2019-2020 Legislative Session
Successful Legislation
HB0014 Equal Pay for Equal Work - Inquiring About Wages - Prohibition on Adverse Action allowing employees to discuss their wages with other employees without fear of adverse actions by the employer. Delegate Pamela Queen was the lead sponsor.
HB0233/SB0212 Criminal Law – Assault in the First Degree – Strangulation prohibiting a person from strangling another in an assault and providing a lengthier penalty of imprisonment. Delegate Jesse Pippy and Senator Susan Lee were its sponsors.
HB0242/SB0206 Criminal Procedure - Motion to Vacate Judgment - Human Trafficking (True Freedom Act of 2020) allowing survivors of human trafficking to remove crimes other than prostitution from their criminal records. Delegate Atterbeary and Senator Lee were its sponsors.
HB0246/SB0231 Sexual Solicitation of a Minor – Solicitation Through Parent, Guardian, or Custodian – Prohibition and Penalties expanding the definition of sexual solicitation of a minor to include solicitation of a parent, legal guardian or custodian of a minor or a "hypothetical minor." Delegate Jesse Pippy and Senator Susan Lee were its sponsors.
HB0425/SB0406 Criminal Procedure - Sexual Assault Evidence Kits - Privacy, Reimbursement, and Notification Delegate J. Sandy Bartlett and Senator Shelley Hettleman
Other Caucus-Supported legislation
HB0608/SB0682 Correctional Services - Prerelease Unit for Women - Requirement to Operate requiring rather than authorizing a pre-release facility for incarcerated women reentering their communities from state prisons. Delegate Crutchfield and Senator Washington were the sponsors of this legislation.
HB575 Education - Sexual Abuse and Assault Awareness and Prevention Program - Human and Sex Trafficking requiring the State Board of Education and some private schools to develop and implement a program of age-appropriate education on the awareness and prevention of sexual abuse and assault; and including, for students in grades 6 through 8, material promoting the awareness and prevention of human and sex trafficking. Delegate Johnson was the sponsor.
HB0590/ SB0230 Criminal Law – Sexual Crimes – Repeal of Spousal Defense (Love Is No Defense to Sexual Crimes), repealing the current statute that makes marriage a defense to some sex crimes. Delegate Crutchfield and Senator Lee were its sponsors.
HB1298/SB0791 County Boards of Education - Pregnant and Parenting Students - Policies and Reports increasing supports for pregnant, expectant, and parenting students (PEPS) and requiring the collection of data on their educational outcomes. Delegate Alice Cain and Senator Clarence Lam.
HB1575/SB0807 Criminal Procedure - Victims of Sexually Assaultive Behavior - Waivers of Rights – Prohibition prohibiting a criminal justice unit from presenting certain victims of sexually assaultive behavior with forms or verbal agreements purporting to limit the obligations of the criminal justice unit to the victim or limit the rights of the victim; prohibiting evidence of certain forms or agreements from being introduced in certain court proceedings; authorizing victims affected by a violation of the Act to bring an action for injunctive or declaratory relief; Delegate Bartlett and Senator Hettleman were its sponsors.
HJ0004 Commission to Establish a Maryland Women Veterans Memorial urging the Governor to create a certain commission with appropriate funding and authority to establish a Maryland Women Veterans Memorial that honors the service of women veterans of the State. Delegate Bagnall was its sponsor.
*****************************************************************************
2018-2019 Legislative Session
Successful Legislation
HB712/SB129 Continuing Course of Conduct – Child Sexual Abuse making an important technical correction to the existing legislation enabling the state to file more than one charge against a perpetrator who had committed three or more sexual offenses against a child over multiple 90 day periods. Senator Susan Lee and Delegate Charlotte Crutchfield were the lead sponsors for the bill.
HB0583/SB0356 Maternal Mortality Review Program - Reporting Requirement requiring the Secretary of Health to add information on racial disparity to the reporting requirements the Maternal Mortality Review Program. The legislation also requires that recommendations for reducing the number of maternal deaths, including looking at social determinants of health are included in reporting requirements. Del. Jheanelle Wilkins was the lead sponsor for this bill.
HB0796/SB0602 Public Health – Maternal Mortality Review Program – Establishment of Local Teams allowing and helping counties establish local teams to study maternal mortality rates. Del. Jheanelle Wilkins was the lead sponsor for this bill.
HB0745/SB0809 Correctional Facilities – Restrictive Housing – Pregnant Inmates limiting when correctional facilities can place pregnant women in medical isolation or solitary confinement. This legislation also requires that state and local correctional and detention facilities have a written policy banning the use of involuntary medical isolation and restrictive housing of pregnant inmates and those in the post-pregnancy recovery period. The lead sponsor in the Senate was Senator Susan Lee (D16), and the House version was sponsored by Delegate Wanika Fisher (D47B).
HB0710/SB0821 Correctional Services –Prerelease Study and Report requiring the Commissioner of Correction to conduct a study on gender-based equity in prerelease programming and facilities and to report to the Governor and the General Assembly on the results of the study by January 1 2020.
HB1007/SB739 Child Advocacy Centers – Statewide Organization, Duties, and Funding (HB1007/SB739) requiring that all children in Maryland have access to a Child Advocacy Centers which serve as “one-stop shops” for help responding to and investigating child sexual abuse. However, the legislation was amended to remove the mandate for a specific level of state funding and it struck down the current law requiring funding in the state budget. Delegate Emily Shetty and Senator Susan Lee were lead sponsors of the bill.
HB1116- Gender Diversity on the Boardroom Annual Report of Nonprofit Sales and Use of Tax Exemption Application requiring qualifying Maryland companies to provide information regarding the number of women members of their Boards of Directors. Companies filing personal property reports to the Department of Assessments and Taxation will now include the number of female board members and the total number of Board of Directors. Delegate Shelly Hettleman and Sen. Pam Beidle were the lead sponsors.