Maryland 2025 2025 Regular Session

Maryland House Bill HB1227 Engrossed / Bill

Filed 03/16/2025

                     
 
EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW. 
        [Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law. 
         Underlining indicates amendments to bill. 
         Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by 
amendment. 
          *hb1227*  
  
HOUSE BILL 1227 
R5, F3   	5lr0934 
      
By: Montgomery County Delegation 
Introduced and read first time: February 7, 2025 
Assigned to: Environment and Transportation 
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments 
House action: Adopted 
Read second time: March 6, 2025 
 
CHAPTER ______ 
 
AN ACT concerning 1 
 
Montgomery County – Vehicle Control and Monitoring Systems –  2 
Distribution of Contested Traffic Fines, Application, and Implementation 3 
School Bus Stops on Highways – Alterations 4 
 
MC 8–25 5 
 
FOR the purpose of requiring, beginning on a certain date, that citations issued for certain 6 
alleged traffic violations in Montgomery County provide that the penalty be paid 7 
directly to Montgomery County; requiring, beginning on a certain date, that the fines 8 
collected by Montgomery County as a result of certain traffic violations contested in 9 
the District Court be distributed in a certain manner to be used only to assist in 10 
covering the cost to construct median dividers on certain highways in Montgomery 11 
County; altering the application of and implementation date for a provision of law 12 
regarding school bus stops located on certain highways in Montgomery County; and 13 
generally relating to vehicle control and monitoring systems school bus stops on 14 
highways in Montgomery County. 15 
 
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 16 
 Article – Courts and Judicial Proceedings 17 
Section 7–302(e)(2) 18 
 Annotated Code of Maryland 19 
 (2020 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 20 
 
BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 21 
 Article – Courts and Judicial Proceedings 22  2 	HOUSE BILL 1227  
 
 
Section 7–302(e)(4)(i) and (ii) 1 
 Annotated Code of Maryland 2 
 (2020 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 3 
 
BY adding to 4 
 Article – Courts and Judicial Proceedings 5 
Section 7–302(e)(4)(vii) 6 
 Annotated Code of Maryland 7 
 (2020 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 8 
 
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 9 
 Article – Education 10 
Section 7–801.1 11 
 Annotated Code of Maryland 12 
 (2022 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 13 
 
 SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 14 
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 15 
 
Article – Courts and Judicial Proceedings 16 
 
7–302. 17 
 
 (e) (2) (i) A citation issued as the result of a vehicle height monitoring 18 
system, a traffic control signal monitoring system, a speed monitoring system, a work zone 19 
speed control system or a stop sign monitoring system controlled by a political subdivision, 20 
a school bus monitoring camera, a bus lane monitoring system, or a noise abatement 21 
monitoring system shall provide that, in an uncontested case, the penalty shall be paid 22 
directly to that political subdivision. 23 
 
 (ii) A citation issued as the result of a traffic control signal 24 
monitoring system or a work zone speed control system controlled by a State agency, or as 25 
a result of a vehicle height monitoring system, a traffic control signal monitoring system, a 26 
speed monitoring system, a stop sign monitoring system, a school bus monitoring camera, 27 
a bus lane monitoring system, or a noise abatement monitoring system in a case contested 28 
in District Court, shall provide that the penalty shall be paid directly to [the]: 29 
 
 1. BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2025, MONTGOMERY 30 
COUNTY FOR CITATIONS ISSUED FOR ALLEGED V IOLATIONS IN MONTGOMERY 31 
COUNTY; OR 32 
 
 2. THE District Court FOR CITATIONS ISSUED FOR 33 
ALLEGED VIOLATIONS I N ALL OTHER POLITICA L SUBDIVISIONS. 34 
 
 (4) (i) Except as provided in paragraph (5) of this subsection, from the 35 
fines collected by a political subdivision as a result of violations enforced by speed 36   	HOUSE BILL 1227 	3 
 
 
monitoring systems, work zone speed control systems, stop sign monitoring systems, school 1 
bus monitoring cameras, bus lane monitoring systems, or noise abatement monitoring 2 
systems, a political subdivision: 3 
 
 1. May recover the costs of implementing and administering 4 
the speed monitoring systems, work zone speed control systems, school bus monitoring 5 
cameras, bus lane monitoring systems, or noise abatement monitoring systems; and 6 
 
 2. Subject to subparagraphs (ii), (iii), and (iv) of this 7 
paragraph, may spend any remaining balance solely for public safety purposes, including 8 
pedestrian or highway safety programs. 9 
 
 (ii) 1. For any fiscal year, if the balance remaining from the fines 10 
collected by a political subdivision as a result of violations enforced by speed monitoring 11 
systems, after the costs of implementing and administering the systems are recovered in 12 
accordance with subparagraph (i)1 of this paragraph, is greater than 10% of the total 13 
revenues of the political subdivision for the fiscal year, the political subdivision shall remit 14 
any funds that exceed 10% of the total revenues to the Comptroller. 15 
 
 2. The Comptroller shall deposit any money remitted under 16 
this subparagraph to the General Fund of the State. 17 
 
 (VII) BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2025, FROM THE FINES 18 
COLLECTED BY MONTGOMERY COUNTY AS A RESULT OF CITATIONS ISSUED AND 19 
CONTESTED IN ACCORD ANCE WITH § 21–202.1, § 21–706.1, § 21–809, § 21–810, §  20 
21–1134, OR § 22–612 OF THE TRANSPORTATION ARTICLE, ANY BALANCE 21 
REMAINING AFTER THE ALLOCATION OF FINES UNDER SUBPARAGRAPH (I)1 OF THIS 22 
PARAGRAPH SHALL BE R EMITTED TO THE COMPTROLLER FOR DISTR IBUTION TO 23 
THE STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION TO BE USED ONLY TO ASSIST IN COVERING 24 
THE COST TO CONSTRUC T MEDIAN DIVIDERS ON HIGHWAYS IN MONTGOMERY 25 
COUNTY WHERE : 26 
 
 1. A SCHOOL BUS STOP IS L OCATED; AND 27 
 
 2. AT LEAST 400 CITATIONS HAVE BEEN ISSUED TO 28 
DRIVERS TRAVELING IN THE OPP OSITE DIRECTION OF T HE BUS STOP. 29 
 
Article – Education 30 
 
7–801.1. 31 
 
 (a) This section applies only [in]: 32 
 
 (1) IN Montgomery County; AND 33 
  4 	HOUSE BILL 1227  
 
 
 (2) TO A SCHOOL BUS STOP AT A LOCATION FOR WH ICH AT LEAST 400 1 
CITATIONS HAVE BEEN ISSUED WERE ISSUED IN THE PRECED ING FISCAL YEAR TO 2 
DRIVERS TRAVELING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTI ON OF THE BUS STOP . 3 
 
 (b) Beginning on December 31, [2026] 2028, a school bus stop may not be located 4 
on any highway with five or more undivided traffic lanes unless: 5 
 
 (1) A school crossing guard is posted at the school bus stop to assist 6 
students in crossing the highway; or 7 
 
 (2) A traffic control device that maintains a red signal while a student is 8 
boarding or exiting a school bus is placed at the school bus stop. 9 
 
 SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 10 
1, 2025.  11 
 
 
 
 
Approved: 
________________________________________________________________________________  
 Governor. 
________________________________________________________________________________  
  Speaker of the House of Delegates. 
________________________________________________________________________________  
         President of the Senate.