One of the 140 bills signed into law in Maryland this week is designed to ensure that drivers don’t get dinged with civil penalties attached to outstanding video tolls.
If drivers already paid the penalties linked to those tolls, Senate Bill 59 requires the Maryland Transportation Authority to reimburse them.
What state Sen. Cory McCray, a sponsor of the bill, called the “E-ZPass debacle” began when the Maryland Transportation Authority started using a new vendor and suspended collecting payments during the pandemic.
Like many Marylanders, McCray said he was stunned to see the late fees attached to his account.
Back when he testified on SB 59 in Annapolis, McCray told his fellow lawmakers, “We know that when somebody gets a charge for a certain amount, what they do is they panic.”
And he said the fees themselves seemed far too high: “If you’re late for $2, they can charge you $25,” he said.
The bill McCray sponsored will make sure that MDTA can collect outstanding tolls. The agency has until Oct. 1 to notify drivers who paid fines on their late toll bills.
