EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
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SENATE BILL 281
P1, R7 5lr0607
CF 5lr2420
By: Senators Simonaire, Salling, Jennings, Gallion, Mautz, and Bailey
Introduced and read first time: January 10, 2025
Assigned to: Judicial Proceedings and Education, Energy, and the Environment
A BILL ENTITLED
AN ACT concerning 1
Transportation Equality for Service Members Act 2
FOR the purpose of establishing rules of interpretation related to the uniformed services; 3
altering the rule of interpretation for “veteran”; altering the application of certain 4
provisions of law governing transportation to apply to all uniformed services, rather 5
than only certain uniformed services; and generally relating to veterans and 6
uniformed services. 7
BY renumbering 8
Article – Transportation 9
Section 11–103.4 10
to be Section 11–103.5 11
Annotated Code of Maryland 12
(2020 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 13
BY adding to 14
Article – General Provisions 15
Section 1–101.1, 1–101.2, 1–103.1, 1–114.1, 1–114.2, and 1–116 16
Annotated Code of Maryland 17
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 18
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 19
Article – General Provisions 20
Section 1–117 21
Annotated Code of Maryland 22
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 23
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 24
Article – State Government 25
Section 9–901 26
Annotated Code of Maryland 27 2 SENATE BILL 281
(2021 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 1
BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 2
Article – Transportation 3
Section 11–101, 12–301(i)(4)(i), 13–616.2(a)(2)(ii)1., 16–115(a)(1) and (2), and 4
23–202(a)(1) 5
Annotated Code of Maryland 6
(2020 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 7
BY adding to 8
Article – Transportation 9
Section 11–101.1, 11–101.2, 11–103.4, 11–148.2, 11–158.1, 11–174.2, and 11–178 10
Annotated Code of Maryland 11
(2020 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 12
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 13
Article – Transportation 14
Section 12–301(i)(4)(ii)1., 13–402.1(c), 13–616.2(a)(2)(ii)2.B., 13–619.1(a)(2) and (3), 15
(c), and (d)(1), 13–619.4(b) and (c), 13–810(f), 16–102(a)(7), 16–111(e)(1) and 16
(4), 16–115(d)(1), and 23–206.2(c) 17
Annotated Code of Maryland 18
(2020 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 19
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND , 20
That Section(s) 11–103.4 of Article – Transportation of the Annotated Code of Maryland be 21
renumbered to be Section(s) 11–103.5. 22
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Laws of Maryland read 23
as follows: 24
Article – General Provisions 25
1–101.1. 26
“ACTIVE DUTY” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 9–901 OF THE STATE 27
GOVERNMENT ARTICLE. 28
1–101.2. 29
“ACTIVE SERVICE MEMBER ” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 9–901 OF THE 30
STATE GOVERNMENT ARTICLE. 31
1–103.1. 32
“ARMED FORCES ” HAS THE MEANING STATED IN § 9–901 OF THE STATE 33
GOVERNMENT ARTICLE. 34 SENATE BILL 281 3
1–114.1. 1
“RESERVE COMPONENT ” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 9–901 OF THE STATE 2
GOVERNMENT ARTICLE. 3
1–114.2. 4
“SERVICE MEMBER ” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 9–901 OF THE STATE 5
GOVERNMENT ARTICLE. 6
1–116. 7
“UNIFORMED SERVICES ” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 9–901 OF THE STATE 8
GOVERNMENT ARTICLE. 9
1–117. 10
With respect to any State program of benefits, rights, or privileges applicable to a 11
veteran under this Code, “veteran” includes[, if the individual is eligible under 38 U.S.C. § 12
101, a member of the commissioned corps of: 13
(1) the Public Health Service; or 14
(2) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or its 15
predecessor, the Coast and Geodetic Survey] AN INDIVIDUAL WHO ME ETS THE 16
DEFINITION OF “VETERAN” UNDER § 9–901 OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT ARTICLE. 17
Article – State Government 18
9–901. 19
(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. 20
(B) “ACTIVE DUTY” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN 37 U.S.C. § 101. 21
(C) “ACTIVE SERVICE MEMBER” MEANS AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS: 22
(1) AN ACTIVE DUTY MEMBE R OF THE UNIFORMED S ERVICES; OR 23
(2) SERVING IN A RESERVE COMPONENT OF THE UNI FORMED 24
SERVICES ON ACTIVE D UTY ORDERS. 25
(D) “ARMED FORCES ” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN 10 U.S.C. § 101. 26
4 SENATE BILL 281
[(b)] (E) “Board” means the Board of Trustees of the Maryland Veterans Trust. 1
[(c)] (F) “Department” means the Department of Veterans and Military 2
Families. 3
(G) “MILITARY FAMILY ” INCLUDES THE SPOUSE AND DEPENDENT 4
CHILDREN OF A SERVIC E MEMBER OR VETERAN RELATED BY BLOOD, MARRIAGE, OR 5
ADOPTION. 6
(H) “RESERVE COMPONENT ” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN 37 U.S.C. § 101. 7
[(d)] (I) “Secretary” means the Secretary of Veterans and Military Families. 8
(J) “SERVICE MEMBER ” MEANS AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS A MEMBER OF: 9
(1) THE UNIFORMED SERVICES ; OR 10
(2) A RESERVE COMPONENT OF THE UNIFORMED SER VICES. 11
[(e)] (K) “Trust” means the Maryland Veterans Trust. 12
(L) “UNIFORMED SERVICES ” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN 37 U.S.C. § 101. 13
[(f)] (M) Except as otherwise provided [in this subtitle], “veteran” [means an 14
individual who served on active duty in the armed forces of the United States, other than 15
for training, and was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable] HAS 16
THE MEANING STATED I N 38 U.S.C. § 101. 17
Article – Transportation 18
11–101. 19
In the Maryland Vehicle Law, the following words have the meanings indicated, 20
unless the context requires otherwise. 21
11–101.1. 22
“ACTIVE DUTY” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 9–901 OF THE STATE 23
GOVERNMENT ARTICLE. 24
11–101.2. 25
“ACTIVE SERVICE MEMBER ” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 9–901 OF THE 26
STATE GOVERNMENT ARTICLE. 27 SENATE BILL 281 5
11–103.4. 1
“ARMED FORCES ” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 9–901 OF THE STATE 2
GOVERNMENT ARTICLE. 3
11–148.2. 4
“RESERVE COMPONENT ” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 9–901 OF THE STATE 5
GOVERNMENT ARTICLE. 6
11–158.1. 7
“SERVICE MEMBER ” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 9–901 OF THE STATE 8
GOVERNMENT ARTICLE. 9
11–174.2. 10
“UNIFORMED SERVICES ” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 9–901 OF THE STATE 11
GOVERNMENT ARTICLE. 12
11–178. 13
“VETERAN” HAS THE MEANING STATED IN § 9–901 OF THE STATE 14
GOVERNMENT ARTICLE. 15
12–301. 16
(i) (4) (i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the 17
Administration may issue a temporary renewal for an identification card that extends the 18
expiration date for a period not exceeding 2 years for an applicant who: 19
1. Has the documentation required by federal law, as 20
enumerated in subsection (a)(4) and (5) of this section, on file with the Administration; 21
2. Has a photograph on file with the Administration that will 22
not be 16 years old or older by the expiration date of the temporary renewal; and 23
3. Has an identification card that was issued for the full term 24
under paragraph (1) of this subsection. 25
(ii) The Administration may make temporary renewal of an 26
identification card available to: 27
1. An active [duty] SERVICE member [of the armed forces of 28 6 SENATE BILL 281
the United States] or a spouse or dependent of the ACTIVE SERVICE member; 1
13–402.1. 2
(c) If a nonresident is a member of the [armed forces of the United States or of 3
the United States Public Health Service] UNIFORMED SERVICES and is serving on active 4
duty in this State or an adjoining state or the District of Columbia, the nonresident need 5
not register [his] THE MEMBER ’S personal passenger vehicles in this State if the vehicles 6
are registered in the state of [his] THE MEMBER ’S residence. 7
13–616.2. 8
(a) A person may apply to the Administration for a temporary parking placard on 9
a form provided by the Administration if: 10
(2) (ii) The applicant, a dependent of the applicant, or any individual 11
who depends on the applicant for transportation: 12
1. Submits proof satisfactory to the Administration that the 13
individual has a disability as described in § 13–616(b)(1) of this subtitle; and 14
2. B. Is serving in the [armed forces of the United States] 15
UNIFORMED SERVICES and is stationed in the State; 16
13–619.1. 17
(a) (2) To be eligible for a special registration described under subsection 18
(c)(2)(i) of this section, an applicant shall provide proof that is satisfactory to the 19
Administration that the applicant is a recipient of an individually earned, combat–related 20
armed forces medal OR A NON–COMBAT–RELATED UNIFORMED SE RVICES MEDAL OF 21
THE HIGHEST LEVELS . 22
(3) To be eligible for a special registration described under subsection 23
(c)(2)(ii) of this section, an applicant shall provide proof that is satisfactory to the 24
Administration that the applicant is [an honorably discharged] A veteran [of a branch of 25
the armed forces of the United States]. 26
(c) Special registration plates issued under this section: 27
(1) May consist of any combination of letters, numerals, or both; and 28
(2) Shall include: 29
(i) For registration plates issued for an applicant described in 30
subsection (a)(2) of this section: 31
SENATE BILL 281 7
1. An emblem or logo as authorized by the Administration 1
that depicts the applicant’s [armed forces] UNIFORMED SERVICES medal; and 2
2. Except on plates issued for Class D (motorcycle) vehicles, 3
words describing the medal printed across the bottom of the plates; 4
(ii) Words or an emblem or logo indicating that the special 5
registration plate holder is [an honorably discharged] A veteran [of a branch of the armed 6
forces of the United States]; or 7
(iii) An emblem or logo indicating that the registration plate holder 8
is the recipient of the U.S. Department of Defense Gold Star or Next of Kin lapel button. 9
(d) (1) The Administration, in consultation with the U.S. Department of 10
Defense, THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, THE COMMISSIONED CORPS 11
OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC 12
ADMINISTRATION , and appropriate representatives of the various branches of the [armed 13
forces] UNIFORMED SERVICES , shall adopt regulations specifying those [armed forces] 14
UNIFORMED SERVICES medals that are of the type described in subsection (a)(2) of this 15
section and which, when awarded to an individual, qualify that individual to apply for 16
special registration under this section. 17
13–619.4. 18
(b) To be eligible for a special disabled veteran registration plate under this 19
section, an applicant shall provide proof that is satisfactory to the Administration that the 20
applicant is [an armed forces] A veteran who is between 50% and 99%, inclusive, 21
service–connected disabled as designated or classified by the U.S. Department of Veterans 22
Affairs. 23
(c) The Administration may issue a special disabled veteran registration plate 24
that does not display the international symbol of access in recognition of the vehicle owner’s 25
service–connected disability to an individual who is [an armed forces] A veteran and is 26
between 50% and 99%, inclusive, service–connected disabled. 27
13–810. 28
(f) [(1) In this subsection, “military” includes the Commissioned Corps of the 29
Public Health Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the 30
Coast and Geodetic Survey. 31
(2)] A vehicle is exempt from the excise tax imposed by this part on issuance 32
of an original certificate of title if the vehicle: 33
[(i)] (1) Is owned by [a] AN ACTIVE SERVICE member [of the 34
military on active duty] or A SERVICE MEMBER who returns to the State from active duty; 35 8 SENATE BILL 281
and 1
[(ii)] (2) Was formerly titled and registered in another state by the 2
present owner of the vehicle. 3
16–102. 4
(a) The licensing requirements of this title do not apply to: 5
(7) A member of the [armed forces of the United States or of the United 6
States Public Health Service] UNIFORMED SERVICES who is serving on active duty and 7
any dependent of the member, if: 8
(i) The driver has [with him] IN THE DRIVER ’S POSSESSION a 9
license to drive issued to [him] THE DRIVER by [his] THE DRIVER’S state of domicile; and 10
(ii) The license authorizes the driver to drive in [his] THE DRIVER’S 11
state of domicile vehicles of the class [he] THE DRIVER is driving in this State; 12
16–111. 13
(e) (1) Notwithstanding subsection (d) of this section or any other provision of 14
this subtitle, the Administration may issue a provisional license to an individual who has 15
been licensed to drive in another state or country, or by the armed forces [of the United 16
States] for less than 18 months. 17
(4) Notwithstanding § 16–103(c)(3) of this subtitle, the Administration may 18
issue a license under § 16–111.1 of this subtitle without issuing a learner’s instructional 19
permit or a provisional license if the individual has been licensed to drive in another state 20
or country, or by the armed forces [of the United States], for at least 18 months. 21
16–115. 22
(a) (1) Subject to paragraph (5) of this subsection, a license issued under this 23
title to a driver at least 21 years old shall expire on the birth date of the licensee at the end 24
of a period of not more than 8 years determined in regulations adopted by the 25
Administration following the issuance of the license. 26
(2) Subject to paragraph (5) of this subsection, a license issued under this 27
title to a driver under the age of 21 years shall expire not later than 60 days after the 28
driver’s 21st birthday. 29
(d) (1) A license shall remain in full force and effect during an absence from 30
the State if the license is held by: 31
(i) 1. A member of the [armed forces of the United States] 32 SENATE BILL 281 9
UNIFORMED SERVICES who is absent from this State on active service in the [armed 1
forces of the United States] UNIFORMED SERVICES ; or 2
2. A dependent of the member who is residing with the 3
member outside the State; or 4
(ii) 1. A contract employee working on behalf of a federal agency 5
or branch of the [armed] UNIFORMED services who is absent from the State in service of 6
the contract; or 7
2. A dependent of the contract employee who is residing with 8
the contract employee outside the State. 9
23–202. 10
(a) (1) Subject to subsection (d) of this section, the Administration and the 11
Secretary shall establish an emissions control program in the State in accordance with the 12
federal Clean Air Act. 13
23–206.2. 14
(c) (1) A motor vehicle owned by at least one active duty member of the 15
[armed] UNIFORMED services [of the United States] at the time of a scheduled mandatory 16
inspection under this subtitle is exempt from the mandatory inspections required by this 17
subtitle if: 18
(i) An owner of the motor vehicle who is a member of the [armed] 19
UNIFORMED services [of the United States] has received [military] OFFICIAL orders: 20
1. For deployment outside the United States; or 21
2. To a duty station in a jurisdiction that is not subject to a 22
vehicle emissions control inspection and maintenance program; and 23
(ii) The exemption is not otherwise prohibited by federal law. 24
(2) In order to qualify for an exemption under paragraph (1) of this 25
subsection, all owners of the motor vehicle shall certify that at least one owner of the motor 26
vehicle has received [military] OFFICIAL orders for deployment outside the United States 27
or to a duty station in a jurisdiction that is not subject to a vehicle emissions control 28
inspection and maintenance program. 29
(3) The certification required in paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be 30
made on a form provided by the Administration. 31
SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 32 10 SENATE BILL 281
October 1, 2025. 1