SB 600 — Baltimore City and Takoma Park: Stop Sign Monitoring Systems (Chapter 571, 2025)
Status & key dates
- Enacted and approved by the Governor as Chapter 571 (delivered to Governor April 15, 2025; approved May 13, 2025).
- Effective date / pilot period: authorizes system use beginning July 1, 2025 (implementation dependent on local authorization) and terminates June 30, 2029.
- Reporting deadline: local implementation reports due December 1, 2027.
Purpose
- Authorizes a time-limited pilot allowing use of automated stop sign monitoring systems (SSMS) in school zones in the City of Takoma Park and on State and local highways located in the 45th and 46th legislative districts in Baltimore City. The goal is to detect and reduce failures to stop at stop signs in school zones and improve pedestrian/school safety.
Major provisions
- Authorization and scope
- Extends the framework used for Prince George’s County (Chapter 678 of 2024) to Baltimore City and Takoma Park, subject to local law authorizing deployment. Placement limitations that apply to Prince George’s County do not automatically apply to these jurisdictions.
- SSMS may be used on state and local highways located in school zones in the specified areas through June 30, 2029.
Enforcement and penalties
- If a vehicle is recorded failing to obey a stop sign (and no officer issued an on‑the‑spot citation), the owner or driver is subject to a civil citation with a penalty of up to $40. (Civil, not criminal, enforcement under the District Court scheme.)
- Recorded images produced by SSMS are admissible in civil proceedings without separate authentication.
Revenue use
- Local jurisdictions may use fine revenues to recover implementation and administrative costs.
- Special allocation for Baltimore City: 50% of fines collected from violations enforced by SSMS in Baltimore City must be distributed to the Baltimore City local management board and used only to provide youth programming and services for youth living in or attending a school located in the 45th or 46th legislative district (as applicable to the location of the system).
Administrative & technical rules
- Requires citation mailed to an owner to include the vehicle registration plate number.
- Applies existing contractor payment/administration restrictions to contractors that administer/process SSMS citations (including prohibitions on certain forms of contingent compensation).
- Establishes limited defenses and administrative safeguards (procedural details provided in the enacted text).
Reporting and evaluation
- By Dec 1, 2027, Baltimore City and the City of Takoma Park must report to the Governor and General Assembly covering:
- Dates SSMS were in use and number of warnings/citations by location/date (through Oct 1, 2027);
- Monthly implementation/operational costs and revenue collected;
- Recommended locations for deployment;
- System performance/reliability; and
- Evidence of effectiveness in reducing violations, crashes, and pedestrian injuries.
Fiscal and operational impacts
- State: authorization-only; fiscal effects depend on actual deployment. District Court programming costs estimated at $10,900 (FY2026) in the fiscal analysis. Potential Transportation Trust Fund costs if State highways require signage or planning support (costs assumed to end with pilot).
- Local: financial impact depends on whether and how local jurisdictions implement systems. Fine revenues may offset program costs; Baltimore City faces a 50% earmark requirement for youth services in specified districts.
- Small-business effect: none identified in the fiscal note.
What this means
- SB 600 creates a limited, evaluative pilot to test automated enforcement of stop-sign violations in school zones in two Maryland localities, pairs enforcement with specific revenue-use restrictions (notably a juvenile services earmark in Baltimore City), and requires formal reporting to inform whether similar programs should continue or be expanded after the pilot ends in 2029.
