Press Release: Mar 6, 2026
“Families, small businesses, and essential service providers across Maryland are already feeling the squeeze.”- Senator Steve Hershey
Hershey, Senate Republicans Move to Roll Back 60–70% Vehicle Registration Fee Hikes
Annapolis, MD.:
After two consecutive legislative sessions of steep vehicle registration fee increases, Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey and the Maryland Senate Republican Caucus are pushing legislation to roll back the hikes and provide relief to Maryland drivers. Hershey, the lead sponsor of Senate Bill 896 – Vehicle Law – Registration Fees – Alterations, testified in support of the bill yesterday before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.
Beginning July 1, 2024, vehicle registration fees increased between 60% and 70%, costing many Maryland families between $70 and $162 more per year simply to keep their vehicles legally registered. Senate Bill 896 would return registration fees to the levels in place before those increases took effect, effectively undoing the hikes passed in recent legislative sessions.
“Maryland families are paying more than ever simply to stay compliant drivers,” said Hershey. “At a time when households are already dealing with rising costs for energy, housing, and other essentials, the state should not be making it more expensive simply to drive to work, school, or run everyday errands.”
Vehicle registration is an unavoidable cost for most Marylanders, and the increases enacted in recent years have placed additional pressure on low-income drivers, seniors on fixed incomes, rural residents, and small business owners who rely on their vehicles every day.
The legislation would provide relief for Maryland families while also helping small businesses and essential community services that rely on registered vehicles.
For many tradespeople and small business owners, vehicles such as light pickup trucks, trailers, and service vehicles are essential tools of the trade. Lower registration costs would help reduce operating expenses for these businesses.
The bill would also reduce registration fees for school buses, ambulances, and funeral coaches, helping stretch limited public and nonprofit dollars further while maintaining statutory guardrails on their use.
“Families, small businesses, and essential service providers across Maryland are already feeling the squeeze,” Hershey said. “Rolling back these fee hikes is a straightforward way to provide relief and restore fairness for the people who rely on their vehicles every day.”
Addressing Transportation Funding Concerns
During the committee hearing, questions were raised about the potential impact of the bill on broader transportation funding. Hershey noted that many Maryland motorists feel they are paying more into the system while seeing little benefit in return.
“Maryland’s motorists are paying more and more into the Transportation Trust Fund, but many drivers aren’t seeing those dollars come back to maintain the roads and bridges they rely on every day,” Hershey said. “Motorists fund the majority of the state’s transportation system through gas taxes, registration fees, and titling charges, yet a large share of spending goes toward operating mass transit systems that many of these same drivers never use.”
Maryland’s Transportation Trust Fund supports highways, bridges, and transit systems statewide, but it is largely funded by motorists through fuel taxes, vehicle registration fees, and other driving-related charges.
“For families on the Eastern Shore and in rural parts of the state, driving isn’t optional — it’s how they get to work, school, and the places they need to go each day,” Hershey said. “If we’re asking Marylanders to pay higher fees just to register their vehicles, they deserve to see real improvements to the roads and infrastructure they depend on every day.”
Hershey said Senate Bill 896 represents a commonsense step toward easing the burden on Maryland drivers while lawmakers continue broader conversations about how the state funds and prioritizes transportation projects.
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