How long should the county ban ‘disruptive’ behavior?

People who behave disruptively at county facilities can get banned from them for up to 90 days.

County Executive Marc Elrich is advocating for a bill to extend that maximum to two years and to allow it to be applied to more than one facility.

At a hearing on the bill before the Montgomery County Council Tuesday, several residents testified against it, worried that it could be used by public officials to exclude people whose views they find objectionable.

One county leader responded that the intention is not to suppress speech, but to keep residents safe from behavior that is inappropriate — or worse.

The bill is sponsored by Council President Natali Fani-González, who distanced herself from it. Under county code, the county executive can introduce bills through the council president.

“I have nothing to do with that bill,” Fani-González said before the public hearing. “I really dislike the process that we have, that the council president is forced to introduce bills by the county executive.”

Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Earl Stoddard, who testified for the bill on Elrich’s behalf, told The Banner after the hearing that it’s a response to ongoing problems.

He gave the example of an individual who had more than once touched children inappropriately at a county library.

In another instance, he said, a person who had been banned from Silver Spring Aquatic Center returned with a pipe after the ban expired and threatened to hit employees with it, Stoddard said.

But speakers at Tuesday’s hearing said they worried that the bill too broadly defines disruptive behavior.

“What explicit protections would safeguard lawful speech, peaceful protest, signs, testimony, organizing and attendance at meetings?” said Dena Lebowitz of Jews United for Justice. “Political disagreement and lawful dissent should never be treated as threats.”

Brenna Olson, the advocacy manager at local nonprofit Shepherd’s Table, said she worried that the bill would hurt unhoused people.

“Banning an individual from more facilities than necessary could have an adverse effect, criminalizing individuals” rather than pursuing de-escalation, Olson said.

She gave the example of a person banned after an incident at a library who might no longer be welcome at a county-owned homeless shelter.

“We are potentially creating a system where a person experiencing homelessness is administratively excluded from public spaces” that they rely on, said Thomas Gibson, who identified himself as a resident of the Nebel Street Men’s Shelter. “That begins to look disturbingly like criminalization of presence.”

Stoddard was the only speaker who testified in support of the bill. In a written statement, Montgomery County Public Libraries also supported the legislation.

“When we handle serious situations such as bodily threats, racial slurs, fighting, or sexual misconduct, we cannot ensure that the individual will not simply move to another branch and repeat the behavior,” the statement said.

A September memo to the council from a county attorney noted that “disruptive behavior orders” related to county facilities have “increased dramatically,” from 22 in fiscal 2020 to 168 in fiscal 2024.

The memo also noted that county’s Office of Legislative Oversight could not determine the racial or social justice impact if the bill were to become law.

“Black community members who visit County facilities in downtown Silver Spring, including those who are unhoused, could be disproportionately impacted,” it said. But the office “is unable to determine if the potential burdens to community members who visit County facilities exceed the potential benefits.”

Stoddard, after Tuesday’s testimony, said the legislation could benefit from changes to protect those who give public testimony, engage in civil disobedience, are unhoused or are experiencing a mental health crisis.

The bill is aimed at others, he said: “We’re talking about individuals who make very threatening statements like, ‘I know where you live, I’m going to come after you.’”

The council’s Government and Operations and Public Safety committees will hold a joint work session on the bill at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 19. County residents can submit testimony on the legislation here.