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Sweeping Maryland police reform measure hits stumbling block Sweeping Maryland police reform measure hits stumbling block
(about 11 hours later)
A sweeping bill that deals with how police are hired, trained and disciplined in Maryland hit a stumbling block late Monday night over whether the legislation should require local jurisdictions to include civilians on boards that review complaints against police officers. The future of Maryland’s police accountability bill -- a top priority for lawmakers this year — could hinge on whether the measure should require Baltimore City to place civilians on police review boards.
The Senate Judicial Proceeding Committee voted last week to let local lawmakers decide whether civilians should participate on the hearing panels. The bill authorizes local jurisdictions to place up to two voting or nonvoting members on the boards, but it does not require them. The legislation passed out of committee this week but ran into trouble on the Senate floor because it would allow cities and counties to decide for themselves whether to include civilians on such panels, and whether to allow them to vote.
Several senators from Baltimore said Monday night that the bill does not go far enough. They argued that the legislation should mandate that two civilians serve on the panels and they wanted an amendment that would require two civilians on the board in Baltimore. “We have to reform our police department and gain trust,” said Sen. Catherine Pugh (D-Baltimore), who co-chaired the workgroup that made recommendations for police reform to the General Assembly.
After several minutes of debate, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) suggested that the bill go back to committee. Civilians on the police review panel, she added, “is one of the things we must have.”
Sen. Robert A. Zirkin (D-Baltimore County), the chairman of the committee, recommitted the measure to Senate Judicial Proceedings, raising questions about whether the bill could survive the action with just days left in the session. The bill was sent back to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, where it could be discussed as early as Wednesday.
“It’s a setback,” said Sen. Nathaniel J. McFadden (D-Baltimore), who added that he was confident that the issue could be resolved before session ends next week. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) expressed frustration with the Baltimore lawmakers, saying their concerns were putting the bill — which would make broad changes how officers are hired, trained and disciplined — in jeopardy.
“This is a very important bill and the question is: Do you do what’s best for the entire state and move forward . . . or do you exercise the privilege of speaking out loud and hard and jeopardizing the entire process?” Miller said.
[Proposed police reform in Maryland draws strong praise, sharp criticism][Proposed police reform in Maryland draws strong praise, sharp criticism]
Also on Tuesday, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) vetoed a just-passed bill that would strip him of his five appointments to the commission that nominates the Anne Arundel County school board, saying it was unconstitutional and “injects the politics of the General Assembly into a local school issue.”
Hogan has already vetoed legislation that would create a new method for deciding which transportation projects are funded. The legislature has until the session ends on Monday to try to override both vetoes.
The governor said he would let other bills that he opposes become law without his signature, including a bill that requires the state to provide aid to Baltimore for education and demolition programs, and a measure that mandates $55 million over five years to subsidize Prince George’s Hospital Center.
Hogan called those bills “needless, political actions” that mandated spending on programs he was already committed to funding.
He said he hoped Democratic lawmakers would use the time they might otherwise have spent on override votes for those bills to weigh a package of income-tax cuts, which has been approved by the Senate but is pending in the House.
The police-reform bill is based on recommendations made last year by a legislative workgroup that was created after the death of Freddie Gray and amid a national debate over police shootings and the use of excessive force.
In its current form, the bill authorizes local jurisdictions to place up to two voting or non-voting members on police review boards, but it does not require them.
Several senators from Baltimore say the bill does not go far enough. They argue that the legislation should mandate that two civilians serve on the panels and say they wanted an amendment that would require two civilians on the board in Baltimore.
After several minutes of debate on Monday night, Miller suggested that the bill go back to committee.
“It’s a setback,” said Sen. Nathaniel J. McFadden (D-Baltimore), who added that he was confident that the issue could be resolved before the legislative session ends.
McFadden, a member of Judicial Proceedings, tried to explain to his colleagues that the bill allows the mayor and city council to put two voting members on the panel.McFadden, a member of Judicial Proceedings, tried to explain to his colleagues that the bill allows the mayor and city council to put two voting members on the panel.
Sen. Catherine E. Pugh (D-Baltimore), who chaired a legislative workgroup over the summer that made recommendations to the General Assembly, said the two voting civilians on the panel are “absolutely necessary” to repair confidence and trust in the police department. Pugh (D-Baltimore), who insisted that the state should require civilian representatives, is running for mayor in Baltimore in the April 26 primary and is a top contender according to the latest polls.
“This is one of the things we must have,” she said. The workgroup she co-chaired recommended that civilian representatives be mandatory on review panels. It also called for periodic psychological evaluations of officers and annual reporting of police-involved shootings, among other changes.
The workgroup was created by Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) after the death of Freddie Gray in police custody and the riot and protests that followed in Baltimore. Sen. Bobby Zirkin (D-Baltimore County), chairman of the Judicial Proceedings committee, said the action by the Baltimore senators “definitely slows things down at a time when time is definitely of the essence if you want to get legislation.”
In addition to requiring the civilian members, the panel recommended periodic psychological evaluations of officers, annual reporting of police-involved shootings and other changes to how police are hired, trained and disciplined. Also Tuesday, Miller also called on the House to take action on a bill that would allow voters to decide whether daily fantasy sports should be made legal. Barring action by the House, Miller said Attorney General Brian E. Frosh should get an injunction to keep the games from operating.
Pugh said Monday that she pushed for an amendment offered by Sen. Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore) because she was surprised to learn that the bill did not include two voting civilians. But, later, she said she would be “okay” with the bill as long as it provided Baltimore the right to include them. Among the bills headed to Hogan’s desk is a measure that requires the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to annually report the number of inmates who are placed in solitary confinement.
Zirkin and Miller said they did not know when the bill would be brought back to the Senate floor. A version of the bill has passed the House. The two bills, which are slightly different, would have to be reconciled before the 90-day session ends Monday night. Advocates, including the Interfaith Action for Human Rights and the ACLU of Maryland, have been pushing for a public accounting of the state’s use of solitary confinement.
“I’m hopeful that this amendment doesn’t turn out to be a killer amendment on the bill,” Zirkin said. “It definitely slows things down at a time when time is definitely of the essence if you want to get legislation.”
Miller said the Senate committee came up with a compromise acknowledging that the dynamics of Baltimore are different from those in other parts of the state.
“This is a very important bill and the question is: Do you do what’s best for the entire state and move forward in a very dramatic fashion or do you exercise the privilege of speaking out loud and hard and jeopardizing the entire process?” Miller said.
Miller said he did not plan to meet with the Baltimore delegation to accept the compromise.
“If they can’t see the folly of their ways, let them take the consequences,” he said.