In a surprise move, the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee defeated MACo’s initiative bill to refine what footage from police body-worn cameras could be released under the Maryland Public Information Act. MACo’s bill, described by many as a “near consensus,” had sought to limit the worst-case scenario of a broad, untargeted request for footage that could prove costly and cumbersome to prepare for distribution.

HB 767, Sponsored by Delegate Sydnor, passed the House of Delegates with a comfortable bipartisan majority, but that bill and its Senate cross-file SB 970 were debated in the Senate Committee and ultimately rejected by nearly the full Committee membership. That vote spells the end of the debate on this issue for the session, and potentially for good.

A similar fate befell MACo’s bills in the 2016 session, when the House made modest amendments and passed the bill. The Senate committee, citing an extraordinary workload from other high profile legislation, did not focus on the body camera bills and they died without a formal vote, for lack of action.