The Montgomery County Council unanimously approved Tuesday morning bills banning e-cigarette use in many public places and prohibiting pet stores from doing business with puppy mills, and another that changes the dates of scheduled increases in the minimum wage.
The e-cigarette bill prohibits the use of nicotine vaporizers in public places where smoking is prohibited, such as restaurants and workplaces. The bill also requires retail outlets to sell liquid nicotine containers in child-resistant packaging.
Although the safety of e-cigarettes, which come in many forms but all use a heating element to create nicotine vapor, is currently being debated, council members said they believed the safety of young people was at risk due to use of the products. Most products produce little odor and may seem safe for children to use, possibly exposing them to nicotine addiction, according to the bill’s sponsor, council member Nancy Floreen. They also come in a range of flavors including candy and fruit flavors that may be attractive to kids.
“I am not willing to gamble with the health of our current generation of young people by waiting for federal regulations,” Floreen said in a statement. “The council did the right thing by putting these protections in place.”
The bill is scheduled to go into effect 91 days after being signed by County Executive Ike Leggett.
Puppy Mill Ban
The council also unanimously passed a bill to ban the sale of dogs and cats raised in “puppy mills” at local pet stores. The bill mandates that pet stores in the county only sell rescued animals or those that come from shelters.
Council President George Leventhal, the primary sponsor of the legislation, said Tuesday the bill received an “overwhelmingly positive response” from the community and that other jurisdictions such as Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Diego have already enacted a similar law.
The bill won’t affect any local stores because there are none currently selling puppies. The only pet store selling puppies in the county is Just Puppies in Rockville, however it won’t be affected by the law because it’s under the city’s jurisdiction.
Council member Marc Elrich said the county is fortunate not to have retail stores selling puppies, but said Rockville officials would have to deal with any issues that may arise at the one located there.
“This was the right thing to do,” Elrich said.
Minimum Wage Effective Dates Changed
The council also unanimously agreed to shift scheduled minimum wage increases from Oct. 1 to July 1 in 2016 and 2017.
The two dates were changed to align with the state’s scheduled increase in the minimum wage.
The council was originally planning to also shift this year’s date to from Oct. 1 to July 1, but decided against it after many businesses said they had already completed their budgets for this year.
On Oct. 1, the minimum wage is scheduled to increase from $8.40 to $9.55 per hour. On July 1, 2016, it’s scheduled to rise to $10.75 per hour and to $11.50 in 2017 in Montgomery County.
