Maryland 2024 Regular Session

Maryland House Bill HB48 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXIS TING LAW.
4	4	[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
5	5	hb0048
6	6
7	7	HOUSE BILL 48
8	8	D1 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 4lr0964
9	9	HB 1255/23 – HRU (PRE–FILED)
10	10	By: Delegate Cardin
11	11	Requested: October 15, 2023
12	12	Introduced and read first time: January 10, 2024
13	13	Assigned to: Judiciary
14	14
15	15	A BILL ENTITLED
16	16
17	17	AN ACT concerning 1
18	18
19	19	Courts – Justices and Judges – Selection and Retention 2
20	20
21	21	FOR the purpose of decreasing the term of office for the judges of the circuit courts; 3
22	22	increasing the number of years between successive retention elections for justices of 4
23	23	the Supreme Court of Maryland and judges of the Appellate Court of Maryland; and 5
24	24	providing for a transitional period during which the terms of certain amendments 6
25	25	are to become effective. 7
26	26
27	27	BY proposing a repeal of the Maryland Constitution 8
28	28	Article IV – Judiciary Department 9
29	29	Section 3 10
30	30
31	31	BY proposing an amendment to the Maryland Constitution 11
32	32	Article IV – Judiciary Department 12
33	33	Section 5 and 5A 13
34	34
35	35	BY proposing an addition to the Maryland Constitution 14
36	36	Article XVIII – Provisions of Limited Duration 15
37	37	Section 6 16
38	38
39	39	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 17
40	40	(Three–fifths of all the members elected to each of the two Houses concurring), That it be 18
41	41	proposed that the Maryland Constitution read as follows: 19
42	42
43	43	Article IV – Judiciary Department 20
44	44
45	45	[3. 21
46	46
47	47	Except for the Judges of the District Court, the Judges of the several Courts other 22 2 HOUSE BILL 48
48	48
49	49
50	50	than the Supreme Court of Maryland or any intermediate courts of appeal shall, subject to 1
51	51	the provisions of Section 5 of this Article of the Constitution, be elected in Baltimore City 2
52	52	and in each county, by the qualified voters of the city and of each county, respectively, all 3
53	53	of the said Judges to be elected at the general election to be held on the Tuesday after the 4
54	54	first Monday in November, as now provided for in the Constitution. Each of the said Judges 5
55	55	shall hold the office for the term of fifteen years from the time of the election, and until the 6
56	56	Judge’s successor is elected and qualified, or until the Judge shall have attained the age of 7
57	57	seventy years, whichever may first happen, and be reeligible thereto until the Judge shall 8
58	58	have attained the age of seventy years, and not after. In case of the inability of any of said 9
59	59	Judges to discharge the Judge’s duties with efficiency, by reason of continued sickness, or 10
60	60	of physical or mental infirmity, it shall be in the power of the General Assembly, two–thirds 11
61	61	of the members of each House concurring, with the approval of the Governor to retire said 12
62	62	Judge from office.] 13
63	63
64	64	5. 14
65	65
66	66	(A) (1) IN CASE OF THE INABIL ITY OF A JUDGE OF A CIRCUIT COURT TO 15
67	67	DISCHARGE DUTIES WIT H EFFICIENCY, BY REASON OF CONTINU ED SICKNESS OR OF 16
68	68	PHYSICAL OR MENTAL I NFIRMITY, IT SHALL BE IN THE P OWER OF THE GENERAL 17
69	69	ASSEMBLY, TWO–THIRDS OF THE MEMBER S OF EACH HOUSE CONCURRING , WITH 18
70	70	THE APPROVAL OF THE GOVERNOR TO RETIRE SA ID JUDGE FROM OFFICE . 19
71	71
72	72	(2) A VACANCY IN THE OFFIC E OF A JUDGE OF A CI RCUIT COURT , 20
73	73	WHETHER OCCASIONED B Y THE DEATH , RESIGNATION, REMOVAL, RETIREMENT , 21
74	74	DISQUALIFICATION BY REASON OF AGE , OR REJECTION BY THE VOTER S OF AN 22
75	75	INCUMBENT, THE CREATION OF THE OFFICE OF A JUDGE , OR OTHERWISE , SHALL BE 23
76	76	FILLED AS PROVIDED I N THIS SECTION. 24
77	77
78	78	(B) [Upon every] ON THE occurrence [or recurrence] of a vacancy [through death, 25
79	79	resignation, removal, disqualification by reason of age or otherwise, or expiration of the 26
80	80	term of fifteen years of any judge of a circuit court, or creation of the office of any such 27
81	81	judge, or in any other way], the Governor shall appoint a person duly qualified to fill said 28
82	82	office[,] who shall hold the same until the election [and qualification of his successor. His 29
83	83	successor shall be elected at the first biennial general election for Representatives in 30
84	84	Congress after the expiration of the term of fifteen years (if the vacancy occurred in that 31
85	85	way) or the first such general election after one year after the occurrence of the vacancy in 32
86	86	any other way than through expiration of such term. Except in case of reappointment of a 33
87	87	judge upon expiration of his term of fifteen years, no person shall be appointed who will 34
88	88	become disqualified by reason of age and thereby unable to continue to hold office until the 35
89	89	prescribed time when his successor would have been elected] FOR CONTINUANCE IN 36
90	90	OFFICE AS PROVIDED I N SUBSECTION (C) OF THIS SECTION . 37
91	91
92	92	(C) THE CONTINUANCE IN OFFIC E OF A JUDGE OF A CI RCUIT COURT IS 38
93	93	SUBJECT TO APPROVAL OR REJECTION BY THE REGISTERED VOTERS OF 39
94	94	BALTIMORE CITY AND OF EACH COUN TY, RESPECTIVELY , PRESCRIBED BY LAW AT 40 HOUSE BILL 48 3
95	95
96	96
97	97	THE NEXT GENERAL ELE CTION FOLLOWING THE EXPIRATION OF 1 YEAR FROM THE 1
98	98	DATE OF THE OCCURREN CE OF THE VACANCY TH AT THE JUDGE WAS APP OINTED TO 2
99	99	FILL, AND AT THE GENERAL E LECTION NEXT OCCURRI NG EVERY 12 YEARS 3
100	100	THEREAFTER . 4
101	101
102	102	(D) THE APPROVAL OR REJEC TION BY THE REGISTER ED VOTERS OF A 5
103	103	JUDGE AS PROVIDED FO R IN SUBSECTION (C) OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE A V OTE 6
104	104	FOR THE JUDGE ’S RETENTION IN OFFIC E FOR A TERM OF 12 YEARS OR THE JUDGE ’S 7
105	105	REMOVAL. THE JUDGE’S NAME SHALL BE ON T HE APPROPRIATE BALLO T, WITHOUT 8
106	106	OPPOSITION, AND THE VOTERS SHALL VOTE YES OR NO FOR T HE RETENTION IN 9
107	107	OFFICE OF THE JUDGE . IF THE VOTERS REJECT THE RETENTION IN OFF ICE OF A 10
108	108	JUDGE, OR IF THE VOTE IS TI ED, THE OFFICE BECOMES V ACANT 10 DAYS AFTER 11
109	109	CERTIFICATION OF THE ELECTION RETURNS . 12
110	110
111	111	(E) A JUDGE OF A CIRCUIT C OURT SHALL RETIRE WH EN THE JUDGE 13
112	112	ATTAINS THE AGE OF 70 YEARS. 14
113	113
114	114	5A. 15
115	115
116	116	(a) A vacancy in the office of a justice or judge of an appellate court, whether 16
117	117	occasioned by the death, resignation, removal, retirement, disqualification by reason of age, 17
118	118	or rejection by the voters of an incumbent, the creation of the office of a justice or judge, or 18
119	119	otherwise, shall be filled as provided in this section. 19
120	120
121	121	(b) [Upon] ON the occurrence of a vacancy the Governor shall appoint, by and 20
122	122	with the advice and consent of the Senate, a person duly qualified to fill said office who 21
123	123	shall hold the same until the election for continuance in office as provided in subsections 22
124	124	(c) and (d) OF THIS SECTION . 23
125	125
126	126	(c) The continuance in office of a justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland is 24
127	127	subject to approval or rejection by the registered voters of the appellate judicial circuit from 25
128	128	which the justice was appointed at the next general election following the expiration of 26
129	129	[one] 1 year from the date of the occurrence of the vacancy which the justice was appointed 27
130	130	to fill, and at the general election next occurring every [ten] 12 years thereafter. 28
131	131
132	132	(d) The continuance in office of a judge of the Appellate Court of Maryland is 29
133	133	subject to approval or rejection by the registered voters of the geographical area prescribed 30
134	134	by law at the next general election following the expiration of one year from the date of the 31
135	135	occurrence of the vacancy which the judge was appointed to fill, and at the general election 32
136	136	next occurring every [ten] 12 years thereafter. 33
137	137
138	138	(e) The approval or rejection by the registered voters of a justice or judge as 34
139	139	provided for in subsections (c) and (d) OF THIS SECTION shall be a vote for the justice’s or 35
140	140	judge’s retention in office for a term of [ten] 12 years or the justice’s or judge’s removal. 36
141	141	The justice’s or judge’s name shall be on the appropriate ballot, without opposition, and the 37 4 HOUSE BILL 48
142	142
143	143
144	144	voters shall vote yes or no for the justice’s or judge’s retention in office. If the voters reject 1
145	145	the retention in office of a justice or judge, or if the vote is tied, the office becomes vacant 2
146	146	[ten] 10 days after certification of the election returns. 3
147	147
148	148	(f) An appellate court justice or judge shall retire when the justice or judge 4
149	149	attains [the justice’s or judge’s seventieth birthday] THE AGE OF 70 YEARS. 5
150	150
151	151	(g) A member of the General Assembly who is otherwise qualified for 6
152	152	appointment to judicial office is not disqualified by reason of the member’s membership in 7
153	153	a General Assembly which proposed or enacted any constitutional amendment or statute 8
154	154	affecting the method of selection, continuance in office, or retirement or removal of a justice 9
155	155	or judge, the creation or abolition of a court, an increase or decrease in the number of 10
156	156	justices or judges of any court, or an increase or decrease in the salary, pension or other 11
157	157	allowances of any justice or judge. 12
158	158
159	159	Article XVIII – Provisions of Limited Duration 13
160	160
161	161	6. 14
162	162
163	163	(A) (1) FOR THE PURPOSE OF IM PLEMENTING THE AMEND MENTS TO 15
164	164	ARTICLE IV OF THE MARYLAND CONSTITUTION PROPOSED BY HOUSE BILL ____ 16
165	165	(4LR0964) OF 2024 CONCERNING THE SELEC TION AND TENURE OF J USTICES OF THE 17
166	166	SUPREME COURT OF MARYLAND, JUDGES OF THE APPELLATE COURT OF 18
167	167	MARYLAND, AND CIRCUIT COURT JU DGES, THE FOLLOWING PROVIS IONS SHALL 19
168	168	GOVERN. 20
169	169
170	170	(2) IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE XIV, SECTION 1A OF THE 21
171	171	MARYLAND CONSTITUTION, THIS SECTION SHALL E XPIRE WHEN ALL OF TH E 22
172	172	JUSTICES OR JUDGES H AVE COMPLETED ALL TH E TERMS FOR WHICH TH E JUSTICES 23
173	173	AND JUDGES ARE RETAI NED IN OFFICE UNDER SUBSECTIONS (B) AND (C) OF THIS 24
174	174	SECTION OR HAVE VACA TED THEIR OFFICES FO R ANY REASON. 25
175	175
176	176	(B) (1) EACH JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF MARYLAND, JUDGE 26
177	177	OF THE APPELLATE COURT OF MARYLAND, OR JUDGE OF A CIRCUI T COURT WHO IS 27
178	178	IN OFFICE FOR AN ELE CTED TERM ON THE EFF ECTIVE DATE OF THESE 28
179	179	AMENDMENTS , UNLESS THE JUSTICE O R JUDGE DIES , RESIGNS, RETIRES, OR IS 29
180	180	OTHERWISE LAWFULLY R EMOVED, SHALL CONTINUE IN OF FICE UNTIL THE JUDGE ’S 30
181	181	OR JUSTICE’S SUCCESSOR IS APPOINT ED OR EL ECTED, AS APPLICABLE , AND 31
182	182	QUALIFIED OR UNTIL T HE JUSTICE OR JUDGE ATTAINS THE AGE OF 70 YEARS, 32
183	183	WHICHEVER OCCURS FIR ST. 33
184	184
185	185	(2) (I) FOLLOWING THE PERIOD DESCRIBED IN PARAGRA PH (1) OF 34
186	186	THIS SUBSECTION , CONTINUANCE IN OFFIC E OF A JUSTICE OF TH E SUPREME COURT 35
187	187	OF MARYLAND OR JUDGE OF THE APPELLATE COURT OF MARYLAND OR OF A 36 HOUSE BILL 48 5
188	188
189	189
190	190	CIRCUIT COURT IS THE N SUBJECT TO THE FOL LOWING PROVISIONS : 1
191	191
192	192	1. FOR A JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF 2
193	193	MARYLAND OR JUDGE OF THE APPELLATE COURT OF MARYLAND, ARTICLE IV, 3
194	194	SECTION 5A OF THE MARYLAND CONSTITUTION; AND 4
195	195
196	196	2. FOR A JUDGE OF A CIRC UIT COURT, ARTICLE IV, 5
197	197	SECTION 5 OF THE MARYLAND CONSTITUTION. 6
198	198
199	199	(II) IN NO EVENT SHALL ANY JUSTICE OR JUDGE CON TINUE IN 7
200	200	OFFICE AFTER ATTAINI NG THE AGE OF 70 YEARS. 8
201	201
202	202	(C) (1) EACH JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF MARYLAND, JUDGE 9
203	203	OF THE APPELLATE COURT OF MARYLAND, OR JUDGE OF A CIRCUI T COURT WHO IS 10
204	204	IN OFFICE ON THE EFF ECTIVE DATE OF THE A MENDMENTS TO ARTICLE IV OF THE 11
205	205	MARYLAND CONSTITUTION PROPOSED BY HOUSE BILL ____ (4LR0964) OF 2024, 12
206	206	BUT WHO HAS NOT BEEN ELECTED TO THAT OFFI CE BY THE VOTERS , SHALL 13
207	207	CONTINUE TO BE GOVER NED BY THE FOLLOWING PROVISIONS AS IN EFF ECT BEFORE 14
208	208	THE RATIFICATION OF THE AMENDMENTS TO ARTICLE IV OF THE MARYLAND 15
209	209	CONSTITUTION PROPOSED BY HOUSE BILL ____ (4LR0964) OF 2024: 16
210	210
211	211	(I) FOR A JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF MARYLAND OR 17
212	212	JUDGE OF THE APPELLATE COURT OF MARYLAND, ARTICLE IV, SECTION 5A OF 18
213	213	THE MARYLAND CONSTITUTION; AND 19
214	214
215	215	(II) FOR A JUDGE OF A CIRC UIT COURT, ARTICLE IV, SECTIONS 20
216	216	3 AND 5 OF THE MARYLAND CONSTITUTION. 21
217	217
218	218	(2) IF THE JUSTICE OR JUD GE IS ELECTED TO THE OFFICE, THE 22
219	219	JUSTICE OR JUDGE SHA LL CONTINUE IN OFFIC E UNTIL THE JUSTICE ’S OR JUDGE’S 23
220	220	SUCCESSOR IS APPOINT ED OR ELECTED , AS APPLICABLE, AND QUALIFIED OR UNT IL 24
221	221	THE JUSTICE OR JUDGE ATTAINS THE AGE OF 70 YEARS, WHICHEVER OCCURS FIR ST. 25
222	222
223	223	(3) (I) CONTINUANCE OF THE JU STICE OR JUDGE IN OF FICE AT 26
224	224	THE END OF THE ELECT ED TERM IS THEN SUBJ ECT TO: 27
225	225
226	226	1. FOR A JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF 28
227	227	MARYLAND OR JUDGE OF THE APPELLATE COURT OF MARYLAND, THE PROVISIONS 29
228	228	OF ARTICLE IV, SECTION 5A OF THE MARYLAND CONSTITUTION; AND 30
229	229
230	230	2. FOR A JUDGE OF A CIRC UIT COURT, THE PROVISIONS 31
231	231	OF ARTICLE IV, SECTION 5 OF THE MARYLAND CONSTITUTION. 32
232	232	6 HOUSE BILL 48
233	233
234	234
235	235	(II) IN NO EVENT SHALL ANY JUSTICE OR JUDGE CON TINUE IN 1
236	236	OFFICE AFTER ATTA INING THE AGE OF 70 YEARS. 2
237	237
238	238	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the General Assembly 3
239	239	determines that the amendment to the Maryland Constitution proposed by Section 1 of this 4
240	240	Act affects multiple jurisdictions and that the provisions of Article XIV, § 1 of the Maryland 5
241	241	Constitution concerning local approval of constitutional amendments do not apply. 6
242	242
243	243	SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the amendment to the 7
244	244	Maryland Constitution proposed by Section 1 of this Act shall be submitted to the qualified 8
245	245	voters of the State at the next general election to be held in November 2024 for adoption or 9
246	246	rejection pursuant to Article XIV of the Maryland Constitution. At that general election, 10
247	247	the vote on the proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be by ballot, and on each 11
248	248	ballot there shall be printed the words “For the Constitutional Amendment” and “Against 12
249	249	the Constitutional Amendment”, as now provided by law. Immediately after the election, 13
250	250	all returns shall be made to the Governor of the vote for and against the proposed 14
251	251	amendment, as directed by Article XIV of the Maryland Constitution, and further 15
252	252	proceedings had in accordance with Article XIV. 16
253	253