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HB0668 • 2026

St. Mary's County - Prohibition on Standing in Inherently Dangerous Highway

St. Mary's County - Prohibition on Standing in Inherently Dangerous Highway

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
St. Mary's County Delegation
Last action
2026-05-12
Official status
Approved by the Governor - Chapter 587
Effective date
2026-10-01

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not specify detailed rules for installing warning signs beyond requiring them to be installed and meet certain standards.

St. Mary's County Law on Standing in Dangerous Road Areas

This law makes it illegal for people to stand in certain dangerous areas of roads and intersections in St. Mary's County, as determined by the county or local city government with help from state highway experts.

What This Bill Does

  • Makes it against the rules for anyone to stand on a road, shoulder, median divide, or intersection that is considered very risky in St. Mary’s County.
  • Requires the county and cities within the county to decide which areas are dangerous after talking with state highway experts.
  • Does not allow police officers to give tickets unless appropriate signs have been installed.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who live or visit St. Mary's County
  • Police officers in St. Mary's County

Terms To Know

inherently dangerous
Places that pose a serious risk of injury and cannot be made safe with normal care.
state highway administration
The state agency responsible for managing roads and highways.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This law only applies to St. Mary's County.
  • It is unclear how many areas will be marked as dangerous or when the signs will be put up.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

833626/1

None

Favorable with Amendments { 833626/1 Adopted

Plain English: AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE BILL 668 (First Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.

  • AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE BILL 668 (First Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.
  • 1 On page 1, in line 5, after “county” insert “in certain manners”.
  • AMENDMENT NO.
  • 2 On page 2, in line 1, strike “A” and substitute “(1) SUBJECT TO PARAGRAPH (2) OF THIS SUBSECTION, A”; after line 3, insert: “(2) THE COUNTY OR A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION IN THE COUNTY SHALL MAKE A D ETERMINATION ON WHETHER A STATE ROADWAY, SHOULDER, MEDIAN DIVIDER , OR INTERSECTION IS INHERENTLY DANGER OUS IN CONSULTATION WITH THE STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION.”; in line 4, after “ (D)” insert “(1)”; in lines 6 and 9, strike “ (1)” and “ (2)”, respectively, and substitute “(I)” and “(II)”, respectively; in line 7, after “INSTALLED” insert “BY THE COUNTY OR MUNICIPAL CORPORATION”; and after line 12, insert: “(2) ON A STATE HIGHWAY , THE COUNTY OR A MUNI CIPAL CORPORATION IN THE COUNTY MAY INSTALL THE SIGNS REQUIRED U NDER PARAGRAPH (1) OF THIS SUBSECTION ONLY WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION.”.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-12 Post Passage

    Approved by the Governor - Chapter 587

  2. 2026-04-13 Senate

    Favorable Report by Judicial Proceedings

  3. 2026-04-02 House

    Returned Passed

  4. 2026-03-27 Senate

    Third Reading Passed (43-0)

  5. 2026-03-26 Senate

    Favorable Adopted

  6. 2026-03-26 Senate

    Second Reading Passed

  7. 2026-03-24 Senate

    Hearing 4/01 at 1:00 p.m.

  8. 2026-03-16 House

    Favorable with Amendments Report by Environment and Transportation

  9. 2026-03-05 House

    Third Reading Passed (131-1)

  10. 2026-03-03 House

    Favorable with Amendments { 833626/1 Adopted

  11. 2026-03-03 House

    Second Reading Passed with Amendments

  12. 2026-03-03 Senate

    Referred Judicial Proceedings

  13. 2026-02-05 House

    Hearing 2/19 at 1:00 p.m.

  14. 2026-02-02 House

    First Reading Environment and Transportation

  15. Maryland General Assembly

    Text - First - St. Mary's County - Prohibition on Standing in Inherently Dangerous Highway

  16. Maryland General Assembly

    Vote - House - Committee - Environment and Transportation

  17. Maryland General Assembly

    Text - Third - St. Mary's County - Prohibition on Standing in Inherently Dangerous Highway

  18. Maryland General Assembly

    Vote - Senate - Committee - Judicial Proceedings

  19. Maryland General Assembly

    Text - Chapter - St. Mary's County - Prohibition on Standing in Inherently Dangerous Highway

Official Summary Text

Prohibiting a person in St. Mary's County from standing in a roadway, a shoulder, a median divide, or an intersection determined by the county or a municipal corporation in the county, in consultation with the State Highway Administration, to be inherently dangerous; and prohibiting a police officer from issuing a citation for a violation of the Act unless appropriate signs have been installed.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
*hb0668*

HOUSE BILL 668
R5 6lr1347

By: St. Mary’s County Delegation
Introduced and read first time: February 2, 2026
Assigned to: Environment and Transportation
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
House action: Adopted
Read second time: March 3, 2026

CHAPTER ______

AN ACT concerning 1

St. Mary’s County – Prohibition on Standing in Inherently Dangerous Highway 2

FOR the purpose of prohibiting a person in St. Mary’s County from standing in a roadway, 3
a shoulder, a median divide, or an intersection determined by the county or a 4
municipal corporation in the county in certain manners to be inherently dangerous; 5
prohibiting a police officer from issuing a citation for a violation of this Act unless 6
certain conditions are met; and generally relating to prohibiting standing in 7
inherently dangerous roadways, shoulders, median divides, or intersections in St. 8
Mary’s County. 9

BY adding to 10
Article – Transportation 11
Section 21–507.1 12
Annotated Code of Maryland 13
(2020 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 14

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 15
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 16

Article – Transportation 17

21–507.1. 18

(A) THIS SECTION APPLIES ONLY IN ST. MARY’S COUNTY. 19

2 HOUSE BILL 668

(B) IN THIS SECTION , “INHERENTLY DANGEROUS ” MEANS POSING A 1
SERIOUS RISK OF INJURY TO A PEDESTRIAN, A DRIVER OR PASSENGER IN A VEHICLE, 2
OR OTHER PERSONS THA T CANNOT BE MITIGATED WITH THE E XERCISE OF 3
ORDINARY CARE. 4

(C) (1) A SUBJECT TO PARAGRAPH (2) OF THIS SUBSECTION, A PERSON 5
MAY NOT STAND IN A R OADWAY, A SHOULDER , A MEDIAN DIVIDER , OR AN 6
INTERSECTION DETERMINED BY THE COUNTY OR A MUNICIPAL CORPORAT ION IN 7
THE COUNTY TO BE INHERENTLY DANGEROUS. 8

(2) THE COUNTY OR A MUNIC IPAL CORPORATION IN THE COUNTY 9
SHALL MAKE A DETERMI NATION ON WHETHER A STATE ROADWAY , SHOULDER, 10
MEDIAN DIVIDER , OR INTERSECTION IS I NHERENTLY DANGEROUS IN 11
CONSULTATION WITH THE STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION. 12

(D) (1) A POLICE OFFICER MAY NOT ISSUE A CITATION FOR A VIOLATION 13
OF THIS SECTION UNLESS: 14

(1) (I) THE INHERENTLY DANGER OUS ROADWAY , SHOULDER, 15
MEDIAN DIVIDER, OR INTERSECTION HAS APPROPRIATE SIGNS INSTALLED BY THE 16
COUNTY OR MUNICIPAL CORPORATION THAT NOTIFY THE PUBL IC THAT A PERSON 17
MAY NOT STAND IN VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION; AND 18

(2) (II) THE SIGNS ARE INSTALL ED IN ACCORDANCE WIT H THE 19
MANUAL AND SPECIFICA TIONS FOR A UNIFORM SYSTEM OF TRAFFIC CO NTROL 20
DEVICES ADOPTED BY THE STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION UNDER § 25–104 OF 21
THIS ARTICLE. 22

(2) ON A STATE HIGHWAY , THE COUNTY OR A MUNI CIPAL 23
CORPORATION IN THE C OUNTY MAY INSTALL TH E SIGNS REQUIRED UND ER 24
PARAGRAPH (1) OF THIS SUBSECTION O NLY WITH THE APPROVA L OF THE STATE 25
HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION. 26

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 27
October 1, 2026. 28