Call for Votes on Maryland Bicycling & Road-Safety Legislation

Good news: A set of strong Maryland bicycling and road-safety bills has passed the House of Delegates in time to guarantee Senate consideration.

The challenge: Most will be heard by the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee (JPR), which has a very full agenda for the weeks ahead. “Sine die,” the close of the 2025 Maryland legislative session, is April 7 and is fast approaching. Our bills must pass out of JPR and then pass two Senate floor votes.

This advocacy action targets Maryland state senators. It will send a message to the senator for your district, asking them to contact Chair Senator Will Smith and his fellow JPR members, asking for committee votes for six key bicycling/safety bills. Customize the suggested text with your personal message.

We’re asking Chair Smith to schedule JPR votes for two key Montgomery County local bills that would boost road safety for bicyclists, pedestrians, and motor-vehicle drivers and passengers:

HB 963 would allow Montgomery County and county municipalities to reduce speed limits to 15 MPH without conducting an engineering and traffic investigation. Montgomery County has done systematic, county-wide planning that covers the investigation need. HB 963 passed the House 121-18.
HB 1032 would enable Montgomery County and Baltimore City to install stop-sign enforcement cameras near schools. It would extend a 2024 bill that granted that authority for Prince George’s County.

And we’re asking Chair Smith to schedule committee votes for two bills that would boost bicyclist safety and two that would target speeding by establishing higher camera fines for driving far above the speed limit:

HB 7, Bicycle Safety Yield, which passed the House of Delegates by a 126-11 vote. HB 7 will boost road safety by allowing a cyclist to move through a Stop sign without stopping, after yielding to pedestrians and motor vehicles that have the right of way.
HB 375, Bikes on Sidewalks, also known as Jay’s Law, would make allowing cyclist use of sidewalks the default statewide, a safety booster given narrow shoulders and the lack of bike lanes. The bill passed the House 134-0!
HB 182 and HB 349 would impose heavier speed-camera fines on the most egregious speeders, up to $425 for those cited for going 40 MPH or more above a limit. HB 182 is a statewide bill and HB 349 covers specifically Indian Head Highway (MD 210), which has experienced 95 traffic fatalities since 2007.

We have other bills on our agenda – contact us for information if you wish – but these are the priorities for now.

Please help us convince the Maryland Senate to move these bills by using our action to contact your state senator. Please edit our sample message, if you wish, with your own personal stories or perspective.

More about Maryland Legislation

WABA develops and advocates for state legislation to make bicycling in Maryland safer and more accessible and for state funding to expand Maryland’s bicycle network, working directly with legislators and Maryland Dept. of Transportation (MDOT) leadership and as part of the Bike Maryland coalition. We also work on broader road-safety, transit, and environmental legislation and funding, typically as part of larger statewide coalitions. The annual Maryland legislative session runs from January to April, but our work developing legislation starts the preceding summer.

We’re thrilled that several bills we worked on or supported were enacted in 2024, directing an MDOT Vision Zero Coordinator and public review process; the Better Bus Service Act, allowing bus-lane enforcement cameras (with bikes allowed); authorizing stop-sign cameras near schools in Prince George's County; and the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Memorial Act, addressing penalties for hitting a cyclist in a bike lane.

Our 2024 advocacy included unsuccessful efforts that we will likely pursue in future years. (It often takes years to pass a bill. ) These include a Great Maryland Trails Act, an E-bike Rebate and Voucher Program bill, and a bill addressing maintenance responsibility for sidewalks and bike paths along state roads. Another topic on our list for 2025 is contributory negligence, a prejudicial statute that says that if a crash victim is even only 1% at fault, then they are liable and may not recover (full) costs and damages from the party largely at fault.

More about Laws & Policy

WABA works with grassroots advocates at the local, county and state level to support laws and policies that make it easier and safer to walk, bike, and take transit. And we work to changes ones that make biking less safe, make it harder to build bike infrastructure, or that deprioritize the safety and convenience of people walking, biking, or taking transit.

In practice that means advocating for robust and transformative Vision Zero programs, enforceable Complete Streets policies, and funding for new infrastructure that supports biking, walking and transit.

Other regional legislative priorities include:

Reforming Contributory Negligence (passed in DC, in the works in Maryland and Virginia).
Getting rid of the Level of Service engineering standards in transportation decision-making.
Funding E-bike purchase rebates.

More about Advocacy

WABA fights for a region where biking, walking and transit are the best ways to get around.

We educate policymakers and organize grassroots advocates for to speak up for safer places to bike and walk; and for laws and policies that protect people who are walking and biking, reduce dangerous driving, and facilitate changes to the built environment.