Bicycling and Traffic-Related Bills Being Considered in the 2024 Session

Thank you to Bike Maryland for providing this list.

Bike Maryland leads a coalition of local and regional bike advocacy groups from across Maryland who have been meeting regularly, formulating bills, and meeting with legislators in preparation for the 2024 session that opened on January 10.  At this writing, some bills have bill numbers and others are expected to soon.  Please monitor progress and calls for action at this site or at the Bike Maryland Facebook Page.

Budget

Maryland faces a difficult fiscal year and any bills that have fiscal impacts will be especially challenging.  We will seek to protect funding for safe biking and walking infrastructure especially in light of the alarming rise in road fatalities overall and especially among vulnerable road users.
The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) recently announced $3.3 billion in cuts to state transportation spending. The cuts will impact transportation projects, including bikeways, over the next several years. It’s the General Assembly that enacts the state budget, with final say on spending and revenue, and we do expect legislators to boost revenues and find ways to avoid at least some of the proposed transportation cuts, which hit transit particularly hard. The General Assembly will be guided by the recommendations of its own Spending Affordability Committee and by the recommendations of the Maryland Commission on Transportation Revenue and Infrastructure Needs (the TRAIN Commission). The TRAIN Commission’s interim recommendations include boosting toll revenue, creating vehicle-mile-traveled fees/fees on zero-emission vehicles, and non-transportation revenue options.

We would like to see MDOT adopt quantified mode-shift goals that shift away from single-occupant vehicles and towards safe walking, biking and transit.  This is the best way to reduce traffic, protect our environment, promote health, and provide affordable and equitable mobility choices.  Maryland’s transportation budget should align to these mode-share goals.

Bikeways Funding

This past year, MDOT awarded $4.7 million in Kim Lamphier Bikeways Network Program grants. The MDOT budget proposes to decrease funding for the program to $2 million annually. While recognizing that MDOT faces a challenging budget environment, Bike Maryland advocates that the state preserve the current levels of funding for the Kim Lamphier Maryland Bikeways Program.

The Kim Lamphier Bikeways Network Program is a state-funded grant program for the planning, design, and construction of bicycle transportation projects. As a state fund, local governments can use Kim Lamphier Bikeways Network grants to meet federal funding matching requirements and advance projects towards construction, allowing them to maximize local funds and leverage federal resources to expand bikeways.

Bikes on Sidewalks (HB0111/SB077) – Delegate Dana Jones and Senator Jeff Waldstreicher.

Maryland is among the minority of states that prohibit bike riding on sidewalks. Current state law prohibits bike riding on sidewalks by people of all ages unless permitted by local ordinance. Several jurisdictions including Montgomery, Howard, and Anne Arundel counties and cities of Rockville, Frederick, and Annapolis have already permitted it, typically with a provision to yield to pedestrians.

This bill flips the state’s default to permit bikes on sidewalks statewide unless prohibited by local ordinance (which hopefully would be confined to very specific locations). The bill also requires people on bikes to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and people using mobility devices on sidewalks and in crosswalks.

There is little evidence that laws prohibiting people riding bikes on sidewalks have substantial traffic safety benefits. Where data is collected, however, research consistently finds that enforcement disproportionately punishes Black, Latino, and low-income people (see e.g., National Association of City Transportation Officials [NACTO] working paper and the Arrested Mobility Report).

A prior version of the bill received extremely positive bipartisan support and passed the House 135 – 2 during the 2023 legislative session.  It also received a very positive hearing in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee but never got a committee vote.

Electric Bicycle Rebate and Voucher Program (HB0156) – Delegate Robbyn Lewis

The bill establishes a program to provide vouchers and rebates to residents for the purchase of a new electric bicycle, a replacement battery, components to make an e-bike usable by a person with a disability, a bicycle lock, or routine maintenance for an e-bike. Covered items must be purchased from an authorized Maryland retailer.

Starting in fiscal year 2026, the program provides $100,000 for rebates and vouchers annually. At least half the funding must go to residents eligible to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The bill authorizes MDOT to set an income eligibility threshold for the remainder of available vouchers and rebates. When the bill passes, Maryland will join ten other states and Washington, DC, which have enacted e-bike incentive programs.

The Maryland General Assembly has allocated millions of dollars to electric vehicle (EV) tax credits. This year it will consider a bill to expand the credits to used EVs. Subsidies to encourage residents to switch from internal combustion engines to EVs is good.

However, we’d love for Maryland to promote a more cost-effective, equitable, and environmentally friendly step: e-bike rebates and vouchers for low- and moderate-income households. E-bikes cost far less than EVs – generally,  electric cars – and the e-bike vouchers and rebates will cover a high proportion of the cost, making this form of transformative transportation accessible to a wide set of households that can’t afford an EV even with a tax credit.

Great Maryland Trails Act (SB0645/HB0530) – Senator Sarah Elfreth and Delegate Regina Boyce.

The Great Maryland Trails Act will establish a state office to oversee the creation of a Statewide Trail Plan and to promote planning and development of trails for transportation and recreation. The bill is consistent with a recommendation in the draft 2050 Maryland Statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan to create a trails team to serve as a liaison between stakeholders, increase coordination to advance trails with regional benefit, update the Statewide Trail Plan, and coordinate trails projects.  The bill is modeled after other states that have created similar trails offices and been successful in advancing trail development, coordinating local trail plans, securing more federal funding and meeting objectives to significantly expand their trails networks.



Maryland Transportation Authority Bike and Pedestrian Safety (SB0593/HB135) – Senator Waldstreicher and Delegate Lorig Charkoudian

The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) is responsible for our state’s toll facilities including two turnpikes, two tunnels and four bridges. Unlike all the other MDOT modal agencies including the State Highway Administration (SHA), the MDTA is currently not required to create plans that follow a state Complete Streets legislative directive enacted in 2018. This has led to lost opportunities to boost safety by creating multimodal options as part of key MDTA projects, notably the Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge and the Intercounty Connector.  This bill will set a policy to require separated bike/pedestrian facilities on new and renovated bridges, safe crossings of interstates, and other safety provisions for people on bike or foot.



State Road Trail and Sidewalk Maintenance (SB0514/HB0389) – Senator Washington and Delegate Anne Healy

This bill will remove a provision in state law prohibiting the state from maintaining sidewalks, shared-use paths, and trails constructed along state roads. The prohibition has delayed the planning and development of trails in certain parts of the state. 



Operation at Intersections also known as “Bicycle Safety Yield” (HB0511/SB0826) – Delegates Embry and Boyce, and Senator Will Smith

A growing number of states (now 11) and most recently D.C. have enacted  “Stop as Yield” laws which permit cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs (also known as the Idaho Stop or Delaware Stop). This practice is counterintuitive to drivers but is proven to be a safer way for cyclists to cross or turn at stop signs. Cyclists have better sight lines and can cross faster and more steadily by continuing to roll if the intersection is clear and there is no approaching traffic. A moving cyclist is also easier for a driver to notice than a stationary cyclist.

As the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration summarized in a 2022 fact sheet on the topic, “A safe transportation system makes people the priority. Working together to enhance bicycle safety by preventing and eliminating crashes that lead to serious injuries and fatalities is more important now than ever. Many States have enacted bicyclist stop-as-yield laws to enhance safety and protect cyclists. Based upon the current research and data available, these laws showed added safety benefits for bicyclists in States where they were evaluated, and may positively affect the environment, traffic, and transportation.

Vehicle Laws “

Yielding Right-of-Way (Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Memorial Act) (SB0315/HB0337) – Senator Ariana B. Kelly and Delegate Sara Love

The Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Memorial Act would provide the same protections for bike lanes that exist for crosswalks.  The bill is named after a Bethesda woman who was hit and killed by the driver of a flatbed truck while cycling home, in a marked bicycle lane, from a back-to-school event at her children’s elementary school in August 2022.



Transportation and Climate Alignment Act of 2024 / Clean & Affordable Transportation Choices Act (SB681/HB836) – Senators Lam and Delegate Edelson

The bill would require the MDOT and regional transportation planning agencies to measure and mitigate any increases in climate pollution and Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) caused by planned highway expansion projects over $10 million. Mitigation actions could include improving and expanding public transit, creating protected bike infrastructure, expanding remote work options, and locating jobs and amenities near where people live. This will help expand people’s transportation choices while reducing climate pollution.

Other Safety Bills

There are other bills focused on improving safety on our roads that we are tracking.  These focus on issues including speed reduction, reckless driving and policies such as Vision Zero (HB0334/SB0345).