Week 4 of the 2025 Session
Committee Hearings See Bipartisanship and First Bills Passed!
It has been an active week in Annapolis! While Committees have been hearing testimony, Judicial Proceedings has seen some interesting bills and even more interesting testimony. Happily, on some of those bills and the testimony there has been some bipartisanship and scrutiny by the entire committee. It was refreshing to see all of us come together looking to do what is best for the interests of all Marylanders.
Judicial Proceedings Hearings on SB78 and SB181
Back on Tuesday, as the Judicial Proceedings Committee heard many bills that Senators are looking to pass this Session. Two in particular were Senate Bill 78 and Senate Bill 181. The first bill heard of the two was SB181 and it revolved around geriatric and medical parole. The bill would require the Parole Board to consider the age of the person behind bars when looking for geriatric parole and, depending on the condition they are afflicted with, for medical parole the board could release anyone at any stage in their sentence. Many members of the Committee expressed their concern over various consequences of both parole processes with looser restrictions.
But it was Senator Salling’s Senate Bill 78 that brought the most bipartisanship as well as scrutiny toward the opposition. Senate Bill 78 will prohibit any juvenile who is convicted of sexual assault or rape from attending any school (public or not) that receives State funding. It also would require the reporting of these offenders to the schools. While a great bill, there was a panel of opponents who brought up a concern that it would be unfair to the offending juvenile to be segregated/prohibited from attending the school. When questioned whether they had spoken to Senator Salling about their concerns, the answer was the excuse of they did not have time to do so. I took great offense (as did many of my colleagues) and responded with a statement as to the importance of this bill, the pathetic response of the opposition, and the attitude. You can view my response here
beginning at the 2:01:00 minute mark.
Bill Highlight of the Week: SB421 Criminal Law – Destroying Funerary Objects and Cemetery Elements – Statute of Limitations and Prohibitions
For this week’s bil, I highlight SB421. This bill is very simple and is important when addressing crimes involving the destruction of objects in cemeteries. It is not always known when a crime is committed in a cemetery as the discovery of said crime could be as much of a year later since most people visit their loved ones resting place on a yearly basis. As such I introduced a bill that would increase the statute from 1 to 3 years to make investigation and prosecution of the crime easier to carryout. This in turn will give closure to the families whose loved ones’ plots have been violated.
I also want to hear from you. As you all know, I serve Garrett, Allegany, and Washington Counties and all of your voices are important to me. The best way to represent you is to have your voice heard. Please feel free to contact my Annapolis Office at (410) 841-3565 or my District Office at (240) 362-7040. My public email address is now mike.mckay@senate.state.md.us. Please feel free to email me at anytime. I also have a District Office at the Williamsport City Hall. It is on the second floor in the first office. Our mailing address below remains the same however.
I continue to be your voice and advocate in Annapolis so I want to hear from you. Please reach out to me if you have any questions or what I can do to help you. I am on the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and the Executive Nominations Committee. All of our hearings are streamed live on Youtube and the MGA website.
If you are interested in seeing where my bills are in the process, you can create a MyMGA account or you can click here to view bills I am sponsoring by clicking “Legislation” under my name. You can sign up to testify on any bill you wish.