ANNAPOLIS, Md. — You could call it the revenge of the lemonade stand kids.
Nearly a decade ago, a bunch of Maryland kids were fined $500 for running a lemonade stand at their grandpa's house in Bethesda.
This year, they convinced both Republican and Democratic state delegates to introduce a bill to prohibit counties and municipalities from regulating kids' lemonade stands on private property.
Xander Alarie, now 15, still keeps photos of the confrontation on his phone.
Xander said he felt a little discouraged at the time, but now he's hoping to make a difference for other young entrepreneurs.
"Yeah, it feels pretty good," he said, first to a bank of television cameras, and then to a group of delegates gathered for the first public hearing on House Bill 52 — Local Government — Lemonade Stands — Prohibition on Regulation by Local Law.
"If we don't make a statement with this bill, what is next?" asked Del. Steve Johnson (D-Harford County), one of the sponsors. "Are the landscapers going to go after the kids who are cutting grass? Are the snow plow companies going to go after the kids who are shoveling sidewalks?"
"Allow them to be young entrepreneurs and sell lemonade from their own property," said Del. Neil Parrott (R-Washington County), who first introduced the bill.
Only 16 states in the country guarantee kids the right to set up a lemonade stand, 34 other states don't.
"He was lucky he was only fined," said GianCarlo Canaparo, of The Heritage Foundation, who was lobbying for the bill. "Under Maryland law, he could have gone to jail."
"Does every kid in town who sells lemonade have to register with the county?" one of the moms asked the county inspector during the back and forth in 2011.
"Just selling lemonade and making $5 or $10 is different from making hundreds. You have coolers and coolers full of drinks here," the inspector responded.
The kids had set up at a house next to the US Open golf tournament.
Montgomery County eventually dropped the $500 fine for the lemonade stand kids after thousands of people online criticized its response. We're still waiting to hear back from a spokesperson about whether the county is taking any position on the current bill.
The kids still remember, and they have no plans to quit until they change the law.