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Division 1. General License Provisions.
(a) A person must not provide taxicab service without possessing a license as required under this Chapter.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c)(3), a license must be issued only to the owner of each taxicab.
(c) A person must not operate a taxicab or provide taxicab service unless the person either:
(1) holds a fleet license; or
(2) holds one or more individual licenses and is affiliated with an association or a fleet; or
(3) holds a sublicense granted by a holder of a fleet license under Section 53-204A and is affiliated with that fleet.
(d) A licensee must hold a license for each taxicab.
(e) A licensee must own a taxicab associated with each license. (2004 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1; 2015 L.M.C., ch. 39, § 1.)
Each licensee and driver are both responsible for displaying the license prominently in the taxicab at all times in a location that is plainly visible to passengers. (2004 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1.)
(a) A fleet or association, including any officer, director, owner, employee, affiliate, subsidiary, or holding company, must not have any direct or indirect ownership interest in or management control over any other fleet or association that operates in the County.
(b) An individual must not hold a license originally issued to a fleet or association under this Chapter, and a fleet or association must not hold a license originally issued to an individual under this Chapter, unless the license was lawfully transferred under Section 53-204.
(c) Nothing is this Section prohibits a fleet or association from providing non-taxicab for- hire driving services as defined under State law and not regulated by the County. (2004 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1; 2015 L.M.C., ch. 39, § 1.)
(a) Any license must not be transferred except as provided in this Chapter.
(b) A license may be transferred only if:
(1) the license was first issued before January 1, 2015;
(2) the licensee notifies the Department in writing of the proposed transfer not less than 30 days before the date of the proposed transfer, specifying all terms and conditions of the proposed transfer and the identity of the proposed transferee;
(3) the Director finds that the proposed transferee meets all requirements of this Chapter and applicable regulations; and
(4) the licensee surrenders the license when the Director approves the transfer.
(c) The Director must not approve a transfer of any license if the transferee already holds, or would then hold, more than 40% of the total number of licenses then in effect. This subsection does not prohibit the sale or transfer of a license to a licensee that held more than 40% of the licenses in effect on October 1, 2004, or the sale or transfer of all or a majority of the licenses held by that licensee.
(d) A security interest may be created in a passenger vehicle license in accordance with the Maryland Uniform Commercial Code, subject to the Director’s approval. The Executive may by regulation attach further conditions to the creation of a security interest, consistent with this subsection, as necessary to avoid significant disruptions in taxi service. The Director may approve the creation of a security interest only if:
(1) the licensee and, if different, the proposed holder of the security interest has notified the Director at least 30 days before the security interest would be created of the identities of all parties to and all terms and conditions of the security interest; and
(2) the secured party acknowledges in the security interest agreement that:
(A) the security interest is subordinate, in all respects, to the authority of the Director to suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew the license under this Chapter; and
(B) any transfer of the license pursuant to a foreclosure or execution on the security interest is not effective unless the Director finds that the proposed transferee satisfies all requirements of this Chapter and applicable regulations.
The Director must send to the secured party, at its last address on file with the Department, a copy of any written notice to the licensee regarding the suspension, revocation, or refusal to renew the license. That notice is the only notice the Director is required to provide to a secured party of any action taken or proposed to be taken with respect to a license.
(e) A transferred license is valid for the remainder of the term of the original license.
(f) A fleet or individual that transfers a license must not be issued a new license for three years after the transfer of the license. (2004 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1; 2008 L.M.C., ch. 35, § 1; 2015 L.M.C., ch. 39, § 1.)
(a) The holder of a fleet license may grant a sublicense to another person under this Section.
(b) A sublicense may be granted only if:
(1) the holder of a fleet license notifies the Department in writing of the proposed grant not less than 30 days before the date of the proposed grant, specifying all terms and conditions of the proposed grant and the identity of the proposed grantee;
(2) the Director finds that the proposed grantee meets all requirements for a licensee under this Chapter and applicable regulations; and
(3) the Director approves the grant of the sublicense.
(c) The Director must not approve a grant of a sublicense if the grantee already holds, or would then hold, more than 40% of the total number of licenses then in effect.
(d) The holder of a sublicense is subject to all of the requirements of this Chapter that apply to a licensee. (2015 L.M.C., ch. 39, § 1.)
Division 2. Issuance, Denial, Expiration, and Renewal.
(a) Notice. The Director may periodically issue new licenses to qualified applicants or reissue any license that has been revoked or not renewed under this Chapter, as provided in this Section. The Director must advertise the availability of these licenses in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the County for two consecutive weeks before accepting applications. The Director should also notify, by electronic mail or other reasonable means, any licensee or driver who requests to be notified of the availability of new or reissued licenses.
(b) Criteria. The Director may issue new or reissued licenses to qualified applicants, including existing licensees and persons who do not then hold licenses, who meet criteria defined by regulation which promote competition and further the purposes of this Chapter. The criteria must:
(1) be based on public convenience and necessity, such as the need for more taxicab services in the County generally or in certain geographic areas of the County, or for certain types of passengers, as shown by such measurements as taxi utilization rates and response times; and
(2) consider the performance record of each applicant in providing taxicab service in the County or elsewhere.
(c) Individual allocation. Of the new or reissued licenses issued in any 2-year period, at least 50% must be allocated to individuals who:
(1) have held a Taxicab Driver Identification Card, and have regularly driven a taxicab in the County, during the preceding 3 years;
(2) have a superior driving record, as defined by regulation; and
(3) do not already hold a license under this Chapter.
In deciding among individuals who qualify under this subsection, the Director must rank them by the number of years that each individual has regularly driven a taxicab in the County. If a sufficient number of qualified individuals do not apply for a license under this subsection, the Director may allocate the remaining licenses to individuals who already hold a license under this Chapter.
(d) Biennial limit. During calendar year 2016 the Director must not issue more than 70 new licenses. In each later even-numbered year, the Director may issue a total number of new licenses that does not exceed 10% of the number of licenses then in effect.
(e) Additional licenses - extraordinary authority; population limit. The Director may issue more licenses than are authorized under subsection (d) if the Director finds, after holding a public hearing, that additional taxicabs are necessary to improve service to specified geographic areas or types of taxicab users or generally to increase competition. However, the total number of licenses issued must not exceed one license for each 1,000 County residents, as computed in the most recent decennial U.S. Census or any census update published by the appropriate federal agency.
(f) Individual limit. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the Director must not issue a new or reissued license to any licensee that holds more than 40% of the licenses then in effect. (2004 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1; 2006 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1; 2015 L.M.C., ch. 39, § 1.)
Editor’s note—2017 L.M.C., ch. 21, §1, 2015 L.M.C., ch. 39, § 2, state: Not later than January 1, 2016, the Director must issue 100 new licenses following the procedures in Sections 53-205 and 53-210 as follows:
(a) 25 to individuals who do not hold a license under this Chapter, and of these, eight must be for accessible vehicles;
(b) 25 to fleets that hold fewer than 100 licenses, and of these, eight must be for accessible vehicles; and
(c) 50 accessible vehicle licenses to a driver-owned cooperative fleet that the Director determines is a qualified applicant under Chapter 53.
2017 L.M.C., ch. 21, §1,also states: Sec. 3.
(a) A license approved for issuance under Section 2, but for which a taxicab vehicle was not placed in service, must be issued if the applicant:
(1) notifies the Department of its intention to place a taxicab vehicle in service under this Section;
(2) is a qualified applicant under Chapter 53; and
(3) places a taxicab in service not later than January 31, 2019.
(b) If any of the 50 accessible licenses allocated to a driver-owned cooperative under Section 2 are not issued to the cooperative by January 31, 2019, either because the Director determines that the cooperative is not a qualified applicant under Chapter 53, or because the cooperative otherwise declines to obtain them, the licenses may be issued to individuals who do not currently hold licenses under this Chapter.
2015 L.M.C., ch. 39, § 3, states: If any of the 50 accessible licenses allocated to a driver-owned cooperative under Section 2 are not awarded to the cooperative by June 1, 2016, either because the Director determines that the cooperative is not a qualified applicant under Chapter 53, or because the cooperative otherwise declines to obtain them, the licenses must be issued to individuals who do not currently hold licenses under this Chapter.
2006 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 2, states: Transitional provisions; alternative criminal background check.
(a) Until September 1, 2007, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 53-306(c)(2)(D) and Section 53- 306(c)(3) to the contrary, the Director may issue a temporary identification card to an applicant for a taxicab driver identification card, before the Department receives the results of the state criminal background check required by Section 53-306, if:
(1) the applicant submitted all information necessary to process the state criminal background check required by Section 53-306 at least 10 days previously and the Department has not received the results of that background check;
(2) the applicant submits an initial criminal history background check, conducted within the previous 10 days by a third-party vendor approved by the Director;
(3) this third-party background check covers each jurisdiction in the United States where the applicant resided during the previous 5 years; and
(4) this third-party background check does not disclose any information that would disqualify the applicant from receiving an identification card under Section 53-309 (now Section 53-308).
(b) For any new passenger vehicle license issued in 2006 under County Code Section 53-205(d), as amended by Section 1 of this Act, the licensee must place the vehicle in taxi service not later than March 31, 2007.
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