(a) Except as otherwise expressly provided, the provisions of the Maryland Vehicle Law are statewide in their effect.

(b) Except as otherwise expressly authorized in this subsection or by a public local law on the regulation of taxicabs and taxicab drivers or by any public general law, no local authority or political subdivision of this State may:

(1) Require the registration or licensing of any vehicle or driver in addition to the registration and licensing required or authorized in the Maryland Vehicle Law;

(2) Impose on the owner or driver of any vehicle any tax, registration fee, license fee, assessment, or charge of any kind for the use of a vehicle on any highway in this State, except for tolls to finance the cost of the construction, maintenance, and operation of any bridge, tunnel or approach thereto constructed as part of the interstate system of highways under Title 23 of the United States Code and from the payment of which vehicles owned by the State are exempt; or

(3) Otherwise make or enforce any local law, ordinance, or regulation on any subject covered by the Maryland Vehicle Law.

(c) Except as otherwise provided in the Maryland Vehicle Law:

(1) The provisions of the Maryland Vehicle Law prevail over all local legislation and regulation on any subject with which the Maryland Vehicle Law deals;

(2) All public local laws, ordinances, and regulations that are inconsistent or identical with or equivalent to any provision in the Maryland Vehicle Law are repealed; and

(3) The charters of all political subdivisions of this State are modified to prohibit the political subdivision from making or enforcing any ordinance or regulation in violation of the Maryland Vehicle Law.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Maryland Vehicle Law does not preclude enactment, adoption, or enforcement of:

(1) A public local law for the regulation of taxicabs and taxicab drivers; or

(2) An ordinance or regulation adopted under such a public local law.