On February 4, Executive Director Michael Sanderson submitted written testimony to the Judiciary Committee in opposition to HB 165 – Courts – Sheriffs’ Salaries – Alterations. 

The bill alters the annual salary of Sheriffs in many counties to equal that of the county’s State’s Attorney. This legislation would replace a locally-driven legislative collaboration to properly set salaries for most county sheriffs with a uniform process pinning that salary to that of the county’s state’s attorney.

In the Committee hearing, Delegates noted the varied roles of sheriffs across counties, even beyond the primary law enforcement role – a central argument in the MACo testimony opposing the elimination of the county-driven process used currently.

From MACo Testimony: 

Both sheriffs and state’s attorneys are state offices, elected directly by the voters within each political subdivision. However, the duties and responsibilities of these two roles cannot be neatly mapped from one to the other in any standardized way across the many counties affected by HB 165. The bill makes a practical oversight in advancing that mirroring these two salaries could, or should, be that simple.

More on MACo’s Advocacy: 

• Follow MACo’s advocacy efforts during the 2026 legislative session on MACo’s Legislative Tracking Database
• Learn more about MACo’s 2026 Legislative Initiatives
• Read more General Assembly News on MACo’s Conduit Street blog