Maryland lawmakers are in the final stages of passing legislation that would crack down on residents registering their vehicles in another state.

While it is already against the law to seek out-of-state plates if you are a Maryland resident with limited exceptions, Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher (D-Montgomery County) says it isn’t easy to enforce.

“This bill combines a series of enforcement mechanisms to ensure that people who are registering their cars in Virginia, in North Dakota or elsewhere have consequences for doing so here in Maryland,” he said during debate on the Senate floor Wednesday.

SB0111 would allow the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) to sign reciprocal agreements with other states to ensure that they are not registering the vehicles of Maryland residents and vice versa.

A January 2025 report from the MVA found over 111,000 vehicles registered in Virginia were tied to owners or co-owners with Maryland addresses based on June 2024 records.

With annual passenger vehicle registrations at the time ranging between $110 to $162, Maryland residents with Virginia plates alone represent a potential loss of revenue for the state anywhere between $8 million and just over $12 million.

Maryland registration fees recently increased on July 1, 2025 to range between $120 and $192.

Waldstreicher says there are a multitude of reasons Marylanders opt to register their vehicles in Virginia, largely due to lower fees — vehicle registration costs around $30 to $40 — and less restrictive registration guidelines.

Maryland does not let you re-register your car if you have outstanding traffic tickets, parking fines or toll violations, and Waldstreicher says some of those offenders opt to switch their registration to Virginia rather than pay the fines.

However, Senate Republican Leader Stephen Hershey (R-Caroline, Cecil, Kent and Queen Anne’s Counties) says there are also some flaws within Maryland’s debt collection process.

When a Marylander fails to pay for their tickets by the due date, the District Court can refer the outstanding fine to the Central Collection Unit (CCU), which may result in an additional collection fee of 17 percent.

“I know a number of us have heard the problem that once it's in CCU, that you can't really negotiate anymore — it's an astronomical amount of not just the toll violations, but the fines on top of that,” Hershey said. “Many people are going to Virginia just in order to keep their vehicle legally registered.”

Waldstreicher agreed with Hershey's concerns and said a bill would be coming later this session to make some changes to the CCU process.

MVA can currently flag a vehicle for improper registration, but that warning is not particularly enforceable.

This bill would allow the MVA to issue a tag pickup order, and if the owner of the vehicle does not take corrective action within 60 days, they would be subject to a fine of $7 per day for up to 60 days.

After that, a county state’s attorney could pursue legal action.

In-state residents that are students, medical patients or temporary workers would be exempt from the provision, and the bill would not apply to trailers.

The legislation needs one final vote of approval in the Senate; the House has already cleared its version of the bill.

The Senate also gave initial approval to a bill that would require residents to clear snow and ice from the exterior of their vehicle before driving or towing it.

Police officers would not be able to pull over drivers solely for having snow on their cars, but it could be enforced as a secondary action if the driver is pulled over for something else, like speeding.

That caveat does not apply if the snow or ice results in property damage, death or serious bodily injury.

A first offense for noncommercial vehicles would be a $25 fine or $75 for commercial vehicles.

“Of all the bills we do, I bet this is going to be the one people talk the most about, if I had to guess,” Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said humorously from the rostrum.

The House has also passed its version of the legislation while the Senate bill awaits one final vote.