Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott intends to sign a bill passed Monday that would ban the use of gas-powered leaf blowers within city limits, phasing in a $250 fine for repeat violations after the law comes into full effect in late 2026.

The bill doesn’t include any criminal penalties for violations. Once it becomes law, the ordinance would be enforced through citations issued by Baltimore Police and representatives from other city agencies. After giving an initial warning, officials can issue a citation to anyone operating a gas-powered leaf blower once they are banned.

The version of the bill that passed Monday with two-thirds of the City Council voting in favor would first prohibit city entities, contractors and subcontractors from using gas-powered leaf blowers starting Dec. 15. After that, private use by people and landscaping companies will only be permitted the next two years during the fall — from Oct. 15 to Dec. 15.

The ordinance would take full effect, fully prohibiting all people from using the gas-powered devices, after Dec. 15, 2026.

The law would be enforced through environmental and civil citations. Residents would be able to self-report violations by providing a written statement and photographic evidence.

The bill doesn’t explicitly define which city agency is responsible for enforcing the new law, but does refer to enforcement officers, which includes police officers and “special enforcement officers” from the city’s health, housing, transportation, fire, public works and parks departments.

District 8 Councilman Kristerfer Burnett, one of the bill’s sponsors, said the city’s Department of Housing and Community Development is responsible for implementing the bill in 2026, but DHCD spokesperson Tammy Hawley told The Baltimore Sun that DHCD is not currently aware of an enforcement responsibility.

Violations would fall under the city’s health code. A spokesperson for the city’s health department did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.

The proposed ordinance says that on a first offense, enforcing officers must first order a person to “cease and desist” from using gas-powered equipment. On a subsequent offense, anyone found in violation is subject to the $250 fine.

Asked whether the bill would direct the focus of police away from other issues like violent crime, Burnett said he thinks that’s “a stretch.”

The bill’s lead sponsor, District 3 Councilman Ryan Dorsey, did not respond to a request for comment. A Baltimore Police spokesperson referred questions about how the law will be enforced to the City Council and noted the department’s policy for issuing civil citations.

The law allows for violations to be handled as either civil citations, which can be disputed in district court, or environmental citations, which are issued by city officials and can be contested at the city’s Environmental Control Board, a quasi-judicial panel that handles fines for certain nuisance offenses.

The bill comes as municipalities across the U.S. take aim at gas-powered leaf blowers, with towns and states passing laws to restrict their use citing concerns about the devices’ burning of fossil fuels and the loud noise that they produce. Annapolis’ City Council passed a bill in February banning gas-powered leaf blowers and other sound-emitting devices used for deterring pests. Annapolis’ ban on gas leaf blowers, part of the city’s noise ordinance, takes effect Dec. 30.

While Baltimore’s Recreation and Parks department said in a report on the bill that it had been transitioning to battery-powered leaf blowers “over the last several years,” other agencies noted there would be a financial cost to their transition.

The Baltimore Department of Transportation said in its report that it had “concerns about the potential impacts” of the legislation due to the scale of the agency’s landscaping operations, noting that it would cost between $8,500 and $17,000 to replace its stock of gas-powered leaf blowers with battery-operated equipment, or up to $38,000 for more powerful equipment.

The city’s Department of Public Works said in a report that it would cost $41,000 for its water facilities division to replace 18 gas-powered leaf blowers it has on hand. While that division, which manages “vast areas of wooded watershed around Baltimore’s reservoirs,” would need more expensive leaf blowers built for “longer hours and heavier use,” DPW’s solid waste division could use less powerful blowers and replace its 24 gas-powered blowers for around $9,000, spokesperson Jennifer Combs said.

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