BALTIMORE — Should restaurants in Baltimore have to pay a big fine if they serve students during school hours?
That is what city council members discussed during their first meeting to the year Monday night.
Councilman Kristerfer Burnett introduced a bill that will double the penalties for businesses during school hours from $500 to $1,000.
It's a curfew that's already a Baltimore City Law, prohibiting businesses from serving children under 16 when school is in session.
That's between the hours of 7:30 a.m. until 3 in the afternoon.
The law currently says businesses can face fines of up to $500 if the student is served or remains on the property during those hours.
But Councilman Burnett says this doesn't seem to be enough to make businesses follow the law.
He's proposing the fine be raised to $1,000.
"Clearly the fine amount hasn't been a deterrent because people continue to do it. When people drop their kids off to school every day, they expect they stay in school all day. They don't think they should be crossing the street to grab a chicken box or hit a 7/11, they should be in school, they should be learning,” said Burnett.
This comes a little less than a week after five kids were shot in front of the Popeyes in the Edmondson Village Shopping Center, resulting in one 16-year-old's death.
RELATED: Five high school students shot at Edmondson Village Shopping Center
Harold Diggs is president of the Southwest Neighborhood Community Development Corporation, he says businesses in that shopping center were warned about the law and agreed to comply, while one preferred the business from students.
"Popeyes, when we went in to talk to them, their blatant statement back to me was I’ll just pay the fine. Literally, that's the only answer i ever got from them,” said Diggs.
The president of the Edmondson Village Community Association, Monique Washington said "These store owners don't understand the severity of what they're doing when you go against the rules and the laws for the city.”
She says on the day of the shooting she asked councilman Burnett to raise the fines.
But feels this needs to be more of a community effort with schools, police and businesses all working together to make the change.
"It takes a village, to raise our babies. We got to go back to that and when you keep letting kids just continuously do things without following rules and regulations, you’re sending a message that its ok when it's not, “said Washington.
The next meeting to discuss the bill will be introduced at the next City Council meeting.
