Maryland bill would let attorney general, local prosecutors sue out‑of‑state drivers over unpaid camera citations

Delegate Linda Foley introduced House Bill 915, the "Out of State Driver Accountability Act," at a Feb. 20 hearing of the House Environment and Transportation Committee, asking the panel to give the measure a favorable report. The bill would enable the Maryland attorney general or a local state's attorney to bring civil suits to collect unpaid or overdue citations issued by automated enforcement (camera) systems against drivers registered in certain out‑of‑state jurisdictions, and would require quarterly reporting on out‑of‑state citations to the state Vision Zero coordinator.

Foley said the measure is a reciprocal response to the District of Columbia’s Steer Act and is intended to address unpaid automated‑enforcement citations that Maryland jurisdictions cannot currently collect. Citing a WBAL TV analysis of Baltimore City data, Foley said 43 percent of out‑of‑state drivers had not…