(a) A person who holds a valid identification card must apply to a renewal card not less than 30 days before the current card expires.
(b) Under procedures established by regulation, a person may obtain an identification card by applying to the Director on a form provided by the Department that at a minimum requires the person to provide:
(1) the applicant’s name, date of birth, current address, and any address where the applicant resided during the past 5 years;
(2) a statement regarding whether the applicant has any criminal case pending, has ever been convicted or plead no contest or received probation before judgment in lieu of a conviction of a crime other than a non-incarcerable traffic offense; the nature of each crime, the disposition of each matter, and the name, telephone number, and address of any parole officer or probation officer or agency that may know of the offense or the proper completion of any sentence, probation, or parole;
(3) an authorization for a state and federal criminal background check to be conducted by the Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) and the appropriate federal agency;
(4) a copy of the applicant’s fingerprints taken by the County Police Department or written confirmation that the applicant’s fingerprints were taken by another agency approved by the Department, and current photographs of the applicant of a size and character required by applicable regulation;
(5) a driver’s license valid in the applicant’s state of residence, and a certified copy of the applicant’s driving record for a time period as required by applicable regulation; and
(6) the applicant’s statement under oath that all information contained in the application is correct and complete.
(c) (1) An applicant who has not held an identification card, or who held a card that has expired, may apply for a short-term temporary identification card under applicable regulations.
(2) The Director must not issue a temporary identification card unless the applicant has:
(A) properly verified his or her identity;
(B) a valid driver’s license issued by Maryland or a bordering state (including the District of Columbia);
(C) submitted his or her driving records, as compiled by the appropriate state motor vehicle agency, for the previous three calendar years from any jurisdiction where the applicant held a license to drive a motor vehicle; and
(D) undergone a criminal background check, conducted by the appropriate state agency, showing that the applicant is not disqualified because of a criminal conviction, receipt of probation before judgment in lieu of a conviction, or pending criminal charge from operating a taxicab.
(3) The Director must not issue a temporary or annual identification card unless the applicant has shown, through a complete criminal background check, that the applicant is not disqualified for any reason mentioned in Section 53-308(a).
(4) Any temporary identification card issued under this subsection must differ conspicuously in style and color from the annual identification card.
(5) A temporary identification card expires 45 days after the card was issued.
(6) The holder of a temporary identification card must return it to the Department, without further proceedings, on the earlier of:
(A) the day the Department issues the holder an annual identification card under this Chapter;
(B) the 45th day after the card was issued; or
(C) one business day after the Department notifies the holder that the card has expired under subsection (c)(5).
(7) By accepting a temporary identification card, the holder by operation of law waives any cause of action against the County or any officer, employee, or agency of the County for improperly issuing a license to the holder. By employing or leasing a taxicab to any person who holds a temporary identification card, a taxicab licensee by operation of law waives any cause of action against the County or any officer, employee, or agency of the County for improperly issuing a license to that person.
(d) The Director may extend the expiration date of an identification card up to 60 days if:
(1) the applicant has submitted all required documentation; and
(2) processing of required state or federal criminal background checks has been delayed through no fault of the applicant. (2004 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1; 2006 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1; 2015 L.M.C., ch. 39, § 1.)
Editor’s note—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.