Bill Penalizing Uninsured Out-Of-State Drivers Passes Maryland House

ANNAPOLIS - When former Circuit Judge Donald E. Beachley last year acquitted a West Virginia woman involved in an accident that claimed the life of a 5-year-old Boonsboro girl, he expressed hope that the legislature would "rectify this clear injustice so that Marylanders are protected from the lawless who enter our state uninsured."

Lawmakers in the Maryland General Assembly came one step closer to doing that on Tuesday, when the House approved a bill sponsored by Del. Neil Parrott, R-Washington, that would criminalize knowingly driving without insurance in Maryland - even if the driver is from another state.

The bill now must go to the Senate for consideration.

Parrott said the bill stemmed from the accident that occurred in June 2014, when the vehicle Bryer Kendricks was riding in was struck from behind while waiting to turn from Md. 67 onto Garrett's Mill Road.

Kendricks died June 9, 2014, from injuries she received in the accident.

The driver of the other vehicle, Karen Yvonne See of Harpers Ferry, initially was convicted of knowingly driving without insurance.

But on appeal, she was acquitted when the court found that the law under which she was convicted applied only to Maryland residents, and provided no criminal penalty for drivers from other states.

"That just doesn't make any sense at all," Parrott said. "I'm so glad that we're correcting the problem here today."

Parrott's bill would require out-of-state residents to carry insurance in Maryland, under the laws of their home states.

The bill also applies to the owner of a vehicle who knowingly permits someone else to drive it if it isn't insured.

A violation would be a misdemeanor. The penalties would be the same as those for Maryland drivers, including a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to a year in jail for the first offense, and a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to two years in jail for subsequent offenses.

The House unanimously approved the bill Tuesday. If approved by the Senate and signed by the governor, it would become effective on Oct. 1.