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County official faults proposed SB 292/HB 635 change to expired-registration enforcement, warns of consequences for deputies
Summary
An unidentified St. Mary's County official criticized state legislation (SB 292, crossfile HB 635) that would narrow when expired vehicle registration is a primary offense, said it would take enforcement options from deputies and could subject deputies to Police Accountability Board review, and urged state lawmakers to reject the change.
An unidentified county official criticized Senate Bill 292, crossfiled with House Bill 635, saying the bills would prevent deputies from making traffic stops for expired registration unless the registration was at least four months overdue.
The official cited the text of the bill and said it would remove an enforcement tool for deputies and state troopers. “If I'm a deputy and I pull somebody over for expired registration that's inside that four-month period, I'll be in violation of this law and then it would have to go to the Police Accountability Board,” the official said, arguing the change would unfairly penalize officers doing routine enforcement.
The official also framed the change as a fairness issue for residents who pay vehicle registration fees. He noted many residents now face registration costs in the neighborhood of $300 and said it is unfair that drivers with long-unpaid registrations would avoid enforcement while compliant residents bear the fee burden.
The official said he had contacted his state senator and Delegate Todd Morgan about the bill. He described Delegate Morgan as being at his committee at 1:00 p.m. the day of the remarks and said he communicated strong opposition to the proposal: “this bill needs to be lit on fire then stomped out and lit on fire again and gotten taken care of.”
The transcript records no formal county action on the bills; the remarks were a public update and opinion from the speaker.
