By Adam Pagnucco.
Last month, County Executive Marc Elrich told the county council that Council Member Will Jawando’s bill to require provision of menstrual products in public accommodations would be a “major challenge” to enforce. Now his administration projects that the bill would cost the county government millions of dollars too.
The county’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) prepares fiscal impact statements for all county bills. Following is what OMB said about this bill.
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Expenditures increase by $2.0 million in FY25 and $1.1 million each year thereafter. Revenues increase by $50,000 starting in FY26. This analysis assumes DHHS [Department of Health and Human Services] will require additional staff to accommodate an increased inspection workload from the bill. The new position will also require a vehicle. DHHS incurs $179,600 in the first year, and $122,000 each year thereafter. This analysis assumes that free menstrual products are provided in all public women’s and unisex restrooms in Montgomery College, Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC), and Department of General Services (DGS)-operated facilities. Combined, Montgomery College, MNCPPC, and DGS incur $1.4 million in the first year and $979,800 each year thereafter. State law already requires Montgomery County Public Schools to provide free menstrual products in all women’s restrooms by August 2025. This analysis assumes MCPS incurs $468,000 in FY25 costs to provide free menstrual products one school year earlier than the State’s required implementation date. Assuming 1 percent of DHHS’ inspections result in a violation fine, $50,000 revenue would be generated each year.
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The result of the above projections is a cost estimate of $7.3 million over six years as shown in the table below.
The difficulty of enforcing new legislation has become a theme in county government. Back in October, Elrich asked the council to delay passage of Bill 6-23, another bill by Jawando that would regulate sharing economy rentals, because the county would have difficulty enforcing it along with two other bills on rent control and short term rentals. Elrich wrote:
The Office of the Licensure and Regulatory Services within the Department of Health and Human Services is currently managing a heavy workload and is not able to meet the demands of this bill without additional resources and personnel as outlined in the Fiscal Impact Statement. As noted in the FIS, the workload impacts of this bill are not entirely known.
The Department of Health and Human Services would also be responsible for enforcing Jawando’s menstrual products bill.
While the council has not yet acted on Bill 6-23, it has passed the other two bills. The county has had to raid its reserves to pay for rent control enforcement.
As I have previously written, the executive and legislative branches naturally have different perspectives on new legislation. The legislative branch is chiefly concerned with policy merits. Would this bill have a positive impact on the county if it is passed? The executive branch is concerned with the practicalities of administration and enforcement. Legislators must consider this question: if a bill is expensive and/or impossible to enforce, is it worth passing?
That question is not considered enough inside the council building.
The administration’s fiscal impact statement for Jawando’s menstrual products bill can be downloaded below.