Starting Saturday, shoppers in three Northern Virginia communities will have to pay 5 cents for plastic bags, District residents will no longer be able to use gas-powered leaf blowers to clean their yards, and predominantly Black and Latino sections of Maryland’s Montgomery County will gain a stronger voice in local government.
Wp Get the full experience.Choose your plan ArrowRight
Those changes are part of a host of new laws that will take effect in Virginia, the District and Maryland when 2022 begins.
The actions taken by local and state officials are in part an effort to emerge from an array of challenges seen in 2021: the continuing coronavirus pandemic, percolating racial and ethnic tensions amid changing demographics and heightened worries about climate change after unusually heavy rainstorms flooded local neighborhoods.
Story continues below advertisement
“We have worked hard to build a Virginia that works better for everyone who lives here,” Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said in a statement about the new laws in his state, which Republican Glenn Youngkin, the governor-elect, will oversee after he is inaugurated on Jan. 15.
Advertisement
Among them is an increase in Virginia’s minimum wage to $11 per hour from the current $9.50 per hour, an effort to bridge the yawning wealth gap in the some of the nation’s most affluent suburbs. Under a law that boosts in phases what Virginians can earn, the minimum wage is scheduled to rise again, to $12 per hour, in January 2023.
Another new law in Virginia will allow undocumented immigrants to get a state-issued ID if they don’t already have a state “driver privilege card” that, under a 2020 law, allows that population to drive. Undocumented immigrants who don’t drive can use the new “special identification card” to open a bank account or rent a home, a layer of stability that immigrant advocates have sought for years.
Story continues below advertisement
Virginia’s General Assembly also passed a law that, as of Saturday, requires portions of Route 1 that are named after Confederate President Jefferson Davis to be called “Emancipation Highway,” part of the reckoning over the state’s Civil War legacy that has included removing Confederate monuments and renaming other roads and highways.
Advertisement
Confederate pride and the Chamber of Commerce: Richmond Lee statue finally gives up its time capsule secrets.
In the realm of climate change, a new state law requires owners of flood-prone properties to disclose that risk to potential buyers. Locally, Fairfax and Arlington counties and the city of Alexandria will implement a 5-cent surcharge on plastic shopping bags that is aimed at curbing pollution in the region’s waterways, roads and open spaces — a step the District, Montgomery County and other area localities have already taken.
Local officials say the surcharge, which does not apply to plastic bags used to carry out meat and produce, is meant to change consumer behavior over time. Any revenue generated will go toward environmental cleanup programs, educational awareness and providing reusable bags to low-income residents who would be most affected by the extra cost.
Story continues below advertisement
“It would be great if we didn’t collect a single nickel, as that would mean people in Fairfax County are not using disposable plastic bags at grocery stores, convenience stores and drugstores,” said Aline Althen, spokesperson for that county’s Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination.
Advertisement
In the District, a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers that was approved in 2018 will take effect Saturday — a delayed implementation that allowed the city and others affected time to switch to more eco-friendly electric leaf blowers or some other alternative.
The ban on gas-powered blowers comes with a potential $500 fine for violators, the culmination of a fight that began in 2016 against the notorious polluters, which can be as loud as heavy traffic and cause health problems for people who breathe their fumes.
Story continues below advertisement
An environmental regulation passed by the D.C. Council in 2020 — the Zero Waste Omnibus Amendment Act — has several provisions that take effect Saturday. Most affect the government and trash collection companies, but residents might notice one: Restaurants will be barred by law from simply giving out plasticware with every meal.
Advertisement
Instead, they must only hand out plastic forks and spoons to people who ask for them — an idea meant to keep unwanted plastic from ending up in landfills. The law also requires food-delivery apps to offer an option on their order forms asking D.C. users whether they want forks with their fries.
The Department of Energy and Environment will scroll through those apps in the new year to make sure they’re following the law, said D.C. Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), who first introduced the zero-waste bill in 2019.
Leaf is collection behind schedule in D.C., leaving piles of leaves that can clog drains or start fires
Cheh said the department will first work to educate restaurants that violate the provision, offering grants to help cover any costs incurred by the change. After about six months, a fine will go into effect, she said.
Story continues below advertisement
The District’s new ward boundaries also go into effect on Saturday, meaning that some residents will find themselves officially represented by different council members in the new year. But, under the decennial redistricting law, residents whose neighborhoods have been redistricted do not need to change their parking stickers.
Advertisement
In Maryland, low-income individuals who are pregnant will become eligible to receive health care under Medicaid for as long as a year after they give birth, instead of the current 60-day period.
Hospitals in the state must begin relaxing their debt collection policies for low-income patients. They can no longer charge interest or additional fees on an incurred debt and must wait at least 180 days after the initial charge before suing patients who are unable to pay their bill, with a mandate to seek to modify terms of payment beforehand.
Story continues below advertisement
Locally, Montgomery County will begin implementing a new council district map that creates two seats in underrepresented portions of the county, bringing the total number of district seats on the council to seven, plus four at-large seats.
The new map is meant to reflect the surge of Black, Latino and Asian residents in Maryland’s most populous jurisdiction.
Advertisement
One of the newly drawn districts extends from Four Corners through Burtonsville, while leaving downtown Silver Spring in District 5, currently represented by Montgomery County Council President Tom Hucker (D). The seat will become open in 2022 because Hucker plans to run for county executive.
Story continues below advertisement
The redistricting map also breaks up District 1, which stretches from Poolesville to Bethesda and is represented by council member Andrew Friedson (D). A new district will be structured around Wheaton, home to a large Latino population.
In Montgomery’s long-neglected east county, a new map stirs hope for stronger representation
“This map tells the story of Montgomery County,” former council member Valerie Ervin, who served on the county’s redistricting commission, said after the new map was approved. “Hopefully an outgrowth of this map is that we’ll see more people running for council seats who we haven’t seen before. … More Latino candidates, more Asian candidates, more Black candidates.”
Advertisement
Montgomery County also will start requiring landlords to install window guards for any units inhabited by children ages 10 or younger if the tenant requests one, a response to the death of a 2-year-old boy who fell out of his window in June.
In downtown Silver Spring, a new business improvement district will be formally established Saturday, giving local business owners more control over marketing and promotional activities.