The Maryland General Assembly ends in 8 days. I’m hoping some more of our bills will move this week.
I’m pleased to announce that the Maryland Legal Services Corporation (MLSC) abandon property bill passed. This bill increases MLSC’s most stable funding source and helps protect funding for legal services in Maryland. In addition, the bill giving Baltimore City local control of the police department also passed.
Unfortunately, the police reform effort has stalled. HB 670 (see attached) passed in the House and was heard in the Senate. The Senate amended the bill and returned it to the House. The House rejected the amendments and appointed a conference committee to work out the differences. At this time, the Senate has not appointed a conference committee and, therefore, the negotiations have not begun. From what I have read, the House and Senate had come to an agreement about the bill, and they were hoping to avoid a conference committee. Something happened and the agreement fell apart. I hope the process gets back on track tomorrow.
Thanks for your continued support.
DV AND MLSC BILLS
HB 147/SB 250 – Criminal Law–Sexual Crimes–Repeal of Spousal Defense – This bill would repeal the prohibition on prosecuting a person for rape or certain sexual offenses against a victim who is the person’s legal spouse. Under current law, a person can only be prosecuted for raping their spouse under certain circumstances. Passed in the House on a vote of 125 – 4. The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee amended the bill in an unacceptable way. The amended version passed in the Senate on a vote of 45 – 0. SB 250 is on the House Judiciary Committee’s voting list on April 5.
HB 478/SB 232 – Civil Cases – Surcharges – This bill would raise the cost of filing fees in the Circuit and District Courts with the money going to support and the Maryland Legal Services Corporation (MLSC). MLSC provides funding to low income legal service providers in Maryland and is one of HRM Legal Clinic’s largest funders. MLSC is funded by three main sources. First, the interest on lawyers’ trust accounts (IOLTA); second, by a filing fee surcharge; and third, from the State’s abandon property fund. During the pandemic, MLSC took a major hit to two of their three funding sources. When the interest rate fell to near zero, MLSC received almost no IOLTA funding. When the courts stopped almost all proceedings, the filing fees fell to near zero. MLSC lost almost 10 million dollars. This bill would replace some of that funding and is critical to the continued operation of the Legal Clinic. Hearing before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on January 26. Hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on February 17
HB 514/SB 413 – Maryland Legal Services Corporation – Abandon Property – This bill would increase the amount that MLSC gets from the state’s abandon property fund from $2,000,000 to $8,000,000. See above for why MLSC needs additional funding. PASSED
HB 31 – Courts – Surcharges and Payment to Rental Assistance Programs – This bill would raise the amount of court filing fees and directs the money to be given to Maryland Legal Services Corporation and used for rental assistance programs in the State. Passed in the House on a vote of 80 – 48. The House bill will be heard by the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on March 30.
HB 505 – Child Custody – Legal Decision Making and Parenting Time – Several years ago, we supported a bill to establish the Commission on Child Custody Decision Making. The bill passed and the Commission studied many custody, visitation and access issues. The Commission ultimately drafted a proposed custody statute to both codify existing case law and suggest changes in how we handle these cases. This bill would codify many of those recommendations. Passed in the House on a vote of 127 – 6. The House bill will be heard by the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on March 31
HB 744 – Courts – Counsel Appearance Fees – Domestic Violence- This bill would prohibit the clerk of a circuit court from collecting fees for docketing the appearance of a petitioner’s counsel in protective order cases. The House Judiciary Committee amended the bill and reported favorably. Passed in the House on a vote of 130 – 0. The House bill was heard by the Senate Judicial Proceeding Committee on March 23
FAMILY LAW BILLS
HB 243 – Family Law – Grounds for Divorce – This bill would allow parties to file for a limited divorce under certain circumstances if they have irreconcilable difference and a final divorce if they have been separated for 6 months. Passed in the House on a vote of 112 – 20. The House bill was heard by the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on March 17.
HB 242/SB 173 – Family Law – Minors – Emancipation (Emancipation of Minors Act of 2020) Family Law – Emancipation of a Minor and Authorization to Marry – This bill would create a statutory scheme for a minor to petition for emancipation and alters the conditions under which an individual who is 17 years old may marry. Hearing before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on January 26. Hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Jan 28
HB 268 – Criminal Trials – Spousal Privilege – Exception – This bill allows a spouse to be compelled to testify against their spouse if they got married after the date on which the alleged crime occurred. Passed in the House on a vote of 121 – 11. The House bill was heard by the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on March 18.
HB 748/SB 57 – Family Law – Child Custody and Visitation – This bill amends existing law about what the court must consider in custody and visitation cases when the court finds either child abuse or intimate partner violence. In addition, it spells out the factors the court shall consider in deciding custody cases. Hearing before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on January 26. Hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on February 18
SB 355 – Family Law – Custody Evaluators – Qualifications and Training – This bill moves the definition and requirements for court custody evaluators from the Court Rules to a statute. In addition, it redefines the training requirements for custody evaluators. House of Ruth submitted testimony suggesting that the requirements for custody evaluators should remain in the Maryland Rules of Court. Hearing before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on January 26.
HB 959 – Absolute Divorce – Mutual Consent – Deadline for Ruling – This bill would require a court to rule on an application for absolute divorce on the grounds of mutual consent within 7 days after the date on which the application is filed. Hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on February 18
HB 1036/SB 675 – Child Custody – Cases Involving Child Abuse or Domestic Violence – Training for Judges and Child’s Counsel – This bill requires the Maryland Judiciary, in consultation with domestic violence and child abuse organizations, to develop a training program for judges presiding over child custody cases involving child abuse or domestic violence and to review and update the training program at certain intervals. It also requires the training program to include certain information; and requires the Maryland Judiciary to make information on a certain training program available on request. Hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on March 4. Unfavorable report by the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee
SB 774 – Family Law – Custody and Visitation – Child’s Preference – This bill requires a court in a custody or visitation proceeding to hear and consider a child’s custody or visitation preference; requires a court to explain the court’s reasoning for issuing a custody or visitation order that is inconsistent with a child’s stated preference; and requires a court to allow a child who is at least 8 years old to testify to the child’s custody or visitation preference in open court. Bill was withdrawn by the sponsor.
SB 775 – Family Law – Child Custody and Visitation – Abuse – This bill requires a court that approves an arrangement for custody or visitation with a party who has committed abuse against the other parent of the party’s child, the party’s spouse, or any child residing within the party’s household, to impose certain conditions on the custody arrangement and it creates a rebuttable presumption that it is not in the best interest of a child for a court to grant custody to a party who has committed abuse. Bill was withdrawn by the sponsor
PUBLIC SAFETY AND POLICE REFORM BILLS
HB 139/SB 626 – Law Enforcement Officers – Use of Force – This bill would allow a person to sue law enforcement for using beyond what was necessary and proportional. Hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on February 9. Passed in the Senate on a vote of 35 – 12. Senate bill will be heard in the House Judiciary Committee on March 25.
HB 88/SB 74 – Police Officers – Mental Health – Employee Assistance Programs – This bill requires each law enforcement agency to provide confidential access to an employee assistance program or a mental health program to address the mental health issues of police officers stemming from personal and work-related concerns, including stress, financial issues, legal issues, and family problems. Hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on January 19. Passed in the Senate on a vote of 47 – 0. Senate bill was heard in the House Judiciary Committee on March 25.
HB 120/SB 178 – Public Information Act – Personnel Records – Investigations of Law Enforcement Officers (Anton’s Law) – This bill establishes that a record relating to an administrative or criminal investigation of misconduct by a law enforcement officer is not a personnel record for purposes of certain provisions of the Public Information Act. Hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on February 9. Passed in the Senate on a vote of 29 – 18. Senate bill was heard in the House Judiciary Committee on March 25.
SB 599 – Public Safety – Surplus Military Equipment – Prohibition on Purchase by Law Enforcement Agencies – This bill prohibits certain law enforcement agencies from receiving certain equipment from a federal military surplus program, including an armored or weaponized aircraft, drone, or vehicle, a destructive device, a firearm silencer, or a grenade launcher. Passed in the Senate on a vote of 47 – 0. Senate bill was heard in the House Judiciary Committee on March 25.
SB 627 – Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights – Repeal and Procedures for Discipline – This bill repeals the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights which provides for the discipline of law enforcement officers. The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee amended the bill and reported favorably. Passed in the Senate on a vote of 33 – 14. Senate bill was heard in the House Judiciary Committee on March 25
SB 419 – No-Knock Warrants – Elimination – This bill would also eliminate no knock warrants by law enforcement but it is not a cross file of HB 188. Passed in the Senate on a vote of 47 – 0. Senate bill was heard in the House Judiciary Committee on March 25.
SB 71 – Police Officers – Testimony – Presumption of Inadmissibility (Maryland Police Accountability Act of 2021) – This bill provides that a knowing and willful failure of a police officer to activate their body–worn camera creates a rebuttable presumption that their testimony is inadmissible under certain circumstances. Passed in the Senate on a vote of 47 – 0. Senate bill was heard in the House Judiciary Committee on March 25.
HB 151 – Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights – Repeal – This bill repeals the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights. Hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on February 9
HB 188 – No–Knock Warrants – Elimination (Duncan’s Act) – This bill would eliminate no knock warrants by law enforcement. Hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on February 9
SB 50 – Criminal Procedure – Police Officers – Duty to Intervene – This bill would require a police officer to make a reasonable effort to intervene if they who know or reasonably should have known that another police officer was using excessive force. Hearing before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on January 21.
SB 166 – Criminal Procedure – Police Officers – Duty to Report Misconduct (Maryland Police Accountability Act) – This bill requires police officers to report certain conduct (e.g. homicide, excessive force, sexual crime) of another police officer to a supervisor or chief under certain circumstances. Hearing before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on January 21
HB 365 – Criminal Procedure – Office of the Attorney General – Prosecution of Police Officer – This bill would allow the attorney general to prosecute a criminal case involving serious bodily injury or death allegedly caused by a police officer. Hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on February 12
SB 260 – Public Safety – Police Officers’ Performance Review Board – This bill would create a police officers’ performance review board which would collect demographic data about citizen encounters with police; establish standards for race neutral behaviors; conduct annual reviews of police performance; and impose sanctions for racially discriminatory behavior. Hearing before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on January 21
HB 502/SB 456 – Office of the State’s Attorney – Collection and Publication of Prosecutorial Information – This bill would require each Office of the State’s Attorney to collect and disclose certain information relating to prosecutions and office policies to the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services (formerly known as the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention or GOCCP). Hearings before the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee were both cancelled
HB 670 – Police Reform and Accountability Act of 2021- This bill represents the recommendations of the Police Reform and Accountability in MD Workgroup. It would repeal the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights; provide that the Police Department of Baltimore City is an agency and instrumentality of the City of Baltimore, instead of the State; authorize a judge to issue a certain “no-knock” search warrant only under certain circumstances; and provides that an individual attending a public institution of higher education is exempt from paying tuition if the individual intends to become a police officer under certain circumstances. Passed in the House on a vote of 96 – 40. The Senate amended HB 670 and passed it on a vote of 32 – 15. The House refused to accept the Senate amendments and appointed a conference committee of Delegates Clippinger, Atterbeary, and Moon. The Senate has not appointed a conference committee.
SB 786 – Maryland Police Accountability Act of 2021 – Baltimore City – Control of the Police Department of Baltimore City – This bill would re-establish local control of the Baltimore Police Department. Passed in the Senate on a vote of 46 – 0. Passed in the House on a vote of 115 – 21. PASSED
OTHER BILLS OF INTEREST
HB 289/SB 105 – Peace Order – Workplace Violence – This bill would allow an employer to get a peace order for an act of abuse that occurred at the workplace against an employee so long as the employee does not have the kind of relationship with the abuser that would allow her/him to get a protective order. Passed in the House on a vote of 131 – 4. The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee amended the bill and it passed in the Senate on a vote of 46 – 0. HB 289 has been laid over in the Senate.
HB 413 – Judges – Implicit Bias – Testing, Training, and Evaluation – This bill requires the state court administrator to ensure that each judge undergoes an implicit bias test; receives training to address implicit bias; is evaluated to measure the results of the training; and that the anonymous test results are available to the public. Hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on January 27
HB 227/SB 363 – Courts – Improperly Summoning a Police Officer – Civil Liability – This bill would allow a person to file a civil suit against another person for calling the police for a discriminatory reason. While we do not believe the sponsors intended this to impact domestic violence cases, we are concerned it could. House of Ruth’s testimony asked that bill be amended to exclude domestic violence cases. Hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on January 20. Hearing before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on February 9
HB 18/SB 154 – Landlord and Tenant – Eviction Action – Right to Counsel- This bill creates a right to counsel for low income tenants under circumstances. Hearing before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on January 28. Hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on February 17
HB 1210 – Corporate Diversity – Board, Executive Leadership, and Mission – This bill prohibits a business or non-profit entity from qualifying for certain State benefits unless it is able to demonstrate that its board or executive leadership includes membership of underrepresented communities or its mission is to provide support for underrepresented communities. Underrepresented communities are defined as those members who self–identify as Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, native American, native Hawaiian, or Alaska native. Passed in the House on a vote of 92 – 40. The Finance Committee amended the bill and reported favorably. HB 1210 has been laid over in the Senate.
OPPOSING
HB 195 – Criminal Procedure – District Court Commissioners – Issuance of Arrest Warrant – This bill would change existing law so that only a police officer, not individuals, could file a statement of charges with a District Court commissioner and it would allow commissioners to only issue summons and not arrest warrants. This bill would severely limit how victims of domestic violence could press criminal charges. Because in many domestic violence cases the only witnesses are the parties, the police would almost never be able to file charges. Hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on February 9
HB 1233 – Correctional Services – Inmates – Intake and Release Requirements (Reentry Success Act of 2021) – The bill would require the Division of Correction to provide screening and access to private mediation between an inmate who has been sentenced to serve more than one year and an individual identified by the inmate as essential for the successful reentry of the inmate into society. While we support the intent of the bill, we could not come to an agreement with the sponsor to screen for victims of domestic violence and allow them to be excluded from the mediation process. Hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on March 9.