April 23, 2021
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
– Maya Angelou
Dear Friend,
This was, in many respects, a historic legislative session. In the midst of a global pandemic and the latest iteration of a generational conversation over racial reckoning, the challenges of the day have manifested themselves in a seemingly more acute manner than before. Where communities of color and those often-marginalized segments of our community have long held a keen understanding of these inequities, the moment we find ourselves in has served as an unforgiving mirror – reflecting back to us the raw nature of our actual collective experience. These challenges, however, also offer us a chance to broaden our definition of equality and opportunity.
This is why I believe in the importance of our state government. If we are willing, those of us in the legislature have the capacity to address a number of these challenges and unleash opportunities for every Marylander. This past legislative session we accomplished a number of great things, many of which were once considered to have been impossible. Together, we provided immediate financial support to our most vulnerable residents, improved Maryland’s vaccine rollout, passed a generational police reform package, enacted long-overdue post-conviction reforms, took steps to protect our immigrant neighbors, provided funding to reverse COVID-19 learning loss, and passed a budget that will create good jobs and get Marylanders back to work.
The Maryland Police Accountability Act of 2021
Last June, I wrote to you regarding the fierce and urgent need to improve the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve. In particular, the lack of transparency and accountability in our system has led to a lack of trust and has served to perpetuate the already tenuous relationship between law enforcement and communities of color. I promised you that I would use my position as chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee to bring about real and long-lasting change. Although our work has just begun, I am proud of what we did this past session to change policing in Maryland. The package, which is outlined below, represents the most comprehensive and consequential reform of policing in our state’s history.
Repeal of the Law Enforcement Officer’s Bill of Rights (LEOBR) and Establishment of Uniform Police Accountability Standards:
- Maryland has become the first state in the nation to repeal LEOBR and replace it with a structure that increases civilian oversight of police accountability. The legislation requires each county to establish police accountability boards, administrative charging committees, and publicly accessible trial boards. The bill also prohibits the ability of police unions to collectively bargain on matters relating to police discipline.
Anton’s Law: Transparency into Police Disciplinary Records:
- For decades the public was prevented from gaining access to certain records relating to police misconduct. Anton’s Law (Senate Bill 178), as passed by the legislature, ensures police disciplinary records are publicly accessible through the Maryland Public Information Act. This bill will increase transparency and accountability in policing.
Curtailing No-Knock Warrants:
- The tragic death of Breonna Taylor reignited a national conversation of the dangers of no-knock warrants. Senate Bill 178 severely curtails the use of no-knock warrants and requires a three-tiered approval process.
Independent Investigations of Police-Involved Deaths:
- The police can no longer police themselves. Senate Bill 600 establishes an independent investigative unit within the Office of the Attorney General to investigate police-involved deaths.
Establishing a Statewide Use of Force Standard:
- Senate Bill 71 establishes a statewide use of force standard aimed at protecting life.
Requiring the Usage of Body-Worn Cameras:
- Body cameras have proven to have been one of the most effective tools in ensuring accountability and transparency. Senate Bill 71 requires every major police department to have body cameras by 2025.
Demilitarization of Police:
- Certain military equipment has no use or place in our community. Senate Bill 600 prevents law enforcement agencies from acquiring certain military-grade equipment from a federally subsidized Military surplus program.
Expanding Access to Mental Health Services for Police Officers:
- We call upon our law enforcement officers to deal with immensely difficult situations on a daily basis. These often stressful situations can have an adverse impact on their mental health. Senate Bill 71 includes provisions to require agencies to offer employee assistance programs, including mental health services to every law enforcement officer in our state.
Expanding Police Department Liability for Police Violence:
- House Bill 670 includes a provision to increase civil liability for state and local governments for tortious acts or constitutional violations arising out of certain police misconduct.
Local Control of the Baltimore Police Department
- Senate Bill 786 establishes the Baltimore Police Department as an agency of Baltimore City, rather than the State of Maryland, subject to ratification by city voters in either the 2022 or 2024 election.
Parole and Post-Conviction
For far too long our criminal justice system has failed to adequately account for the prospect that one day those who, have in many instances committed terrible crimes, will rejoin our society. Our justice system has also failed to adequately account for the redemptive quality of the human condition. This past session I worked tirelessly to ensure the passage of three critical pieces of legislation I believe will put our justice system on the path toward proper consideration of these factors:
Compensation to Individual Erroneously Convicted, Sentenced, and Confined (The Walter Lomax Act)
- Our state owes an immeasurable debt to those who had been wrongfully convicted for a crime they did not commit. For decades, those seeking compensation for an erroneous conviction were required to go through an arduous and convoluted process driven by the Maryland Board of Public Works. Senate Bill 14/House Bill 742 (The Walter Lomax Act) creates a new clear process for repaying the debt society owes to those wrongfully convicted individuals.
Juveniles Convicted as Adults – Sentencing – Limitations and Reduction (Juvenile Restoration Act)
- A series of recent Supreme Court decisions have acknowledged the inhumanity of sentencing a juvenile to life without the possibility of parole. Senate Bill 494/House Bill 409, abolishes the practice of sentencing a youth to die in prison without an opportunity to petition the court for consideration of a reduction in sentence.
Correctional Services – Parole – Life Imprisonment (Getting the Governor Out of Parole)
- In 1995, Governor Parris Glendenning announced a “life means life” policy in which he swore not to grant parole for those serving a life sentence. Subsequent Governors, until Governor Hogan, failed to grant a single release of parole-eligible “lifers.” For decades, advocates and impacted community members have come before the General Assembly to argue the current system of parole release determination was unjustifiably politicized. In a recent opinion piece in the Washington Post former Governor Glendenning expressed regret over his previous stance and wrote “If I were to give nonpartisan advice to those three governors today, I would emphasize that they do not want to be in this position. It is a certain opportunity for political controversy.” Senate Bill 202 removes the Governor from the parole process and gives the Maryland Parole Commission the proper authority to make these decisions.
Standing with our Immigrant Neighbors
I am proud to represent one of the most diverse and inclusive legislative districts in the state. This session we took several significant strides forward in creating a safer and more welcoming place for every member of our community.
Correctional Services – Immigration Detention – Prohibition (Dignity Not Detention)
- Our state should not profit from the detention of people facing immigration enforcement proceedings. Senate Bill 478/House Bill 16 prohibits the state government from entering into contracts with private detention facilities and abolishes the practice of receiving federal funds to use our state and local detention facilities to house individuals awaiting immigration proceedings. As the Senate sponsor of this bill and of the Trust Act, I offered amendments to expand the scope of the Dignity not Detention Act to include provisions of the Trust Act which prohibit state or local law enforcement in Maryland from inquiring into an individual’s immigration status during a traffic stop. These amendments were accepted by the House of Delegates and included in the passage of the bill.
Personal Services – State and Local Agencies – Restrictions on Access (Maryland Driver Privacy Act)
- Eight years ago, the Maryland General Assembly passed a law that created limited driver’s licenses, ensuring people without certain documents would be able to receive a driver’s license. This policy decision has made our roads safer and has enabled tens of thousands of Marylanders to get to and from work and contribute meaningfully to our state. Over the last few years, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has accessed the electronic records of our MVA database, which contains not only personally-identifying information, but also facial recognition information. Senate Bill 234/House Bill 23 ensures that ICE cannot use the MVA database to target our immigrant neighbors.
Office of Immigrant Affairs
- Maryland is home to over 900,000 immigrants. Senate Bill 85/House Bill 15, ensures that the nearly 15% of Marylanders in the immigrant community are represented at the highest level of our state government by creating an office to increase access to ESOL programs and assist with the naturalization process and applications for DACA. The office will also be responsible for connecting immigrants to business resources in the state and coordinating with existing state agencies to serve the needs of immigrants.
Standing With The LGBTQ+ Community
Our state continued to make progress for the LGBTQ+ community this session with the passage of three necessary and overdue pieces of legislation:
Crimes – Mitigation and Defense – Race, Color, National Origin, Sex, Gender Identity, or Sexual Orientation
- In certain cases, a defendant in court can argue that they were provoked or acting in defense to mitigate an assault or murder charge down to a lower degree. Senate Bill 46/House Bill 554, ensures that no defendant in our state can claim that their misbelief about another’s race, color, nationality, sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation constituted adequate provocation to lessen the degree of the charge they face. This bill passed the Judicial Proceedings Committee on National Transgender Day of Visibility by a unanimous vote.
Action for Change of Name – Waiver of Publication Requirement
- The publication of one’s change of name has long been required as a way to ensure that debtors can’t change their name to trick creditors and avoid collection on debts they owe. However, testimony by LGBTQ+ advocates indicated that this requirement can be extremely traumatizing and unfair for trans* or gender non-binary individuals to publish their name change. Senate Bill 581/House Bill 39 allows the court to waive this requirement.
Hate Crimes – Sexual Orientation
- Maryland has experienced an uptick in hate crimes in recent years. Senate Bill 220/House Bill 128 ensures that a crime committed against someone fueled on the basis of the victim’s gender identity is a hate crime under Maryland law. The bill also enables a court to order a perpetrator of a hate crime to complete an antibias education program established by the University System of Maryland.
Reducing the Economic & Housing Fallout From the COVID-19 Pandemic
Landlord and Tenant – Residential Tenants – Access to Counsel
- Studies of landlord/tenant proceedings have found that 92% of renters avoid displacement when they appear in court with counsel. However, legal representation can be expensive and therefore inaccessible for many low-wage individuals. Senate Bill 154/House Bill 18 establishes access to legal representation for tenants and a new 10-day notice provision when their landlord intends to pursue legal action against them for failure to pay rent. This is the first-in-nation effort and I am extremely proud of the work our committee did to make this happen.
Court – Surcharges and Payment to Special Funds – Prohibited Lease Provisions (Ends Serial Eviction Filings)*
- To function appropriately, the Maryland Legal Services Corporation and other court programs are funded via filing fees and surcharges in district and circuit courts. To keep up with surrounding states, and to fund the access to legal counsel program contained in SB154, the Senate passed House Bill 31, which would have generated over $45.3 million annually for court programs and legal representation for tenants. Unfortunately, the House was unable to concur with the Senate amendments before adjournment sine die.
Commercial Tenants – Personal Liability Clauses – Enforceability
- Some contracts between businesses and commercial landlords contain “personal liability clauses” which make the tenant business owner personally liable for losses by the commercial landlord. Senate Bill 582/ House Bill 719 will ensure that those who are subject to a personal liability clause will have enough time at the end of the pandemic-induced state of emergency to make the proper financial arrangements to satisfy their debts.
Criminal Justice Reform
Criminal Procedure – Expungement of Records
- Over the last decade, the General Assembly has moved to mitigate some of the unintended and unjust collateral consequences that accompany certain criminal records by expanding the scope of eligibility for expungement. Passage of Senate Bill 201 creates the first of its kind process for automatic expungement for certain offenses.
Criminal Law – Drug Paraphernalia for Administration – Decriminalization
- For far too long Maryland has treated drug addiction as a crime problem and not as a public health problem. Senate Bill 420/House Bill 372 decriminalizes the possession of drug paraphernalia thereby enabling addiction treatment organizations to reduce the spread of disease and assist in the safe transition off of drugs through needle sharing programs and the like.
Conditions of Pretrial Release – Home Detention Monitoring
- Much like many other institutions, our courts have had to adapt to the new realities of operating amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, fewer people have been incarcerated pre-trial and more have been monitored through means such as home monitoring devices. Senate Bill 23/House Bill 316 ensures the indigent are not charged fees for home detention during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Public Safety – Pretrial Services Program Grant Fund – Extension and Program Requirements
- This bill is the continuation of recent efforts to lower costs imposed on defendants awaiting trial. The bill establishes that no defendant facing charges in any county receiving funds from the Pretrial Services Program Grant Fund shall bear the burden of home detention or other pretrial services costs. The bill also expands the length of the grant fund program to ten years.
Delivering on Montgomery County Priorities
Public Utilities – Gas Service Regulator Safety (Flower Branch Act)
- In 2016, an explosion at the Flower Branch Apartments caused the death of seven people, injured 65, and led to the displacement of hundreds of our neighbors. In response, the National Transportation Safety Board conducted a multi-year study and found that a faulty and leaking gas regulator was the cause of the horrific tragedy. Senate Bill 503/House Bill 345 requires all future gas regulators to be installed on the exterior of buildings.
Residential Property Sales – School District Information
- Montgomery County Delegation Bill 01-21 (HB541) simply requires home purchasers in Montgomery County to be notified that school district boundaries are not permanent and are subject to change.
Speed Limits – Establishment (Safe Speeds)
- In Montgomery County, the need for safe, walkable streets has grown commensurate with increased development of mixed-use housing and increased density along state and county-maintained roadways. A series of pedestrian fatalities in Montgomery County prompted the Montgomery County Delegation to pass Bill 02-21 (HB562), a bill which will allow Montgomery County to reduce speed limits to 15mph after a traffic study.
Bringing Capital Funding to District 20
Long Branch Stream Valley Signature Bridge – $100,000
- Provides a grant to the Maryland–National Capital Park and Planning Commission for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Long Branch Stream Valley pedestrian community connection bridge, located in Montgomery County.
Silver Spring Art Space – $285,000
- Provides a grant to the Board of Directors of Artspace Projects, Inc. for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Silver Spring Artspace facility.
YMCA of Metropolitan Washington – $435,000
- Provides a grant through the Capital Budget to the Board of Directors of the YMCA Metropolitan Washington, Inc. for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of facilities at the YMCA of Silver Spring.
Major Legislative Initiatives
Immediate and Sustainable Financial RELIEF & Recovery: The first bill passed this Session was the RELIEF
- Act (SB496), including the MGA’s Recovery Now package, to provide over $1 billion economic stimulus to vulnerable Maryland residents, small businesses, and nonprofits hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The State has since established the Recovery Now Fund and programs, like $83 million to erase household utility debt and $279 million for small business support, which have already started distributing vital financial support. Because of the Maryland Senate’s efforts, nearly 40,000 Marylanders who were stuck in Unemployment Insurance purgatory have already received an immediate $1,000 direct payment to help them survive this crisis as their cases are adjudicated.
- Also included in the RELIEF Act was a historic expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), one of the best anti-poverty tools our State has, for the next three years. We expanded eligibility of both the EITC and Child Tax Credit (SB218) to all taxpaying Marylanders to ensure all who contribute to our State can access these vital credits. When taken together, this stimulus package will allow Maryland to build back stronger when COVID-19 is behind us.
Fixing a Broken Unemployment Insurance System:
- Over the last year, every legislative office has been inundated by Marylanders unable to access rightful Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits. Although the COVID-19 pandemic is a once-in-a-100-year crisis, government must be a mechanism to support people facing hardship. In addition to providing $1,000 checks to thousands of Marylanders unfairly caught in UI purgatory (SB496), we also passed a comprehensive set of reforms (SB771, SB816, SB817, SB818, SB819, and SB893) to fix our broken system. These bills will allow Marylanders to more easily access the money they deserve, improve their customer service experience from start to finish, and ensure the Department of Labor is prepared for the next emergency. We also passed legislation to help businesses defray the costs of small businesses paying into the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund to provide additional aid as they recover from COVID-19 (SB811).
Historic Investment in Maryland’s HBCUs:
- Maryland’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities are vital to our higher education ecosystem. Maryland will invest a historic $577 million in our HBCUs over the next decade to end a fifteen-year legal battle with the State around program duplication (SB1). This funding will strengthen the State’s entire higher education landscape and provide the needed resources for our HBCUs to develop and enhance high-demand programs for Maryland’s 21st Century economy.
Investing in Public Transit:
- Maryland’s public transit infrastructure is struggling to keep pace with necessary repairs and faced severe disruptions at a time when our essential workers have been reliant on consistent service. The Maryland Transit Authority identified substantial budget gaps necessary to maintain operations due to underfunding and deferred maintenance. The Transit Safety and Investment Act (SB199) puts Maryland back on a path to sustainable transit operations at a level our essential workers deserve.
Senatorial Scholarships
Every student heading to a state college or graduate school from District 20 is eligible for my senatorial scholarship (if you’re not sure if you reside in the 20th District, you can go to www.mdelect.net to check).
We are now receiving applications for scholarships. Please find instructions and detailed information about applying for a scholarship through my office by accessing www.willsmithformaryland.com/scholarship. The scholarship application is required to be completed and returned with all the required documentation to my office by May 31, 2021. Funds will be applied to the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 semesters.
Thank you for the profound honor of serving you in the Maryland Senate. While I am proud of the progress we are making together, I know our work is not done. Please stay in touch with me via social media or email!
All the best,
William C. Smith, Jr.
Maryland State Senator (District 20