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Bill Summary · SB 179

SB 179 — Motor Vehicle Registration: Fee Exemption for Unemployable Disabled Veterans

Status: Hearing 3/27 at 1:00 p.m. (Judicial Proceedings / Environment & Transportation); enacted versions and related actions noted in legislative record. Introduced: January 8, 2025. Effective date (as enacted): October 1, 2025 (per bill text).

Main purpose

Establish a statutory exemption from motor vehicle registration fees for one vehicle owned (or leased) and personally used by a veteran who is determined to be unemployable because of a service‑connected disability.

Key provisions

  • Adds a new registration fee exemption to Maryland Transportation §13‑903:
    • Authorizes an exemption for not more than one vehicle owned by, or leased to, and personally used by a veteran who is unemployable due to a service‑connected disability.
  • The exemption is limited to a single vehicle per qualifying veteran.
  • The change is framed as an addition to existing categories of fee exemptions for veterans and related persons (the bill amends and reorders subsections to accommodate the new exemption).
  • Effective date in the bill: October 1, 2025.

Who is affected

  • Primary beneficiaries: veterans who are unemployable due to a service‑connected disability (one vehicle per veteran).
  • State funds: Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) receipts deposited to the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) and several special funds that receive portions of registration fees (examples noted in fiscal materials include Maryland Emergency Medical System Operations Fund, Maryland Trauma Physician Services Fund, and funding for the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center).
  • Local governments: minor effect possible because a portion of registration revenue is shared with counties/municipalities as highway user revenue capital grants.

Fiscal and administrative impact

  • MVA estimate: about 4,000 veterans may meet the unemployable criteria; actual uptake unknown because some may already qualify under other exemptions.
  • Illustrative fiscal scenario (from legislative fiscal note): if 2,000 vehicles become exempt,
    • TTF revenues could decrease by roughly $195,000 annually (projected $146,250 in FY2026, reflecting partial‑year effects).
    • Other special fund revenues (surcharges shared for EMS/trauma) could fall by an estimated $80,000 annually ($60,000 in FY2026).
  • Expenditures: MVA and state agencies report no material increase in administrative costs anticipated; overall fiscal effect is primarily lost fee revenue rather than new spending.
  • Local revenue effects expected to be minimal unless exemption uptake is much larger than projected.

Notes and context

  • Existing Maryland law already contains several veteran‑related registration exemptions; this bill explicitly extends a fee waiver to veterans who are unemployable because of service‑connected disabilities (distinct from other disability categories).
  • The bill limits the exemption to one vehicle per qualifying veteran to constrain revenue impact.
  • Cross‑file / companion: HB 248 (and related legislative activity noted in bill history).

If you want, I can:
- Draft a one‑page explainer for veterans describing eligibility and steps to claim the exemption; or
- Produce a short fiscal memo projecting impacts under alternative uptake scenarios (e.g., 1,000 / 4,000 / 6,000 claimants).

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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