ddeanjohnson
autodidact
- Aug 21, 2010
- 801
This is my non-comprehensive summary regarding changes to SB 281 made at the Good Friday markup before the combined Judiciary and Health committees.
It was a day off work for me, so I was there for the entire mark up, which lasted something over 7 hours. The committee started with the "consolidated" draft distributed by Delegate McDermott's office late on March 28, which the delegates referred to as the "re-print," and which is posted here. The amendments considered at the mark up session were not distributed to spectators, and only a few were read aloud, so it was not possible to track every detail. But few substantial amendments were accepted. Most of the successful amendments were of no great consequence. With a few exceptions, a solid majority of the Democrats, conferring frequently with representatives of the governor's office, voted as a bloc against substantial revisions.
Therefore, except as noted below, the bill is still pretty much what I described in this outline posted on March 28 here.
(However, note that I did not cover most of the "mental health" provisions in my outline, as there are others here far better equipped to interpret them.)
At the Good Friday mark up, an amendment was adopted to exempt antiques and curios & relics from the requirement for the handgun qualification license, but the Democrats refused to accept another amendment to allow "assault weapons" to be purchased or transferred in state if they meet the federal definition of a "curio or relic." If anyone needs more details on the effects of these two C&R amendments, the one adopted and the one rejected, please e-mail me, rather than posting on this thread.
An amendment was adopted to impose a disqualification for firearms on anyone who is found guilty of a crime of violence, and who then is given "probation before judgment" (PBJ) by the judge. As described by the sponsor, Luiz Simmons (D-Montgomery), such a person would still be eligible to apply for expungement, three years after completing the probation, and if expungement is granted, the conviction and the firearms disability will go away. This amendment was adopted by an alliance that cut across the usual ideological lines, but over the strong objections of some of the liberal members and of Chairman Vallario, so it is by no means clear whether it will survive the anticipated conference committee. Simmons said that the governor supports the amendment.
An amendment was Delegate Michael Smigiel (R-36) was initially adopted to deny good-time points and early release for persons incarcerated for using violent crimes using firearms. However, the governor's office apparently twisted somebody's arm, Judiciary Chairman Joe Vallario ordered a re-do on the vote, and the amendment was declared defeated on a tie, 23-23, to the loud protests of Mr. Smigiel and many of the spectators.
The crazy "restricted firearm ammunition" provision was replaced with some new language that both sides apparently found satisfactory, but I have no idea what it says. If there was anybody on the combined committee who knows anything much about ammunition, it was not readily apparent from the discussion that occurred on this provision before someone went off to redraft the language in consultation with the Maryland State Police.
An amendment to repeal the old "ballistic fingerprinting" law was rejected, although it was stated that the machine used to seek casing matches has been broken since 2005, and it didn't sound like anybody was planning to fix it. In Maryland, gun control is a ratchet which operates only in one direction.
Another amendment by Simmons, to require medical professionals to report to law enforcement any imminent threat to inflict major physical injury on a named person, failed after considerable debate.
In perhaps the most striking display of ideological rigidity all day, the controlling block of Democrats voted down an amendment to allow current off-duty peace officers, and retired law enforcement officers who are certified under the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, to carry firearms on public school property. Delegate Kathleen Dumais (D-Montgomery) led the opposition to this amendment.
A new version of the bill, called a "second reader," which will incorporate all of the committee amendments, may be available as early as Monday.
Even after the bill passes the House, the conference committee will be able to change anything that the Democratic leaders of both houses want changed. Therefore, if there is some amendment that was adopted in the Good Friday markup that you like, or some amendment adopted on the floor next week that you like, don't make a big deal about it here, unless you want to get it added to the leadership hit-list for the conference committee.
It was a day off work for me, so I was there for the entire mark up, which lasted something over 7 hours. The committee started with the "consolidated" draft distributed by Delegate McDermott's office late on March 28, which the delegates referred to as the "re-print," and which is posted here. The amendments considered at the mark up session were not distributed to spectators, and only a few were read aloud, so it was not possible to track every detail. But few substantial amendments were accepted. Most of the successful amendments were of no great consequence. With a few exceptions, a solid majority of the Democrats, conferring frequently with representatives of the governor's office, voted as a bloc against substantial revisions.
Therefore, except as noted below, the bill is still pretty much what I described in this outline posted on March 28 here.
(However, note that I did not cover most of the "mental health" provisions in my outline, as there are others here far better equipped to interpret them.)
At the Good Friday mark up, an amendment was adopted to exempt antiques and curios & relics from the requirement for the handgun qualification license, but the Democrats refused to accept another amendment to allow "assault weapons" to be purchased or transferred in state if they meet the federal definition of a "curio or relic." If anyone needs more details on the effects of these two C&R amendments, the one adopted and the one rejected, please e-mail me, rather than posting on this thread.
An amendment was adopted to impose a disqualification for firearms on anyone who is found guilty of a crime of violence, and who then is given "probation before judgment" (PBJ) by the judge. As described by the sponsor, Luiz Simmons (D-Montgomery), such a person would still be eligible to apply for expungement, three years after completing the probation, and if expungement is granted, the conviction and the firearms disability will go away. This amendment was adopted by an alliance that cut across the usual ideological lines, but over the strong objections of some of the liberal members and of Chairman Vallario, so it is by no means clear whether it will survive the anticipated conference committee. Simmons said that the governor supports the amendment.
An amendment was Delegate Michael Smigiel (R-36) was initially adopted to deny good-time points and early release for persons incarcerated for using violent crimes using firearms. However, the governor's office apparently twisted somebody's arm, Judiciary Chairman Joe Vallario ordered a re-do on the vote, and the amendment was declared defeated on a tie, 23-23, to the loud protests of Mr. Smigiel and many of the spectators.
The crazy "restricted firearm ammunition" provision was replaced with some new language that both sides apparently found satisfactory, but I have no idea what it says. If there was anybody on the combined committee who knows anything much about ammunition, it was not readily apparent from the discussion that occurred on this provision before someone went off to redraft the language in consultation with the Maryland State Police.
An amendment to repeal the old "ballistic fingerprinting" law was rejected, although it was stated that the machine used to seek casing matches has been broken since 2005, and it didn't sound like anybody was planning to fix it. In Maryland, gun control is a ratchet which operates only in one direction.
Another amendment by Simmons, to require medical professionals to report to law enforcement any imminent threat to inflict major physical injury on a named person, failed after considerable debate.
In perhaps the most striking display of ideological rigidity all day, the controlling block of Democrats voted down an amendment to allow current off-duty peace officers, and retired law enforcement officers who are certified under the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, to carry firearms on public school property. Delegate Kathleen Dumais (D-Montgomery) led the opposition to this amendment.
A new version of the bill, called a "second reader," which will incorporate all of the committee amendments, may be available as early as Monday.
Even after the bill passes the House, the conference committee will be able to change anything that the Democratic leaders of both houses want changed. Therefore, if there is some amendment that was adopted in the Good Friday markup that you like, or some amendment adopted on the floor next week that you like, don't make a big deal about it here, unless you want to get it added to the leadership hit-list for the conference committee.
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