![]() Jones (D-Baltimore County) for establishing the House Workgroup on Judicial Transparency, which was created in response to Hogan’s frustration after his bill was tabled in late 2021. Mitchell expressed thanks to House Judiciary Committee Chair Luke H. The 20 bills never made it out of the House Judiciary Committee. Hogan introduced iterations of this bill during the 20 sessions and the 2021 special session. Hogan’s other bill, the Judicial Transparency Act of 2022, would require a comprehensive annual report on the sentencing decisions for violent crimes by individual judges, including details on sentences outside of the Maryland Sentencing Guidelines. Witnesses who signed up in opposition to the bill were not present when called to testify during the virtual hearing. Testifying in favor of the bill were members of the Maryland State’s Attorneys’ Association and deputy state’s attorneys from Harford and Baltimore Counties who said the bill sent a message that gun offenses would be dealt with harshly. The governor also introduced this bill during the 2021 special legislative session, when lawmakers exclusively focused on redistricting and veto overrides. In 2020 the bill died in the House chamber and it was taken up too late during the 2021 session to move forward. Previous iterations of Hogan’s emergency legislation have passed out of the Senate chamber. It also increases penalties for suppliers who give guns to people convicted of repeat firearms offenses. Mitchell presented The Violent Firearms Offender Act of 2022, or House Bill 423, which would increase the length of sentences and impose mandatory penalties for people who have been repeatedly convicted of firearms offenses or have been caught with illegally possessed guns. In keeping with his practice, Hogan did not attend the hearing to personally present the bills in the committee where they have stalled in recent years. “If we’re going to get a handle on the rampant violence, we must work together to get repeat violent offenders off of our streets.” “We have reached a crisis point not just in Baltimore, but nationally as well,” Kieffer Mitchell, Hogan’s chief legislative officer, said during the bill hearing Tuesday. Murders in Baltimore have surpassed 300 for the past seven years, a statistic that has figured heavily into legislative debate.Īs of Tuesday afternoon, the Baltimore Sun’s Homicide Database reported 39 homicides in Baltimore in 2022. In the meantime, Marylanders are asking lawmakers for solutions, as evidenced by a group of people gathered outside of the State House on Tuesday morning in support of the governor’s crime package.Ĭrime has risen across the state. Last week, Senate Democrats announced that they are looking to a different approach to public safety that includes prevention, intervention, criminal justice and rehabilitation. Republicans have faithfully backed Hogan’s crime bills - members of the minority party from both chambers have signed on to cosponsor both pieces of emergency legislation. Previous iterations of the bills have gained some traction in the Maryland Senate, but have failed to pass the House committee. The panel’s consideration is key to the future of Hogan’s primary proposals for fighting increasing violent crime in the state. ![]() (R) that would publicize judicial sentencing data and impose harsher sentences for repeat firearms violations. ![]() ![]() Maryland’s House Judiciary Committee heard testimony Tuesday on a pair of emergency bills introduced by Gov. Hogan Jr.’s crime-fighting legislative package. About 25 people gathered at Lawyers’ Mall on Tuesday morning to express their support for Gov. ![]()
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