From The Banner · Ginny Bixby · · 1m 10s
Montgomery County raises fine to $5K for street takeovers
Montgomery County Council hikes street takeover fines to $5,000 after violent incidents.
In brief
Montgomery County Council hikes street takeover fines to $5,000 after violent incidents. Montgomery County raised fines for street takeovers to $5,000 to address violent incidents and property damage. Originally reported by The Banner.
Street takeover fines raised
Montgomery County Council unanimously passed a bill to raise street takeover fines from $1,000 to $5,000.
“The legislation prohibits participation in unlawful racing and street takeovers on public highways and roadways”
Violent street takeover incidents
Police arrested three suspects after a February street takeover damaged two police cruisers.
“In one instance, an officer was inside the cruiser when the rear window was broken and the windshield smashed”
Council member on safety risks
Council member Andrew Friedson said takeovers create dangerous situations threatening neighborhoods and motorists.
“Takeovers “have created really difficult and dangerous situations that threaten the safety of neighborhoods. They threaten the safety of other motorists””
First Amendment amendment debate
Council debated an amendment to protect peaceful protests but failed with only five members supporting it.
“The First Amendment should cover these activities”
Rent-gouging restrictions
Council passed bill to prohibit landlords from using algorithmic price fixing to raise rents.
“In algorithmic rent-fixing, landlords rely on companies such as Real Page, which generates prices for rental housing using public and nonpublic data from apartment building owners”
Real Page legal issues
Real Page faces lawsuits from Maryland and D.C. attorneys general over price-fixing accusations.
“In 2024, the Department of Justice opened an investigation into Real Page over accusations of price-fixing”
Montgomery Community Media governance
New rules require council and county executive to appoint one member each to MCM’s board of directors.
“The legislation will require the council and county executive to each appoint one member to MCM’s board of directors”
MCM editorial independence
Bill includes new provisions to protect MCM’s editorial independence and journalistic ethics.
“The important pieces of this bill are making sure that MCM and organizations that receive a large percentage of their budgets from taxpayer dollars are following basic open meetings and ethics rules”
The big picture
Montgomery County raised fines for street takeovers to $5,000 to address violent incidents and property damage.
