The new regulations mandates that retailers that operate overnight must have a surveillance system with at least three cameras that can record 24 hours at a time.
In addition, stores must have drop safes bolted to the floor. Gas stations open all night have to use a window-only access overnight.
Businesses will have a year to install two cameras, one above the cash register and one above the entrance. Within three years, a camera facing the parking lot must be installed, according to a report from WTTG-TV.
In Maryland, violence at convenience stores and gas stations accounted for about 27 percent of commercial robberies in last November.