Favorable
Committee: Finance
SB0227
The Maryland Catholic Conference (MCC) is the public policy representative of the three (arch)dioceses serving Maryland, which together encompass over one million Marylanders. Statewide, their parishes, schools, hospitals, and numerous charities combine to form our state’s second largest social service provider network, behind only our state government.
Senate Bill 227 prohibits a political subdivision from adopting or enforcing an ordinance, a regulation, or a policy that requires payment of a fee for parking a motor vehicle in an on-street parking space served by a meter if the vehicle has disabled veteran special registration plates; and prohibiting a State agency from adopting or enforcing a regulation or a policy that requires payment of a fee for parking a motor vehicle in a parking lot owned or controlled by the agency if the vehicle has disabled veteran special registration plates.
This legislation upholds the dignity of disabled veterans by ensuring their freedom of transportation and reducing unnecessary financial burdens. Disabled veterans have sacrificed significantly in service to our nation; relieving them of avoidable parking fees is a minimal cost for public authorities compared with the benefit of honoring that service and maintaining equitable access to mobility.
Many states already recognize the importance of reducing mobility-related costs for disabled veterans. For example, South Carolina exempts disabled veterans and Purple Heart recipients from municipal parking meter fees when their vehicle displays appropriate plates.[1] Similarly, Texas law allows vehicles displaying disabled veteran plates to park in designated accessible spaces and exempts them from certain parking fees when operated by or for transport of the veteran.[2] In Florida, disabled veterans with qualifying plates are not charged fees for public street parking or metered spaces, and publicly owned or operated airports may not charge parking fees for vehicles displaying specified disabled veteran plates.
Eliminating parking fees for disabled veterans not only aligns with these existing policy precedents, it also meaningfully preserves their access to transportation.[3] The cost of towing a vehicle or paying repeated metered fees can disproportionately restrict mobility and access to essential services, particularly when public transportation or rideshares may not accommodate specially adapted vehicles that disabled veterans often require.
By codifying a fee exemption or prohibition on towing in law, this legislation affirms the principle that disabled veterans should not face additional barriers—or penalties—for the very mobility they earned through service. This approach both respects their dignity and ensures that local jurisdictions can support equitable access to transportation without undue hardship.
For these reasons, the Maryland Catholic Conference asks for a favorable report on SB 227. Thank you for your consideration.
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1 https://law.justia.com/codes/south-carolina/title-56/chapter-5/section-56-5-2585/?utm_source
2 https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._transp._code_section_681.008?utm_source
3 https://www.leegov.com/dhs/Documents/FDVA-Benefits-Guide%202024.pdf?utm_source