August 13, 2010
On August 26, 2010, the National Reentry Resource Center will host a free webinar for local government officials interested in offender reentry. The webinar will discuss the role of local government in reentry, how local government agencies can establish and sustain reentry efforts, and how these efforts affect local budgets. Reentry tools and resources available to local governments, such as the Urban Institute’s Transition from Jail to Community Implementation Toolkit will be profiled.
The webinar will feature presentations by:
- Sheriff Andrea Cabral, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
- Research Associate, Jesse Jannetta, the Urban Institute
- Commissioner Scott Martin, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
After the presentations, participants will have an opportunity to ask questions.
The webinar, supported by the U.S Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, will be held at 2:00 P.M. (E.T.) on Thursday, August 26, 2010.
To register for the webinar, click here.
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Posted by Les Knapp
July 27, 2010
A July 26 Gazette article details how Maryland will receive $15 million in funding from the federal government for cybersecurity initiatives, including a cybersecurity center to serve as a bridge between the private sector and federal, state, and local governments.
The lion’s share —$10 million — would go toward launching a National Cybersecurity Center for Excellence at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, as part of an upcoming federal appropriations bill. The center will support the cybersecurity requirements of federal agencies, state and local governments, academia and private businesses, officials said.
“The idea is that we will have it as a civilian gateway to private industry to get involved with cybersecurity,” said Rachel MacKnight, an aide to U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D) of Baltimore, chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science. “You can’t do this at [the National Security Agency] or any of the military agencies, but you can do it at NIST.”
MacKnight said the center will help build the state’s cybersecurity work force and develop the industry, creating many jobs.
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Posted by Les Knapp
July 20, 2010
As the Washington Examiner reports, members of the Montgomery County Council are interested in establishing an alternate court for nonviolent criminals with mental illness. Council members claim:
Inmates don’t receive enough treatment behind bars and drain the cash-strapped county with each trip back to jail.
But law enforcement and court officials say they don’t have the money or resources to start up a specialized docket in the affluent suburb.
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Posted by Andrea Mansfield
July 9, 2010
A July 9 WBAL 1090 AM article discusses Governor Martin O’Malley’s upcoming homeland security presentation at the annual summer meeting of the National Governors Association. Governor O’Malley, who is co-chair of the Association’s Subcommittee on Homeland Security and Public Safety, will focus on interoperable communications. When a disaster or emergency requires a coordinated response from federal, state, and local authorities, the need for those authorities to have compatible communications systems is vital.
Governor O’Malley and roughly 40 other governors from across the country are converging on Boston this weekend for the annual summer meeting of the National Governors Association. …
On Saturday Governor O’Malley will join his co-chair on the NGA Subcommittee on Homeland Security and Public Safety for a presentation on interoperable communications.
Interoperability was a MACo legislative initiative in 2004 and 2005.
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Posted by Les Knapp
June 18, 2010
As described in a June 18 Gazette article, the Montgomery County Circuit Court has dismissed a class action lawsuit against the County and several of its municipalities over their speed camera program. The lawsuit alleged the County was violating State law because of how the payment contract with the speed camera vendor was structured.
The ruling by Judge David Boynton ends a two-year legal battle about the cameras. …
The lawsuit, filed by Bowie attorney Timothy Leahy — who also is one of about a dozen original plaintiffs — alleged the county has been operating its speed camera program illegally since it began in 2007. …
Leahy and others argued the jurisdictions are illegally paying a per-ticket rate to Affiliated Computer Services Inc., a Texas company involved in the speed camera program. The company receives $16.25 per ticket.
The suit claimed the arrangement gave the company a financial incentive to issue more tickets — in violation of state law.
Boynton dismissed the case Tuesday, saying the county and the municipalities operate their own camera programs, Associate County Attorney Charles Frederick said.
June 17 Washington Examiner article
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Posted by Les Knapp
April 26, 2010
The Council of State Governments Justice Center is seeking organizations and local governments willing to sign onto a letter urging Congress to reauthorize the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA), which provides grants to State and county governments for the treatment of mentally ill offenders and prisoners. MIOTCRA received $12 million in fiscal year 2010 and the Justice Center hopes to maintain that level of support for fiscal year 2011.
MIOTCRA Fact Sheet
MIOTCRA National Support Letter
If you would like to sign the letter, please send the name of your organization and the county it represents to Jay Nelson by May 4, 2010. Please feel free to forward these materials on to any of your members, colleagues and friends who might be interested. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact:
Jamal (Jay) Nelson
Government Affairs
Council of State Governments Justice Center
4630 Montgomery Ave., Suite 650
Bethesda, MD 20814
240.482.8580 (direct)
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Posted by Les Knapp
April 14, 2010
Legislation that would require a person receiving a payable traffic citation to affirmatively request a trial, rather than having one automatically scheduled. HB 829 and SB 560 will greatly reduce the number of people for whom a trial is scheduled but who do not show up. This will save counties police overtime costs and keep more police officers “in the field.” MACo supported the bills.
The bills are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2011 in order to give the courts time to make necessary software changes and print new traffic citations.
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Posted by Les Knapp
March 23, 2010
SB 560, legislation sponsored by Senator Jennie Forehand to modernize Maryland’s system for traffic citations, has been amended and granted initial approval by the Senate. This follows days of delay as the bill was held, pending potential amendments. MACo has joined with the Maryland Sheriffs Association and the Maryland Chiefs of Police in supporting the bill — arguing that current law providing a court date for ticket recipients who don’t request one (a process apparently unique to Maryland) means many law enforcement officers spending undue time in court (waiting for no-shows) and keeps them from performing their more essential duties.
The amendment added on the floor of the Senate, offered by Senator Bobby Zirkin, includes several provisions — summarized by the new language added to the bill’s “title” (a short description of the bill’s effects):
requiring the notice to include a certain statement of the possible consequences if the person fails to comply within a certain time period; authorizing the District Court or circuit court to issue a warrant or provide a certain notice to the Motor Vehicle Administration if a person fails to comply with certain notices; providing that a warrant may not be issued for a certain noncompliance until after the expiration of certain time periods
MACo has supported giving drivers reasonable notice of their rights and duties when ticketed, and has not raised conceptual concerns with the amendment language.
Following the short debate over the amendment, the bill passed its “second reading” (the stage where the full Senate may offer amendments prior to a final vote) and will likely be brought up for its “third reading” vote later this week.
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Posted by Michael Sanderson
March 13, 2010
MACo Associate Director Les Knapp participated in a panel of local jail administrators and prison health care providers that offered amendments on HB 1335 before the House Judiciary Committee on March 9. The bill, sponsored by Delegate Victor Ramirez, requires local jails to provide inmates who have been diagnosed with a mental illness access to a 30-day supply of medication for the mental illness upon the inmate’s release. Part of the supply may be provided via prescription and the bill provides liability protection to the correctional facility and its employees and agents.
Mr. Knapp and the other panelists argued that the bill’s policy goal was laudable but that the bill should be made authorizing rather than mandatory, in light of the fiscal cost that would be borne by some of the counties.
The Senate hearing on the bill’s cross-file, SB 761, occurred on March 2. A bill introduced by the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, SB 86, which would authorize local jails to provide medication upon an inmate’s release for any chronic or acute medical condition and provide the medication provider with protection from liability, has passed the Senate. MACo supported SB 86.
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Posted by Les Knapp
February 20, 2010
According to a February 16 Wall Street Journal article, Maryland will be the site of the first federally sanctioned test of technology that can jam cellphone signals within a prison or jail. The test results may influence legislation pending before both the United States House of Representatives and Senate to let States make use of the technology.
The Federal Communication Commission can only allow federal agencies—not state or local authorities—permission to jam cellphone signals. But a bill that passed the Senate and awaits action by the House would allow states to petition the FCC to block the use of cellphones from prisons.
Testing is set to begin Wednesday at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, said Shaun Adamec, spokesman for Gov. Martin O’Malley. The governor has strongly backed allowing states to use the jamming technology to battle the growing problem of cellphone use in prisons.
The Maryland General Assembly considered two bills, HB 61 and HB 78, that would have increased the penalties for an inmate to posses a cellphone or for a person to deliver a cellphone to an inmate. MACo supported HB 78. However, the House Judiciary Committee gave both bills an unfavorable report.
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Posted by Les Knapp
