciting prostitution now can include jail time of up to six months and a fine of up to $1,000.
Tobacco sales to minors
Montgomery County is doubling the penalty for selling tobacco products to minors. A first offense previously punishable with a fine of up to $500 now can cost up to $1,000. Penalties for subsequent offenses can go up to $750.
“One of the questions we had was whether or not we’d be able to actually adequately enforce this new fine and penalty,” Council member Craig Rice says. “We’re appreciative of the bill that Del. Luedtke has put in that would actually bring more additional money to the county to be able to help enforce this.”
The bill proposed by Del. Eric G. Luedtke (D-Md.) would increase fees for a county license to sell cigarettes with a portion of the proceeds going toward enforcement.
Radon rule changes for single-family home sales
Radon is a cancer-causing gas you can’t see, taste or smell and is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Montgomery County’s new radon rule requires sellers to perform a test and inform buyers of the results before settlement. Maryland law does not require sellers to determine if their home has radon issues prior to sale.
“This is already part of the purchase process, anyways. It is a purchaser choice to make this a condition of a sale,” says Council member Nancy Floreen. “It continues to be a negotiated element.”
Council member Rice says free radon test kits should be made available to residents who can’t afford them during “National Radon Action Month” in January — as he says happens in Pennsylvania.
“We’re going to be looking at working with vendors to be able to do that as well,” Rice says.
