The segments below provide a brief overview of MACo’s work on pubic safety and corrections policies in the 2024 General Assembly session.
Counties are primary providers of public safety services in the state. Each county must have an elected sheriff with deputies, and some also have a county police force. Additionally, each county operates a local jail that holds inmates awaiting trial and those sentenced to 18 months or less.
Maryland’s 446th legislative session convened amidst a substantial concern over the State’s fiscal situation, with weakened revenues and cost increases for many services at every level of government. Despite the fiscal limitations, a wide range of policy issues received a full debate, with many resolutions arising from the 90-day annual process. MACo’s legislative committee guided the association’s positions on hundreds of bills, yielding many productive compromises and gains spanning counties’ uniquely wide portfolio.
Follow these links for more coverage on our Conduit Street blog and Legislative Database.
Public Safety Workforce Recruitment
MACo supported HB 597/SB 470- Growing Apprenticeships and the Public Safety Workforce (GAPS) Act with amendments. The bill expands resources for qualifying public safety apprenticeships and invests in support services and workforce enhancements. MACo amendments were to include corrections officials in the membership and mission of the proposed effort. This bill passed the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 618/SB 380- Police Recruitment and Retention Workgroup. This bill establishes a workgroup to study the issues and factors contributing to police officer recruitment as well as the decline in police officer retention statewide. A critical look at this ongoing challenge will help county governments reinforce this vital profession. This bill passed the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported SB 1101- Higher Education – Maryland Police Officers and Probation Agents Scholarship Program – Alterations with amendments. This bill seeks to bolster diversity in the public safety workforce and enhance access to higher education for officers and their dependents. Counties proposed amendments to encourage both the inclusion of corrections officers, as well as adequate funding for the programs. This bill passed the 2024 session.
Police Accountability
MACo supported HB 533/SB 621- County Police Accountability Boards – Investigation of Complaints of Police Misconduct. This bill would have authorized county governments to exercise local discretion when deciding whether to allow police accountability boards to investigate allegations of police misconduct and issue subpoenas as part of an investigation. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
Public Safety Measures
MACo supported HB 1160/SB 940- Motor Vehicles – Allowing Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle and Reckless, Negligent, and Aggressive Driving. This bill would have updated penalties for existing prohibitions and established several new violations to deter aggressive, reckless, and negligent driving. Court procedures would have also been updated for individuals alleged to be in violation of these motor vehicle laws. Thousands of county police officers, construction teams, engineers, and school bus drivers work on and near roadways every day in each jurisidiction. This bill would have helped protect these dedicated employees. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo opposed SB 157- Domestic Animals – Penalties for Abandonment and Microchip Requirements for Dogs. This bill would have required dog owners, including county-run animal shelters and their many supported partners, to install microchips into all dogs before they are adopted. Additionally, it would have mandated that a veterinarian is required to execute the procedure, which is not consistent with current standards, as microchipping is not considered practicing veterinary medicine. While county facilities already microchip dogs, many of the smaller, non-profit providers could he hamstrung by this new requirement. This could have had a devastating effect on the work county shelters are doing in this area. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo took no position on SB 929- Sex Offender Registration – Local Law Enforcement Units – Registration Locations, but submitted a Letter of Information providing county input. This bill would have mandated that local law enforcement agencies designate multiple locations across a jurisdiction for sex offenders to fulfill their register requirement in person. Counties noted that having these in-person settings in more than two locations per jurisdiction is not operationally or financially feasible, or necessary, to fulfill the goals of the legislation. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
Corrections Housing
MACo opposed HB 1144/SB 1085- Corrections – Segregated Housing – Limitations. The bill would have altered reporting requirements for local detention centers regarding individuals in segregated housing and would have changed the definition of restrictive housing to no more than 17 hours in an individual cell, down from 22 hours. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo opposed HB 855- Juvenile Law – Restrictive Housing – Limitations. The bill would have imposed limitations on the use of restrictive housing for minors, while seemingly applying the same standard to the State’s largest facilities and the smallest of county detention centers that primarily house adults. Local detention centers have strict policies on where minors can be housed in adult facilities and some of the bills mandates and provisions would have put local detention centers in direct conflict with existing law. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
Opioid and Substance Abuse Treatment Programs
MACo supported HB 203/SB 282- Correctional Services – Local Detention Centers – Reporting on Opioid Use Disorder with amendments. This bill clarified reporting requirements for local detention centers providing medication-assisted treatment (MAT) to incarcerated individuals with an opioid use disorder. It would have done so by eliminating four reporting redundancies from the original medication-assisted treatment mandate. MACo proposed amendments that would have supported these important services with proper funding that is required by the State. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 1031/SB 801- Correctional Services – Medication-Assisted Treatment with amendments. This bill would have streamlined reporting requirements for local detention centers providing medication-assisted treatment (MAT) to incarcerated individuals with an opioid use disorder. Additionally, it would have broaden the scope of medications available for treatment. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
Task Forces and Grants
MACo supported HB 187/SB 168- Task Force to Study Aggressive and Reckless Driving. This bill would have established a Task Force to study data, research, initiatives, and policies regarding reckless and aggressive driving. This bill was withdrawn by its sponsor and did not pass the 2024 session.
MACo supported HB 1065/SB 774- Public Safety – Maryland Entertainment District Security Grant Program. This bill funds heightened security needs in areas where there is a high density of bars, entertainment, and foot traffic. The funding is intended to be provided through the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victims Services to local governments, non-profits, and community organizations. This bill passed the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 536- Correctional Services Apprenticeship Start-Up Grant Program – Establishment. The bill would have expanded federal and state grant funding for qualifying apprenticeships in local detention centers seeking to establish a corrections apprenticeship program. Funding could have been awarded to qualifying jurisdictions for up to $500,000. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
