Parts of Md. Enter Stage 2 on Friday; MVA Expanding Services
Dear WANADA Members,
Yesterday, Maryland Gov.
Larry Hogan announced the state would allow counties to move to "stage two" of the state's
Roadmap to Recovery, beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday. Stage two will allow many non-essential retailers to expand their walk-in indoor operations, while continuing to adhere to capacity limits and social distancing requirements. Like past orders,
the latest executive order allows counties to delay implementation, similar to the
delay in Northern Virginia.
Charles, Howard, Calvert, St. Mary's to Enter Stage 2; A.A., Fred. Unclear
With that in mind, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced
his county would fully enter stage two right away at 5 p.m. Friday. Earlier this afternoon,
Charles County also approved a full transition into stage two, beginning Friday. Calvert and St. Mary's counties will also enter stage two immediately. Since at least last Friday, dealership showrooms in all of these counties have already been able to offer walk-in sales services to the general public at up to 50 percent capacity.
That said, because these counties have will all fully adopt the stage two orders, businesses in the jurisdictions above will now explicitly be operating under the same streamlined state-level capacity and distancing guidelines.
Baltimore, Carroll, and Harford counties, plus all nine counties on the Eastern Shore and the three in western Maryland, will also move into stage two on Friday.
The leaders of
Anne Arundel and Frederick counties have not announced their stage two timelines as of now, but essential retailers in both counties, including auto dealerships, are already allowed to offer walk-in interior sales services under the terms of their latest orders.
Frederick County's latest stage one order adopts the 50 percent capacity limit for essential retailers. Under
Anne Arundel's latest stage one order, the county mandates a capacity limit of "one customer or staff per 150 square feet of public area," up to 50 percent maximum capacity.
In the city of Baltimore, which has not yet fully implemented the state's stage one order, Mayor Jack Young will announce the city's latest plans at a press conference tomorrow.
Montgomery, Prince George's Staying in Stage One for Now
Similarly, Montgomery and Prince George's counties will not be changing their current modified stage one operating statuses at this time. Montgomery County Executive
Marc Elrich said the county is working to see if any of the governor's stage two components can fit within the
Reopening Montgomery framework. Dealerships can continue conducting interior sales by appointment and with a low patron capacity, and certain additional retailers can offer curbside pickup, under the county's current
stage one order.
Similarly, Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks
announced today that the county will also remain in their version of stage one for the time being.
Please click here to view County Executive Alsobrooks' latest stage one order, which went into effect this past Monday. Under
the parameters of the stage one order in Prince George's, in-person auto dealership sales services can continue with limited capacity, and on a by-appointment basis, much as they have been since late March.
When fully implemented, Maryland's version of a stage two re-opening will also allow a broader range of businesses that had not previously
been allowed to open under the stage-one order from mid-May, including a large number of retail stores, to once again welcome customers inside. All businesses must limit patron capacity to 50 percent of their published maximum, and to adhere to social distancing guidelines
published by the state and
the CDC.
The statewide
face covering requirement for business employees, along with patrons of interior businesses, remains in effect.
As with previous executive orders, these edicts are enforceable by both state and local health authorities, and we encourage you to diligently comply with these orders, even as they are relaxed from where we were over the past two months.
MVA to Expand In-Person Services
The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration
also announced today that it will be resuming in-person services for the public at select locations across the state, beginning on June 8. Please see
the MVA Bulletin for a full list of locations, or visit the
MVA's website. Some of the locations include those in Gaithersburg, White Oak, Largo, Waldorf, Frederick, Columbia, and the state's flagship location in Glen Burnie.
The MVA announced earlier this week that tag and title agencies would be able to
drop off paperwork at all MVA branches throughout the state. We appreciate the MVA's commitment to providing dealer services throughout the pandemic, including offering
limited in-person processing services in Glen Burnie since late March. As always, we encourage our dealers to take advantage of the state's
online services portal whenever possible.
Summary
We appreciate your patience during this difficult time; certainly, the patchwork of restrictions from county to county in Maryland has not made compliance easy for many of our member dealers and suppliers who do business across the state. We are always here for you to help provide guidance and clarity, so that you can conduct business in a way that is both compliant and safe for your customers and employees.
As always, please feel free to contact me or Joe Koch (
jk@wanada.org) with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
