Groundwater permits; requiring certain license be presented for intended use of groundwater for medical marijuana grow facilities. Effective date. Emergency.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Jim Grego

Prohibits stopping, standing, or parking in bike lanes or bicycle paths; violators face a misdemeanor and fines up to $500, improving cyclist safety.

CR; Do Pass, amended by committee substitute Energy and Natural Resources Oversight Committee

SB 133 — Vehicle Laws: Prohibition on Stopping, Standing, or Parking in a Bike Lane or Bicycle Path

Status & Procedural Timeline
- Introduced (Senate): January 8, 2025. Assigned to the Judicial Proceedings Committee.
- Hearing scheduled: January 22, 2025 at 10:00 a.m.
- Cross-file / companion: HB 178 (Delegate Guyton).
- Proposed effective date in the bill text: October 1, 2025 (if enacted as written).

Purpose / Intent
- To improve bicycle safety and preserve unobstructed space for bicyclists by prohibiting motor vehicles from stopping, standing, or parking in designated bike lanes or bicycle paths.

Key Definitions (from the bill)
- “Bike lane”: any portion of a roadway or shoulder designated for single-direction bicycle flow.
- “Bicycle path”: a travelway designed and designated (by signs or markings) for bicycle use, located in its own right-of-way or a shared right-of-way and physically separated from motor vehicle traffic (e.g., by berm, curb, shoulder).

Core Provisions
- New provision added to Transportation Article (21–1003(gg)): “A PERSON MAY NOT STOP, STAND, OR PARK A VEHICLE IN A BIKE LANE OR BICYCLE PATH.”
- The prohibition is subject to existing general exceptions in Section 21–1003(a): it does not apply when stopping/standing/parking is necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or is done in compliance with law, the directions of a police officer, or a traffic control device.

Enforcement & Penalty
- The bill makes the offense a criminal prohibition; the fiscal and policy note indicates it would be a misdemeanor and that similar parking/standing prohibitions carry a maximum fine of $500.
- Courts (District Court practice) may set a prepayment penalty (examples for related offenses: $60 or $70).
- Enforcement would be by law enforcement agencies under existing traffic enforcement mechanisms.

Who Would Be Affected
- Motor vehicle drivers and owners (prohibition applies to any person operating/parking a vehicle).
- Bicyclists and pedestrians (intended beneficiaries — improved safety and unimpeded travel lanes).
- Law enforcement and courts (minor enforcement workload; existing procedures apply).
- Local jurisdictions (implementation/enforcement), though the fiscal note projects no material fiscal impact.

Fiscal Impact
- Fiscal and policy analysis indicates the bill is not expected to materially affect State or local finances or operations. Any additional enforcement or court processing is expected to be minimal and accommodated within current workloads.

Potential Practical Effects
- Reduces obstructions in bike lanes/paths, improving safety and predictability for bicyclists.
- Clarifies legal authority to ticket or remove vehicles blocking bicycle facilities, subject to the bill’s exceptions.

For more detail, see the bill text adding §21–1003(gg) and the bill’s definitions in §21–101 of the Maryland Transportation Article.