All Military Vehicles banned from road in Maryland

[Ajax MD]

I have just emailed the sponsors of the bill, calmly and politely pointing out some of the negative impacts, as written.
I've CC'd TMOMW on the email so that he can follow what I'm doing and make sure I don't screw it up.

I urge other Marylanders to do the same. Please POLITELY write these delegates and explain that the restrictions are a bit onerous on the hobbyists and would also negatively impact Maryland businesses and charities that safely and legally use FMV's in their daily operations. Give them the benefit of the doubt that they are on our side, for the moment.

kevin.hornberger@house.state.md.us
lauren.arikan@house.state.md.us

 

[Ajax MD]

...and a little more:

I have taken the step of calling the sponsoring delegates' offices and speaking to their staff. When I pointed out some of the accidental consequences of the bill as written, they were very supportive of including amendments to the bill that will make it better. My conversations were positive and constructive, so I'm optimistic.

 

[Jakelc15]

I'm following along. I hope you guys get something worked out.
I do not live in Md and can't help with legislation. But I do work for DOT in Md and can inspect commercial motor vehicles.
So if anyone actually uses their trucks commercially I can do your annual inspection.
Please don't bring me anything that you know doesn't pass!

 

[Ajax MD]

As I understand it, HB-1148 will be submitted to the Maryland General Assembly on February 26th (9 days from today).

I'm hoping @TMOMW will come through with some well written amendments to the bill. I have never done anything like this and I'm drinking from a fire hose, trying to learn the processes and not make things worse. If TMOMW doesn't get back to us in time, I have written a set of amendments for the bill.

Marylanders: Please read HB-1148 and then read my suggested amendments below and provide some constructive input. Be realistic about your expectations. Remember that we live in a very blue state. We're not going to get daily transportation tags for your Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

These are the grossest errors that I'd like to correct:

As written, the bill requires ALL surplus MV's to obtain a safety inspection but carries onerous liimitations on use:
- NO surplus MV's may be used for daily transportation or commercial purposes.
- Numerous restrictions on use (occasional pleasure drives only, 125 mile radius mileage limitations, trips for maintenance and trips for club meetings/rallies, NOT to be used for daily transportation)
(This is very similar to Maryland's existing "Historic" registration limitations)

What I'd like to see:

- Surplus MV's *MAY ELECT* to obtain safety inspections for the purpose of obtaining "full use" registration and tags to allow the vehicle to be driven daily and used for commercial purposes. (I call this "The Mission BBQ Business Clause")
- Safety inspection will require vehicle to be equipped as it would have been at the date of manufacture. (type of seatbelts, ABS, mirrors, etc)
- Surplus MV's *MAY ELECT* to obtain a "Historic Surplus MV" license plate for hobbyists/enthusiasts. NO safety inspection required. Limitations of use are: NOT to be used for daily transportation, may be driven for pleasure drives, trips to maintenance facilities, parades, trips to clubs and rallies. NO MILEAGE LIMITATION. (I call this "The Enthusiast Clause")
- Any surplus MV currently registered may retain its current license plate and registration status or convert to one of the new types of registration at the discretion of the owner.

I'm really keen to kill any mileage limitation because rallies are often several hundred miles away. A 125 or 250 mile radius of operation would preclude attendence at most MV rallies or events.

These amendments should satisfy legislators who want FMV's to be maintained to a degree of safety if they are going to be driven frequently or in a commercial setting. Conversely, it reduces the burden of ownership for hobbyists and enthusiasts who only operate their FMVs casually or infrequently. The amendments give YOU THE OWNER the ability to choose your level of operation while also satisfying the desire to ensure the safety of the driving public.

 

[Ajax MD]

Here's the latest update:

The bill sponsors have accepted our amendments and are working to incorporate them into the bill. We're giving them a day or so to do this and then we'll download and review the amended version. Fingers crossed that they apply our amendments correctly and we don't have to dive into this again because the bill goes before the General Assembly on 2/26.

Many thanks to @TMOMW for his encyclepidic knowledge of MVs, safety standards and regulations. He can de-bunk virtually any myth or misinformation and has the documentation and photographs to back it up.

 

[TMOMW]

thanks, more than happy to help.... we are working with MI and have the current bill passed the senate yesterday, and today a bill I put together just passed the house 122-0 (HB 2420) this morning.... yea, victories all around us for MV owners due to the people working at the AMVO!!!

 

[Jeff MD]

Here's the latest update:

The bill sponsors have accepted our amendments and are working to incorporate them into the bill. We're giving them a day or so to do this and then we'll download and review the amended version. Fingers crossed that they apply our amendments correctly and we don't have to dive into this again because the bill goes before the General Assembly on 2/26.

Many thanks to @TMOMW for his encyclepidic knowledge of MVs, safety standards and regulations. He can de-bunk virtually any myth or misinformation and has the documentation and photographs to back it up.

Was there any update on this bill? Did it get passed?

 

[Ajax MD]

Was there any update on this bill? Did it get passed?

Legislative efforts have been suspended while the gov't is out of session for the pandemic. This is pretty much the status of all MV legislative efforts, nationwide.

 

[jeffhuey1n]

Left Maryland in ‘96. Got transferred to Iceland then to Montana. I took it in the shorts selling the house. If I hadn’t bought the house with my VA benefit, I’d have lost even more money. That’s beside the point. At this point, the best thing that happened to me and my family was getting our touches out of Maryland. It was bad and getting worse back then. I couldn’t imagine living in that septic tank these days.

 

[Blaze]

Legislative efforts have been suspended while the gov't is out of session for the pandemic. This is pretty much the status of all MV legislative efforts, nationwide.

any news about whether they will reintroduce the bill in this new session?

 

[Ajax MD]

any news about whether they will reintroduce the bill in this new session?

Unfortunately, no. The MGA (Maryland General Assembly) is preoccupied with more important matters such as taxing us all to death and circumventing our rights.

 

[Ajax MD]

@Blaze Ok, now that I've gotten the snark out of my system, I have just emailed the sponsoring Delegates and inquired on the status of the bill and whether it will be reintroduced.

Failing this, I am considering consulting with an attorney as to whether it is possible to blunt "legislation by agency memo" via a court ruling. If it is possible, it may be worth creating a legal defense fund to shut down the ASED's bogus memo denying safety inspections to FMV's that also states that FMV's are not designed for operating on public roads.

 

[HDN]

Going back to the start of this thread, I can't figure out why this is a problem to begin with. Was this brought on by someone who was in a crash with a FMV? Was it Green Peace or the Audubon Society about pollution?

I can't ever imagine this happening in NY unless someone commits mass murder with a FMV or something.

 

[Blaze]

@Blaze Ok, now that I've gotten the snark out of my system, I have just emailed the sponsoring Delegates and inquired on the status of the bill and whether it will be reintroduced.

Failing this, I am considering consulting with an attorney as to whether it is possible to blunt "legislation by agency memo" via a court ruling. If it is possible, it may be worth creating a legal defense fund to shut down the ASED's bogus memo denying safety inspections to FMV's that also states that FMV's are not designed for operating on public roads.

I was about to go purchase an m35a2 from a guy down in virginia. I was unaware of this bulletin till last night when i was looking up how i should get such a vehicle registered. Needless to say this ruined my night. Im still hell bent on buying an m35a2 but I can't spend a couple grand on a yard ornament. I would like to see the state reintroduce that bill, i wish to help but am unsure how to support any ideas? Also since the bulletin seems to only cover inspection, would a m35a2 built by jeep-kaiser in 1968 have any issues even if I were to tag it historic?

 

[Ajax MD]

I was about to go purchase an m35a2 from a guy down in virginia. I was unaware of this bulletin till last night when i was looking up how i should get such a vehicle registered. Needless to say this ruined my night. Im still hell bent on buying an m35a2 but I can't spend a couple grand on a yard ornament. I would like to see the state reintroduce that bill, i wish to help but am unsure how to support any ideas? Also since the bulletin seems to only cover inspection, would a m35a2 built by jeep-kaiser in 1968 have any issues even if I were to tag it historic?

Hang on, you can still get historic tags for an M35, no problem. It's when you need a safety inspection on a HMMWV or MTVR that's less than 20 years old that you run into problems.

I have an M813 5 ton, got historic tags with no problem.

 

[m1010plowboy]

Unfortunately, no. The MGA (Maryland General Assembly) is preoccupied with more important matters such as taxing us all to death and circumventing our rights.

What's next? Over 1 million Canadians invade the U.S. each year. Should I ask them to call someone? What are the phone numbers? I'll look up the number for tourism in Maryland and see what they can do to make me feel welcome.

We're finding that inexperienced people are making 'errors and omissions' while drafting legislature and they need assistance to make better decisions.

What do we need to do to motivate them?

 

[Ajax MD]

Lol, I joke that Trump was building the wall on the wrong border.

 

[frank8003]

@Blaze Ok, now that I've gotten the snark out of my system, I have just emailed the sponsoring Delegates and inquired on the status of the bill and whether it will be reintroduced.

Failing this, I am considering consulting with an attorney as to whether it is possible to blunt "legislation by agency memo" via a court ruling. If it is possible, it may be worth creating a legal defense fund to shut down the ASED's bogus memo denying safety inspections to FMV's that also states that FMV's are not designed for operating on public roads.

If they not good to be "on the road" then how did they all get to DC?
Our military doesn't maintain trucks any better than I would for me, they just got parts and labor for free, Me, I gottah buy parts.

 

[Jeff MD]

@Blaze Ok, now that I've gotten the snark out of my system, I have just emailed the sponsoring Delegates and inquired on the status of the bill and whether it will be reintroduced.

Failing this, I am considering consulting with an attorney as to whether it is possible to blunt "legislation by agency memo" via a court ruling. If it is possible, it may be worth creating a legal defense fund to shut down the ASED's bogus memo denying safety inspections to FMV's that also states that FMV's are not designed for operating on public roads.

Yeah, it is sad as the SF97 and title that I have are both clean and do not have the "off road only" designation. It is bogus that there is a memo that they are using that says that is the reason they are denying inspections. I would also argue the fact that the newer HMMWVs that we are trying to register are safer than ones over 20 years old.

I have also thought about contacting a lawyer, but don't know the expense involved. I wish our legislators would help us.

 

[Jeff MD]

Has anyone contacted ASED and gotten a response? We have clean titles and SF97s. We have diesel trucks that do not require emissions testing as well. Both are items referenced in the memo.

https://mdsp.maryland.gov/ASED/ASED%20Bulletins/Bulletin%20ASED-009%20Military%20Vehicle%20Inspection.pdf