City of Baltimore - File #: 16-0292R

• File #: 16-0292R
• Version: 0
• Name: Request for State Action - Support S.B. 329
• Type: City Council Resolution
• Status: Adopted
• File created: 2/29/2016
• In control: Housing and Community Development Committee
• Final action: 3/7/2016
• Title: Request for State Action - Support S.B. 329 FOR the purpose of calling on the General Assembly to enact, and the Governor to sign, S.B. 329, or similar legislation allowing non-violent ex-offenders who have paid their debt to society and proven they are not a threat to their communities to have their criminal records expunged.
• Sponsors: Bill Henry, Mary Pat Clarke, William "Pete" Welch, Helen L. Holton, Robert Curran, President Young, Sharon Green Middleton, Eric T. Costello, Brandon M. Scott, Edward Reisinger, James B. Kraft, Nick Mosby, Carl Stokes, Warren Branch, Rochelle Spector
• Indexes: Request for State Action, S.B. 329, Support

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
3/7/2016	0	City Council	Adopted
3/7/2016	0	Housing and Community Development Committee	Recommended Favorably with Amendment
3/2/2016	0	Housing and Community Development Committee	Recommended Favorably with Amendment	Pass
2/29/2016	0	Housing and Community Development Committee	Scheduled for a Public Hearing
2/29/2016	0	City Council	Assigned
2/29/2016	0	City Council	Introduced

* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*

CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)

Introduced by: Councilmember Henry



A RESOLUTION ENTITLED

A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
title
Request for State Action - Support S.B. 329
FOR the purpose of calling on the General Assembly to enact, and the Governor to sign, S.B. 329, or similar legislation allowing non-violent ex-offenders who have paid their debt to society and proven they are not a threat to their communities to have their criminal records expunged.
body

Recitals

In its last session, the General Assembly took an important first step toward lessening the long-term burden that over-policing has placed on some of our communities by passing the Maryland Second Chance Act of 2015, allowing individuals to petition the court to shield certain nonviolent misdemeanor convictions three years after satisfying any mandatory supervisory obligations. This change will allow certain non-violent ex-offenders who have paid their debt to society to avoid the life sentence of reduced employment and housing prospects that they were previously facing.

However, limiting this relief to those with certain non-violent misdemeanor convictions ignores the plight of those with similar non-violent felony convictions. The decisions that lead to a choice to charge an offender with a felony or a misdemeanor are complex and often result in significantly different consequences for people who have committed nearly identical offenses. There?s no reason to think that individuals who ...