House panel adopts narrow amendment to State Police bill on parking and stopping waivers

The House Committee on Transportation on the subcommittee’s recommendation adopted an amendment to House Bill 365, a measure sponsored at the request of the State Police that would allow coordination with local law enforcement to waive certain parking and stopping rules during specific enforcement or undercover operations.

Subcommittee Chair Delegate Reid presented the bill and said the changes were intended to accommodate certain undercover or related operations while preserving public-safety limits. Delegate McLaughlin, who presented the amendment, said the text now specifies that any waiver applies only when a law-enforcement officer “is acting in his official capacity or is engaged in enforcement activities or investigations.” McLaughlin said the subcommittee had voted 7–1 on the measure and that she and the bill’s patron had worked to address concerns raised by Delegate Bennett Parker.

McLaughlin explained the practical problem the amendment seeks to fix: under current wording, a trooper sitting in a median conducting speed enforcement could technically be in violation of parking or stopping provisions unless lights and sirens were used — an outcome she said the amendment would prevent while making clear the exemption was limited to official enforcement activity. “If you have a state trooper that is in the median in a grassy area and they’re conducting radar enforcement, unless they have their lights and sirens on, they could be in violation of code,” McLaughlin said; she added the amendment is not intended to allow off‑duty officers to claim the exemption.

Delegate Watts asked whether the amended language ties the waiver to performance of official duties rather than allowing it at any time; McLaughlin and the chair confirmed the language limits the waiver to official enforcement activities. The committee adopted the amendment, took no public testimony on the change, and then moved to report the legislation as amended to the next stage. The transcript records the subcommittee vote as 7–1; the committee-level roll call is not specified in the record provided.

The bill will proceed as amended for further consideration by the full committee and the bill’s patron will be able to make any additional adjustments at that stage.