Despite legal concerns, Prince George’s council votes to ban tobacco at convenience stores

Convenience stores in Prince George’s County will no longer be allowed to sell cigarettes and other tobacco products beginning in July, according to a bill the County Council passed by a narrow margin Tuesday — the last scheduled meeting until new members take office in December.

Six out of 11 council members voted for the measure despite questions about its legality and concerns that the prohibition would put store owners out of business.

Two council members abstained from voting on the bill. All three who voted against it questioned whether the council was stepping outside of its legal bounds.

“I do think you have issues around state law with this,” said Wanika Fisher.

“I don’t believe we have jurisdiction for this,” said Sydney Harrison.

“I believe this bill is actually illegal,” said Jolene Ivey.

One member who voted for the measure shared some of the concern.

“I wasn’t sure about the legality, which is why I asked our lawyer, who told me that it was legal,” said Edward Burroughs.

The bill allows gas station stores to continue selling tobacco and related products. But convenience stores, including those that sell groceries, household items and over-the-counter medications, would not.

Longtime lobbyist Bruce Bereano said he plans to write a letter to County Executive Aisha Braveboy asking her to veto the measure.

“Very respectfully, this bill is illegal and unconstitutional on its face. There’s no question, there’s no doubt, whatsoever,” Bereano, who has in the past represented tobacco wholesalers, said during the council meeting.

County attorneys also wrote in a memo to council Administrator David Murray that the restrictions in the bill make it “susceptible to a legal challenge.”

Attorneys from the county Office of Law — which is separate from the council and its attorneys — wrote that a court could ”conclude that the ordinance is regulating tobacco sales,” which are regulated by state law.

Council Chair Krystal Oriadha, who sponsored the bill, said she has worked to decrease the number of tobacco stores in central and southern Prince George’s County, particularly in her jurisdiction, District 7.

She said these areas have an “oversaturation” of tobacco stores.

After the bill passed, she said, “It’s sad if we say that the only way we can have a corner market or a bodega or a store in our community” is if it’s also stocked with cigarettes.

“Especially when I go into those stores, and it has no groceries,” she said. “It has chips, cereal and tobacco products. That is it.”

Mohin Uddin operates a collection of 24/7 Grocery stores in Oxon Hill, Temple Hills and National Harbor with his close friend.

Uddin, 33, said tobacco sales comprise 20% to 30% of his business’s total revenue. Losing that amount would threaten his ability to pay a host of expenses, including rent on properties where he has signed leases for as long as 20 years.

“If we can’t make payments, the only other option is to file [for] bankruptcy,” Uddin said in an interview.

Uddin said the measure will cause businesses like his to close, stripping workers of their jobs and families of their livelihoods.

In January, the county is expected to begin charging tobacco shops, liquor stores, gun stores and storage facilities $5,000 per year to operate in the county.

A coalition of 50 businesses has sued the county over the fee, claiming the council is attempting to “impose unlawful and punitive taxes.”

Uddin said he doesn’t mind paying the new fee. He sees it as a way to help the county.

He added that the $5,000 fee would pale in comparison to the millions in revenue he’s expecting to lose every month under the new restriction on tobacco sales.

“We are people who have taken risks, signed leases and hired employees, and invested in this county,” Uddin said. “We are not asking for guaranteed success. We are only for a fair chance to survive.”