This article is part of MACo’s Policy Deep Dive series, where expert policy analysts explore and explain the top county policy issues of the day. Read all of MACo’s Policy Deep Dives.
In Maryland, county governments do not prosecute, convict, or exonerate anyone. They play no role in determining wrongful incarceration settlements. Yet a new law forces them to pay the bill anyway.
The 2025 Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act (BRFA) requires counties to cover 50% of State-approved compensation for wrongful incarceration, despite having zero authority over the legal process or outcome. The State sets the rules, makes the decisions, and controls the process. Counties just get the invoice.
Maryland counties already face steep fiscal challenges, including rising education mandates, constrained revenue authority, and unpredictable cost shifts from the State. The BRFA added another unfair and unsustainable burden.
At its August 6 meeting, the Maryland Board of Public Works (BPW) plans to issue the first such payment under this cost-sharing model. The action would award $573,412.35 to Tavon Tull, whose 2019 conviction was vacated in 2024 following new evidence. Wicomico County, where the conviction occurred, would be forced to pay half that amount.
Here, Conduit Street explains how this policy emerged, breaks down the risks for local governments, and outlines why MACo continues to press for its repeal.
What the Mandate Does — and Why It Matters
The BRFA provision requires counties to reimburse the State for 50% of any wrongful incarceration compensation payments approved by BPW. The State controls every part of this process, from determining eligibility to setting payment terms.
Counties do not take part in criminal prosecution, sentencing, or exoneration decisions. Yet the State has made counties financially responsible for those outcomes.
In fiscal 2024, BPW approved $4.4 million in total compensation across multiple cases. If this mandate had applied, counties would have absorbed $2.2 million of that cost. No law required advance notice, local input, or any opportunity to plan.
How the Process Works
To receive compensation, a wrongfully convicted person must either be granted a full pardon from the governor affirming the conviction was conclusively in error or convince an administrative law judge that they meet strict eligibility criteria.
The judge must find, by clear and convincing evidence, that the person was convicted and confined for a felony, later cleared through dismissal, reversal, or acquittal, and did not contribute to the conviction through perjury, fabrication, or other misconduct.
If the claim succeeds, the judge issues an order directing compensation based on the number of days wrongfully confined, multiplied by Maryland’s most recent annual median household income, divided by 365.
In most cases, that total is paid in installments across several years, though a judge may recommend faster payments. The judge can also order the State to provide additional services such as housing, healthcare, job training, tuition, and reimbursement for legal fines or fees.
Neither counties nor local agencies are involved in this process. All decisions come from the Office of Administrative Hearings and the Board of Public Works.
Compensation Includes More than a Check
Compensation for wrongful incarceration goes beyond a lump-sum payment. It can include monthly disbursements for lost time, housing assistance for up to five years, free health and dental care, job training, college tuition, and court-related reimbursements.
The State determines these terms unilaterally and sends the counties the bill for half. Counties cannot amend, appeal, or even anticipate the amounts in advance.
No Local Nexus, No Local Oversight
Every decision in a wrongful incarceration case comes from State-level actors. The prosecutor is the State’s Attorney. The court system belongs to the State. The Office of Administrative Hearings and BPW operate under State authority. Counties do not participate in the process and hold no oversight.
Maryland law confirms this division. State’s Attorneys act independently and do not serve as county employees. Local governments do not manage or supervise their work.
The mandate creates fiscal exposure for counties without any connection to the case or its resolution.
Unpredictable Costs, No Mechanism to Pay
County budgets follow a fixed annual cycle. Local governments must set tax rates, pass budgets, and certify spending long before the State finalizes compensation decisions. A settlement in April leaves counties with no way to respond. No timeline, payment mechanism, or planning tool exists.
That structure violates fundamental principles of budget accountability. Local officials cannot manage costs they cannot forecast, schedule, or control.
Counties Already Fund State Priorities
In fiscal 2026, counties will fund their public schools at levels $1.4 billion above what the State requires under the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. That gap reflects more than just local effort. Counties are stepping in to cover the State’s shortfall and ensure students and schools have the resources they need.
Counties cannot afford to serve as the State’s funding backstop for matters outside their authority.
Rejected Before, Now the Law
The Department of Legislative Services proposed this same cost shift in 2021. The General Assembly rejected it. Lawmakers found no justification to impose these costs on counties then, and the facts have not changed.
Counties support justice and fairness for those wrongfully incarcerated. But support does not mean subsidizing a system they do not control.
What Comes Next?
MACo continues to call for repeal of this provision and will highlight its impact during the 2026 legislative session. Counties should not face open-ended exposure for State-level decisions made without local involvement.
A fair system of compensation must include a fair approach to funding. The State created the process, controls the outcome, and holds the responsibility.
Stay tuned to Conduit Street for continued coverage.
