§ 22-102. Authority of Administrator

   (a) Approval or disapproval of lighting devices and safety equipment. -- The Administrator may approve or disapprove any lighting device or other motor vehicle safety equipment components or assemblies of a type for which approval is specifically required in this title, within a reasonable time after approval has been requested. The approvals may be based on consultations with the Automotive Safety Enforcement Division of the Department of State Police.

(b) Procedure upon submission of request for approval. -- The Administrator may set up the procedure to be followed when requests for approval of any lighting device or other motor vehicle safety equipment component or assembly is submitted. The procedures may provide for submission of these devices, components, or assemblies to the Automotive Safety Enforcement Division of the Department of State Police.

(c) Hearing on question of compliance of approved device. -- When the Administrator has reason to believe that a device approved under this title is being sold commercially and does not comply with the applicable standards for the device, the Administrator may, after giving 30 days' previous notice to the person who has received the approval for the device, conduct a hearing on the question of compliance of the approved device. After the hearing, the Administrator shall determine whether the devices being sold meet the requirements for approval. If the devices do not meet these requirements, the Administrator shall give notice to the person who has received the previous approval.

(d) Suspension or revocation of approval. -- If, at the expiration of 30 days after this notice, the person who has received the approval of the device has failed to satisfy the Administrator that the devices being sold meet the requirements for approval, the Administrator shall suspend or revoke the approval issued for the device until the device is resubmitted to and tested by an independent testing laboratory approved by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators and is found to meet the applicable standards. The Administrator may require that all of these devices sold since the notification following the hearing be replaced by devices that do comply. The Administrator may, at the time of retest, purchase on the open market and submit for retesting one or more sets of these approved devices, and, if the device on retest fails to meet the approval requirements, the Administrator shall revoke or refuse to renew the approval of the device.

(e) Adoption of federal safety standards. -- Notwithstanding any other provision of the Maryland Vehicle Law, the Administrator may adopt any motor vehicle safety standard prescribed by the Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation under 49 U.S.C. § 30111.

HISTORY: An. Code 1957, art. 66 1/2, § 12-102; 1977, ch. 14, § 2; 1988, ch. 6, § 1; 1999, ch. 645.