The bill that passed Tuesday would allow city employees to write $25 tickets for a residence and $150 for a business not cleared within 24 hours of a snowfall. Seniors and those with disabilities are exempt from residential fines. 

The measure won approval after several years of attempts from Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) to create a workable snow-shoveling enforcement regime. The fine structure is based on similar laws in New York, Boston and Philadelphia, as well as in Arlington and Prince George’s counties.
Cheh called shoveling a “safety issue” that demanded effective enforcement. 

“The law’s been on the books for 90 years,” she said Tuesday. “And now, finally, there will be a practical way to enforce it.”