Howard County, MD Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

502 define and penalize loitering. 'Loiter' means to idle, stand, remain, gather, or be part of a group on commercial premises without conducting lawful business with the owner or operator, or to overstay after being told to leave. 'Commercial premises' reaches beyond the storefront itself: it expressly includes adjacent parking lots and the sidewalks the public uses to reach the business. 501(a) makes it a crime to loiter on or about commercial premises during ordinary business hours once the owner, operator, or an authorized agent has asked the person to leave; a manager or security guard counts as an authorized agent.

501(b) separately bans a person or group from assembling on a public sidewalk anywhere in the county and conducting themselves so as to unnecessarily interfere with its use as a thoroughfare, but the section expressly carves out 'orderly picketing or other lawful assembly,' so peaceful demonstrations are not swept in. The ordinance dates to Council Bill 25, 1971, and was last amended by Council Bill 32, 1985, which folded enforcement into the county's civil-penalty scheme. 00 fine, up to ten days in jail, or both, at the court's discretion.

As an alternative or in addition to criminal prosecution, the Howard County Police Department may instead issue a civil citation under Title 24, Subtitle 1 of the County Code; a loitering violation is classified there as a Class D civil offense.