Earlier this month, numerous media reports covered a performance audit detailing Maryland’s lack of success to date in addressing Medicaid fraud, which state officials said has resulted in tens of millions of dollars in improper Medicaid payments.
The latest unwelcome news comes from the findings of the nonpartisan, independent Office of Legislative Audits on the performance of the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA).
These findings are much worse than those reported in the Medicaid fraud audit.
The MDTA audit results include:
• MDTA failed to collect unpaid E-ZPass tolls and penalty fees totaling more than $885 million.
• Nearly $669 million in tolls and fees went uncollected for a year or more.
• More than half of that amount, $386.3 million, had gone uncollected for more than three years.
• MDTA has not taken timely steps to pursue and collect unpaid E-ZPass tolls and penalties from out-of-state motorists.
• As of February 2026, MDTA had not executed any reciprocity agreements with other states, as allowed by state law. Such agreements could include provisions allowing those states to suspend vehicle registrations if tolls and penalties are not paid.
• Earlier this year, the Maryland Department of Legislative Services (DLS) reported that MDTA had failed to collect more than $730 million in tolls and penalties assessed against out-of-state drivers.
• The DLS report also identified more than $907 million in unpaid tolls and fees on vehicles registered in Maryland.
• MDTA has not sent those accounts to collections or taken steps for the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) to suspend registrations and prevent drivers from renewing their Maryland vehicle registrations because of unpaid tolls and penalties.
• MDTA did not hire collection agencies to help recover unpaid tolls and fees.
• MDTA did not request approval from the state budget secretary to send the accounts to the state’s Central Collection Unit.
• The recent OLA audit comes two years after state lawmakers raised concerns about unpaid out-of-state tolls and penalties.
• In January 2025, MDTA said it believed it was close to entering into its first reciprocal payment and penalty agreement with other states. The pact was expected to include the ability to suspend out-of-state vehicle registrations for unpaid tolls. In July 2026, the agency said it was still working to finalize that agreement.
Responding to media interviews about the audit findings, MDTA’s executive director said improving collections is “something we’ve been focused on for a while. I’ve been working with the team on this basically since day one because I knew it was a challenge, and it’s even frustrated me that it’s taken this long, but it’s something we have to do.”
A message from MDTA that it may have had good intentions to address the poor performance identified in these audits, and will do so eventually, is unacceptable.
Maryland has been, and continues to be, faced with significant challenges in balancing state budgets despite approval earlier this year of budget cuts, selected state income tax rate increases, expanded application of the state sales tax, new state fees, state fee increases, and a digital advertising tax already ruled unconstitutional.
In a recent post about Maryland, Will Hammann and Adam Lipman wrote that “projections show the worst is yet to come for the Maryland state budget. Gov. Wes Moore’s office projects a deficit of $2.8 billion in fiscal 2028, growing to $4.5 billion by fiscal 2031.”
It is time for the leadership at MDTA, the leadership of the Maryland General Assembly, and the governor to fully embrace the thinking of Peter F. Drucker:
“Good intentions are no substitute for organization, management, leadership, and for accountability, performance, and results.”
It is also time for them to embrace the thinking of John Kotter in his book A Sense of Urgency:
“The single most crucial factor in achieving permanent and meaningful change is a continuous sense of urgency. A true sense of urgency occurs when you acknowledge action on critical issues is needed now, not eventually, not when it fits easily into a schedule. Now means making progress every single day.”
That is the case not only for the findings of the most recent poor performance audits, but also for every future poor performance audit in state government.
16 Responses
Looks like MDTA is working to fix this.
From the article:
“• In January 2025, MDTA said it believed it was close to entering into its first reciprocal payment and penalty agreement with other states. The pact was expected to include the ability to suspend out-of-state vehicle registrations for unpaid tolls. In July 2026, the agency said it was still working to finalize that agreement.”
One would think that this would already be in place when EZ Pass went into effect. Details, details. It’s just another example of the total inability of the State Of Maryland to actually run our government efficiently. So in order to make up for inefficiency and accountability the General Assembly just approves more taxes and fees to make up for budget deficits.
They need to be more efficient in running our government. Please cut costs and stop increasing fees and taxes
When questioned about poor leadership, poor management, and the lack of accountability, the Moore administration always has good intentions to address incompetence that costs Maryland taxpayers millions of dollars. Unfortunately, lame excuses are no longer acceptable. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions!! Wake up Maryland. Moore and the minions in his administration are incompetent buffoons!! Remember in November!!
Why weren’t these agreements in place when EZ Pass when into effect? Whose Administration was in charge when this happened? The Buck Stops There.
Talk about “asleep at the wheel”?!
That’s quite a bit more money than the $19million the Governor advertises on TV that hed like to “save” from picking up highway trash.(“save” = give elsewhere)
I’m of the belief that many MDTA employees, and State employees in general are overpaid, or at the very least not performing with the sense of urgency that usually exists in privately owned businesses. It’s our money that’s being mismanaged and it’s not from a never ending supply of mystery money that just appears.
Non performance should not be tolerated! That might get the message across.
It seems it is time to replace the governor of Maryland. The idea of raising taxes to accommodate the inefficiencies of our government is unacceptable
Maryland is already is way over taxed so the governor can make stupid about how to spend our money and then figure that he will just raise our taxes again to cover his expenses….just my opinion
One more to add to the failures at the MDTA. “The MDTA failed to hold accountable and terminate those managers and administrators who are responsible for this costly incompetence .”
It is already expensive to live in Maryland.And there seems to be no one wants to except the blame for millions of taxpayer dollars.Being wasted on god knows what.i say open the governors books and check dollar for dollar because asking tax payers to take on paying more isn’t fair we are already struggling.
Seems like everything is Governor Moores problem but if people would spend a little bit of time finding our more about these situations, you would find out that not only Maryland has a problem with collecting delinquent fees for toll collections, seems the majority of States also have the same problem!
Also, rather than blame the Governor and State workers, why not blame the dishonest people who will go out of their way to avoid paying what is due, you can guarantee it is not an individual person not paying the toll but people who go through tolls, knowing they have no intention of paying the toll.
Seems to me one way to stop all this hand ringing about uncollected toll fees is to reinstall the toll booths at each end of a Maryland managed tolled bridge or highway, hands up all those in favour.
👍
Funny how nothing was discussed regarding Maryland Residents vehicle registrations being held hostage and forced to pay thousands of dollars that could not be proven they owe! (Tag numbers on photos can not be read and videos are not provided or accessible) The office of the Attorney General is supposed to be investigating overcharging of tolls and a company out of Pennsylvania that is part of MD EZ Pass collecting money when they are not authorized to!