ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Lemonade: it’s sweet, refreshing, and hopefully safe for children to sell after the upcoming Maryland General Assembly session.
In just over one page of text, Delegates Neil Parrott [R-2A] and Steve Johnson [D-34A] have crafted and pre-filed a bipartisan bill that some might consider the most obscure and intriguing of the 2020 session.
HB52 explicitly protects the entrepreneurial efforts of children trying to make a couple extra bucks by selling lemonade or nonalcoholic beverages on private property. The bill extends protections across the state from imposed fines or penalties dished out by any localities, and if passed would take effect on Oct. 1, 2020.
“A municipality, a county, or any other political subdivision of the state may not adopt or enforce an ordinance, a resolution, a rule, or a regulation that prohibits or regulates including by requiring a license, permit, or fee, the occasional sale of lemonade… by a [child] from a stand on private property,” the main statute of the bill reads.
Though lemonade stands are arguably less popular than they once were, regulations and potential penalties have growingly been plaguing children nationwide in recent years. WUSA9 reported that in 2011, a Montgomery County resident was temporarily fined $500 for allowing children to sell lemonade without proper licensing from their property.
This bill likely comes as a response to a movement started by Country Time Lemonade in mid-2018 to #LegalizeLemonade. The beverage company has gone so far as to provide “Legal-Ade” to children and families across the nation who have faced fines and permitting complaints surrounding their stands.
According to Country Time’s legal support website, only 16 states have adopted legislation to protect a child-operated lemonade stand.
Though it is the kind of legislation that might bring a smile to a face, it also might make people wonder how much is going to get accomplished in the Maryland statehouse in 2020. Time will tell.
Contact Zach at zach.hill@thebaynet.com