On February 8, 2022, Executive Director Michael Sanderson testified before the House Judiciary Committee in support of HB 411 – Public Safety – Local Law Enforcement Coordination Council and Coordinator and State Aid for Police Protection Fund. This bill substantially increases the level of State Aid for Police Protection, and establishes the Local Law Enforcement Coordination Council.
Mr. Sanderson noted, “The expectations on both agencies and individual officers has great increased in recent years, and this bill offers resources to help support those expectations.” He also noted that the Coordination Council could advance collaborative efforts to target large-scale matters such as human trafficking.
From the MACo testimony: 
In recent years, local law enforcement officials have been charged with adopting several reforms to conform with current best practices. The costs of these reforms have often fallen on stressed county and municipal budgets. HB 411 would potentially provide these governments
with over $40 million in additional funding that could be used to:
- Implement body worn camera programs;
- Hire additional civilian staff to assist with case backlogs;
- Construct and staff civilian review boards; and
- Modernize training modules
MACo will testify on the bill’s crossfile, SB 397, on February 10, 2022.
Follow MACo’s advocacy efforts during the 2022 legislative session on MACo’s Legislative Tracking Database.Learn more about MACo’s 2022 Legislative Initiatives.Read more General Assembly News on MACo’s Conduit Street blog.
