Maryland 2024 Regular Session

Maryland Senate Bill SB28 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 MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
4	4	[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
5	5	sb0028
6	6
7	7	SENATE BILL 28
8	8	E1, E5 EMERGENCY BILL 4lr1062
9	9	SB 744/23 – JPR (PRE–FILED) CF 4lr1336
10	10	By: Senators Folden, Bailey, Carozza, Corderman, Gallion, Hershey, Jennings,
11	11	McKay, Mautz, Ready, Salling, Simonaire, and West
12	12	Requested: October 20, 2023
13	13	Introduced and read first time: January 10, 2024
14	14	Assigned to: Judicial Proceedings
15	15
16	16	A BILL ENTITLED
17	17
18	18	AN ACT concerning 1
19	19
20	20	Crimes and Corrections – Penalties and Procedures 2
21	21	(Violent Firearms Offender Act of 2024) 3
22	22
23	23	FOR the purpose of establishing that a violation of a condition of probation, parole, or 4
24	24	mandatory supervision that involves the use or possession of a firearm is not a 5
25	25	technical violation for certain purposes; requiring the Commissioner of Correction to 6
26	26	provide a certain incarcerated individual with a certain reentry kit and assistance 7
27	27	in obtaining Medicaid benefits under certain circumstances; altering the elements of 8
28	28	certain prohibitions against using a certain firearm in the commission of a certain 9
29	29	crime; providing that the use of a firearm in the commission of the offense of 10
30	30	possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance is a crime of 11
31	31	violence for certain purposes; altering the penalties for unlawful possession of a 12
32	32	regulated firearm; prohibiting a dealer or other person from selling, renting, loaning, 13
33	33	or transferring a regulated firearm to a purchaser, lessee, borrower, or transferee if 14
34	34	the dealer or other person has actual knowledge that the purchaser, lessee, borrower, 15
35	35	or transferee intends to use the regulated firearm for a certain purpose; and 16
36	36	generally relating to criminal and correctional penalties and procedures. 17
37	37
38	38	BY renumbering 18
39	39	Article – Public Safety 19
40	40	Section 5–134(c) and (d) 20
41	41	to be Section 5–134(d) and (e), respectively 21
42	42	Annotated Code of Maryland 22
43	43	(2022 Replacement Volume and 2023 Supplement) 23
44	44
45	45	BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 24
46	46	Article – Correctional Services 25
47	47	Section 6–101(a) 26
48	48	Annotated Code of Maryland 27 2 SENATE BILL 28
49	49
50	50
51	51	(2017 Replacement Volume and 2023 Supplement) 1
52	52
53	53	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 2
54	54	Article – Correctional Services 3
55	55	Section 6–101(m) 4
56	56	Annotated Code of Maryland 5
57	57	(2017 Replacement Volume and 2023 Supplement) 6
58	58
59	59	BY adding to 7
60	60	Article – Correctional Services 8
61	61	Section 9–609.2 9
62	62	Annotated Code of Maryland 10
63	63	(2017 Replacement Volume and 2023 Supplement) 11
64	64
65	65	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 12
66	66	Article – Criminal Law 13
67	67	Section 4–204, 4–306(b), 4–404, and 14–101(a) 14
68	68	Annotated Code of Maryland 15
69	69	(2021 Replacement Volume and 2023 Supplement) 16
70	70
71	71	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 17
72	72	Article – Public Safety 18
73	73	Section 5–133(b) 19
74	74	Annotated Code of Maryland 20
75	75	(2022 Replacement Volume and 2023 Supplement) 21
76	76
77	77	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 22
78	78	Article – Public Safety 23
79	79	Section 5–133(b–1) 24
80	80	Annotated Code of Maryland 25
81	81	(2022 Replacement Volume and 2023 Supplement) 26
82	82	(As enacted by Chapter 622 of the Acts of the General Assembly of 2023) 27
83	83
84	84	BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 28
85	85	Article – Public Safety 29
86	86	Section 5–134(b) 30
87	87	Annotated Code of Maryland 31
88	88	(2022 Replacement Volume and 2023 Supplement) 32
89	89
90	90	BY adding to 33
91	91	Article – Public Safety 34
92	92	Section 5–134(c) 35
93	93	Annotated Code of Maryland 36
94	94	(2022 Replacement Volume and 2023 Supplement) 37
95	95	SENATE BILL 28 3
96	96
97	97
98	98	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 1
99	99	That Section(s) 5–134(c) and (d) of Article – Public Safety of the Annotated Code of 2
100	100	Maryland be renumbered to be Section(s) 5–134(d) and (e), respectively. 3
101	101
102	102	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACT ED, That the Laws of Maryland read 4
103	103	as follows: 5
104	104
105	105	Article – Correctional Services 6
106	106
107	107	6–101. 7
108	108
109	109	(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. 8
110	110
111	111	(m) “Technical violation” means a violation of a condition of probation, parole, or 9
112	112	mandatory supervision that does not involve: 10
113	113
114	114	(1) an arrest or a summons issued by a commissioner on a statement of 11
115	115	charges filed by a law enforcement officer; 12
116	116
117	117	(2) a violation of a criminal prohibition other than a minor traffic offense; 13
118	118
119	119	(3) a violation of a no–contact or stay–away order; [or] 14
120	120
121	121	(4) absconding; OR 15
122	122
123	123	(5) USE OR POSSESSION OF A FIREARM. 16
124	124
125	125	9–609.2. 17
126	126
127	127	BEFORE RELEASE OF AN INCARCERATED INDIVID UAL FROM A STATE 18
128	128	CORRECTIONAL FACILIT Y, THE COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTION SHALL PROV IDE 19
129	129	THE INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL WITH: 20
130	130
131	131	(1) A REENTRY KIT, INCLUDING: 21
132	132
133	133	(I) AT LEAST 1 WEEK OF SUPPLIES FOR BASIC HUMAN NEEDS , 22
134	134	INCLUDING TOILETRIES AND CLOTHING ; 23
135	135
136	136	(II) THE IDENTIFICATION C ARD REQUIRED TO BE I SSUED 24
137	137	UNDER § 9–609.1 OF THIS SUBTITLE; 25
138	138
139	139	(III) 1. CONTACT IN FORMATION FOR ENTITI ES THAT 26
140	140	SPECIALIZE IN PROVID ING REENTRY SERVICES , HOUSING ASSISTANCE , SUBSTANCE 27
141	141	USE DISORDER TREATME NT, AND MENTAL HEALTH SE RVICES; AND 28
142	142	4 SENATE BILL 28
143	143
144	144
145	145	2. IF THE INCARCERATED INDIVID UAL IS NOT ELIGIBLE 1
146	146	FOR MEDICAID BENEFITS , CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE MARYLAND HEALTH 2
147	147	BENEFIT EXCHANGE; AND 3
148	148
149	149	(IV) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATIO N INFORMATION , INCLUDING 4
150	150	LOCAL PUBLIC TRANSPO RTATION SCHEDULES AN D MAPS; AND 5
151	151
152	152	(2) IF THE INCARCERATED INDIVID UAL IS ELIGIBLE FOR MEDICAID 6
153	153	BENEFITS, ASSISTANCE IN OBTAIN ING MEDICAID BENEFITS. 7
154	154
155	155	Article – Criminal Law 8
156	156
157	157	4–204. 9
158	158
159	159	(a) (1) In this section[, “firearm”] THE FOLLOWING WORDS HAVE THE 10
160	160	MEANINGS INDICATED . 11
161	161
162	162	(2) (I) “FIREARM” means: 12
163	163
164	164	[(i)] 1. a weapon that expels, is designed to expel, or may readily 13
165	165	be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive; or 14
166	166
167	167	[(ii)] 2. the frame or receiver of such a weapon. 15
168	168
169	169	[(2)] (II) “Firearm” includes an antique firearm, handgun, rifle, shotgun, 16
170	170	short–barreled rifle, short–barreled shotgun, starter gun, or any other firearm, whether 17
171	171	loaded or unloaded. 18
172	172
173	173	(3) “USE A FIREARM” DOES NOT INCLUDE THE MERE POSSESSION OF 19
174	174	A FIREARM. 20
175	175
176	176	(b) A person may not use a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence, as 21
177	177	defined in § 5–101 of the Public Safety Article, or any felony, whether the firearm is 22
178	178	operable or inoperable at the time of the crime. 23
179	179
180	180	(c) (1) (i) A person who violates this section is guilty of a [misdemeanor] 24
181	181	FELONY and, in addition to any other penalty imposed for the crime of violence or felony, 25
182	182	shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than 5 years and not exceeding 20 years. 26
183	183
184	184	(ii) The court may not impose less than the minimum sentence of 5 27
185	185	years and, except as otherwise provided in § 4–305 of the Correctional Services Article, the 28
186	186	person is not eligible for parole in less than 5 years. 29
187	187
188	188	(2) For each subsequent violation, the sentence shall be consecutive to and 30
189	189	not concurrent with any other sentence imposed for the crime of violence or felony. 31
190	190	SENATE BILL 28 5
191	191
192	192
193	193	4–306. 1
194	194
195	195	(b) (1) IN THIS SUBSECTION , “USES” DOES NOT INCLUDE MER E 2
196	196	POSSESSION. 3
197	197
198	198	(2) A person who uses an assault weapon, a rapid fire trigger activator, or 4
199	199	a magazine that has a capacity of more than 10 rounds of ammunition, in the commission 5
200	200	of a felony or a crime of violence as defined in § 5–101 of the Public Safety Article is guilty 6
201	201	of a [misdemeanor] FELONY and on conviction, in addition to any other sentence imposed 7
202	202	for the felony or crime of violence, shall be sentenced under this subsection. 8
203	203
204	204	[(2)] (3) (i) For a first violation, the person shall be sentenced to 9
205	205	imprisonment for not less than 5 years and not exceeding 20 years. 10
206	206
207	207	(ii) The court may not impose less than the minimum sentence of 5 11
208	208	years. 12
209	209
210	210	(iii) The mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years may not be 13
211	211	suspended. 14
212	212
213	213	(iv) Except as otherwise provided in § 4–305 of the Correctional 15
214	214	Services Article, the person is not eligible for parole in less than 5 years. 16
215	215
216	216	[(3)] (4) (i) For each subsequent violation, the person shall be 17
217	217	sentenced to imprisonment for not less than 10 years and not exceeding 20 years. 18
218	218
219	219	(ii) The court may not impose less than the minimum sentence of 10 19
220	220	years. 20
221	221
222	222	(iii) A sentence imposed under this paragraph shall be consecutive to 21
223	223	and not concurrent with any other sentence imposed for the felony or crime of violence. 22
224	224
225	225	4–404. 23
226	226
227	227	(a) A person may not use or possess a machine gun in the commission or 24
228	228	attempted commission of a FELONY OR crime of violence. 25
229	229
230	230	(b) A person who violates this section is guilty of a felony and on conviction is 26
231	231	subject to imprisonment not exceeding 20 years. 27
232	232
233	233	14–101. 28
234	234
235	235	(a) In this section, “crime of violence” means: 29
236	236
237	237	(1) abduction; 30
238	238	6 SENATE BILL 28
239	239
240	240
241	241	(2) arson in the first degree; 1
242	242
243	243	(3) kidnapping; 2
244	244
245	245	(4) manslaughter, except involuntary manslaughter; 3
246	246
247	247	(5) mayhem; 4
248	248
249	249	(6) maiming, as previously proscribed under former Article 27, §§ 385 and 5
250	250	386 of the Code; 6
251	251
252	252	(7) murder; 7
253	253
254	254	(8) rape; 8
255	255
256	256	(9) robbery under § 3–402 or § 3–403 of this article; 9
257	257
258	258	(10) carjacking; 10
259	259
260	260	(11) armed carjacking; 11
261	261
262	262	(12) sexual offense in the first degree; 12
263	263
264	264	(13) sexual offense in the second degree; 13
265	265
266	266	(14) use of a firearm in the commission of a felony [except possession with 14
267	267	intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance under § 5–602(2) of this article,] or 15
268	268	other crime of violence; 16
269	269
270	270	(15) child abuse in the first degree under § 3–601 of this article; 17
271	271
272	272	(16) sexual abuse of a minor under § 3–602 of this article if: 18
273	273
274	274	(i) 1. the victim is under the age of 13 years and the offender is 19
275	275	an adult at the time of the offense; or 20
276	276
277	277	2. the offender is at least 21 years old and the victim is under 21
278	278	the age of 16 years; and 22
279	279
280	280	(ii) the offense involved: 23
281	281
282	282	1. vaginal intercourse, as defined in § 3–301 of this article; 24
283	283
284	284	2. a sexual act, as defined in § 3–301 of this article; 25
285	285
286	286	3. an act in which a part of the offender’s body penetrates, 26
287	287	however slightly, into the victim’s genital opening or anus; or 27 SENATE BILL 28 7
288	288
289	289
290	290
291	291	4. the intentional touching of the victim’s or the offender’s 1
292	292	genital, anal, or other intimate area for sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse; 2
293	293
294	294	(17) home invasion under § 6–202(b) of this article; 3
295	295
296	296	(18) a felony offense under Title 3, Subtitle 11 of this article; 4
297	297
298	298	(19) an attempt to commit any of the crimes described in items (1) through 5
299	299	(18) of this subsection; 6
300	300
301	301	(20) continuing course of conduct with a child under § 3–315 of this article; 7
302	302
303	303	(21) assault in the first degree; 8
304	304
305	305	(22) assault with intent to murder; 9
306	306
307	307	(23) assault with intent to rape; 10
308	308
309	309	(24) assault with intent to rob; 11
310	310
311	311	(25) assault with intent to commit a sexual offense in the first degree; and 12
312	312
313	313	(26) assault with intent to commit a sexual offense in the second degree. 13
314	314
315	315	Article – Public Safety 14
316	316
317	317	5–133. 15
318	318
319	319	(b) (1) Subject to § 5–133.3 of this subtitle, a person may not possess a 16
320	320	regulated firearm if the person: 17
321	321
322	322	[(1)] (I) has been convicted of a disqualifying crime; 18
323	323
324	324	[(2)] (II) has been convicted of a violation classified as a common law 19
325	325	crime and received a term of imprisonment of more than 2 years; 20
326	326
327	327	[(3) (i)] (III) 1. has been convicted on or after October 1, 2023, of a 21
328	328	second or subsequent violation of § 4–104 of the Criminal Law Article; or 22
329	329
330	330	[(ii)] 2. has been convicted on or after October 1, 2023, of a 23
331	331	violation of § 4–104 of the Criminal Law Article if the violation resulted in the use of a 24
332	332	loaded firearm by a minor causing death or serious bodily injury to the minor or another 25
333	333	person; 26
334	334	8 SENATE BILL 28
335	335
336	336
337	337	[(4)] (IV) subject to subsection (b–1) of this section, is on supervised 1
338	338	probation after being convicted: 2
339	339
340	340	[(i)] 1. of a crime punishable by imprisonment for 1 year or more; 3
341	341
342	342	[(ii)] 2. for a violation of § 21–902(b) or (c) of the Transportation 4
343	343	Article; or 5
344	344
345	345	[(iii)] 3. for violating a protective order under § 4–509 of the Family 6
346	346	Law Article; 7
347	347
348	348	[(5)] (V) is a fugitive from justice; 8
349	349
350	350	[(6)] (VI) is a habitual drunkard; 9
351	351
352	352	[(7)] (VII) is addicted to a controlled dangerous substance or is a habitual 10
353	353	user; 11
354	354
355	355	[(8)] (VIII) suffers from a mental disorder as defined in § 10–101(i)(2) of the 12
356	356	Health – General Article and has a history of violent behavior against the person or 13
357	357	another; 14
358	358
359	359	[(9)] (IX) has been found incompetent to stand trial under § 3–106 of the 15
360	360	Criminal Procedure Article; 16
361	361
362	362	[(10)] (X) has been found not criminally responsible under § 3–110 of the 17
363	363	Criminal Procedure Article; 18
364	364
365	365	[(11)] (XI) has been voluntarily admitted for more than 30 consecutive days 19
366	366	to a facility as defined in § 10–101 of the Health – General Article; 20
367	367
368	368	[(12)] (XII) has been involuntarily committed to a facility as defined in § 21
369	369	10–101 of the Health – General Article; 22
370	370
371	371	[(13)] (XIII) is under the protection of a guardian appointed by a court under 23
372	372	§ 13–201(c) or § 13–705 of the Estates and Trusts Article, except for cases in which the 24
373	373	appointment of a guardian is solely a result of a physical disability; 25
374	374
375	375	[(14)] (XIV) except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, is a 26
376	376	respondent against whom: 27
377	377
378	378	[(i)] 1. a current non ex parte civil protective order has been 28
379	379	entered under § 4–506 of the Family Law Article; or 29
380	380	SENATE BILL 28 9
381	381
382	382
383	383	[(ii)] 2. an order for protection, as defined in § 4–508.1 of the 1
384	384	Family Law Article, has been issued by a court of another state or a Native American tribe 2
385	385	and is in effect; or 3
386	386
387	387	[(15)] (XV) if under the age of 30 years at the time of possession, has been 4
388	388	adjudicated delinquent by a juvenile court for an act that would be a disqualifying crime if 5
389	389	committed by an adult. 6
390	390
391	391	(2) (I) EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBSECTION (C) OF THIS SECTION, 7
392	392	A PERSON WHO VIOLATES THIS SUBSEC TION IS GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR AND ON 8
393	393	CONVICTION IS SUBJEC T TO: 9
394	394
395	395	1. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED I N ITEM 2 OF THIS 10
396	396	SUBPARAGRAPH , IMPRISONMENT NOT EXC EEDING 5 YEARS OR A FINE NOT 11
397	397	EXCEEDING $10,000 OR BOTH; AND 12
398	398
399	399	2. SUBJECT TO PARAGRAPH (3) OF THIS SUBSECTION , 13
400	400	FOR A SECOND OR SUBS EQUENT OFFENSE , IMPRISONMENT NOT EXC EEDING 10 14
401	401	YEARS OR A FINE NOT EXCEEDING $10,000 OR BOTH. 15
402	402
403	403	(II) EACH VIOLATION OF THI S SUBSECTION IS A SE PARATE 16
404	404	CRIME. 17
405	405
406	406	(III) A PERSON CONVICTED UND ER THIS SUBSECTION I S NOT 18
407	407	PROHIBITED FROM PART ICIPATING IN A DRUG TREATMENT PROGRAM UN DER § 19
408	408	8–507 OF THE HEALTH – GENERAL ARTICLE BECAUSE OF TH E LENGTH OF THE 20
409	409	SENTENCE. 21
410	410
411	411	(3) THE COURT MAY NOT IMP OSE THE PENALTIES UN DER 22
412	412	PARAGRAPH (2)(I)2 OF THIS SUBSECTION U NLESS THE STATE’S ATTORNEY SERVES 23
413	413	NOTICE ON THE DEFEND ANT OR THE DEFENDANT ’S COUNSEL BEFORE THE 24
414	414	ACCEPTANCE OF A PLEA OF GUILTY OR NOLO CO NTENDERE OR AT LEAST 15 DAYS 25
415	415	BEFORE TRIAL THAT : 26
416	416
417	417	(I) THE STATE WILL SEEK THE P ENALTIES UNDER PARAG RAPH 27
418	418	(2)(I)2 OF THIS SUBSECTION ; AND 28
419	419
420	420	(II) LISTS THE ALLEGED PR IOR CONVICTIONS . 29
421	421
422	422	(b–1) Subsection [(b)(4)] (B)(1)(IV) of this section may not be construed to prohibit 30
423	423	possession of a regulated firearm by a person who was not convicted of but received only 31
424	424	probation before judgment for an offense listed in subsection [(b)(4)] (B)(1)(IV) of this 32
425	425	section. 33
426	426
427	427	5–134. 34 10 SENATE BILL 28
428	428
429	429
430	430
431	431	(b) A dealer or other person may not sell, rent, loan, or transfer a regulated 1
432	432	firearm to a purchaser, lessee, borrower, or transferee who the dealer or other person knows 2
433	433	or has reasonable cause to believe: 3
434	434
435	435	(1) is under the age of 21 years, unless the regulated firearm is loaned to a 4
436	436	borrower who may possess the regulated firearm under § 5–133(d) of this subtitle; 5
437	437
438	438	(2) has been convicted of a disqualifying crime; 6
439	439
440	440	(3) has been convicted of a conspiracy to commit a felony; 7
441	441
442	442	(4) has been convicted of a violation classified as a common law crime and 8
443	443	received a term of imprisonment of more than 2 years; 9
444	444
445	445	(5) is a fugitive from justice; 10
446	446
447	447	(6) is a habitual drunkard; 11
448	448
449	449	(7) is addicted to a controlled dangerous substance or is a habitual user; 12
450	450
451	451	(8) suffers from a mental disorder as defined in § 10–101(i)(2) of the Health 13
452	452	– General Article, and has a history of violent behavior against the purchaser, lessee, 14
453	453	borrower, or transferee or another, unless the purchaser, lessee, borrower, or transferee 15
454	454	possesses a physician’s certificate that the recipient is capable of possessing a regulated 16
455	455	firearm without undue danger to the purchaser, lessee, borrower, or transferee or to 17
456	456	another; 18
457	457
458	458	(9) has been confined for more than 30 consecutive days to a facility as 19
459	459	defined in § 10–101 of the Health – General Article, unless the purchaser, lessee, borrower, 20
460	460	or transferee possesses a physician’s certificate that the recipient is capable of possessing 21
461	461	a regulated firearm without undue danger to the purchaser, lessee, borrower, or transferee 22
462	462	or to another; 23
463	463
464	464	(10) is a respondent against whom a current non ex parte civil protective 24
465	465	order has been entered under § 4–506 of the Family Law Article; 25
466	466
467	467	(11) if under the age of 30 years at the time of the transaction, has been 26
468	468	adjudicated delinquent by a juvenile court for an act that would be a disqualifying crime if 27
469	469	committed by an adult; 28
470	470
471	471	(12) is visibly under the influence of alcohol or drugs; 29
472	472
473	473	(13) is a participant in a straw purchase; 30
474	474
475	475	(14) subject to subsection (c) of this section for a transaction under this 31
476	476	subsection that is made on or after January 1, 2002, has not completed a certified firearms 32 SENATE BILL 28 11
477	477
478	478
479	479	safety training course conducted free of charge by the Maryland Police Training and 1
480	480	Standards Commission or that meets standards established by the Maryland Police 2
481	481	Training and Standards Commission under § 3–207 of this article; or 3
482	482
483	483	(15) intends to use the regulated firearm to: 4
484	484
485	485	(i) commit a crime; or 5
486	486
487	487	(ii) cause harm to the purchaser, lessee, transferee, or recipient or 6
488	488	another person. 7
489	489
490	490	(C) (1) A DEALER OR OTHER PERS ON MAY NOT SELL , RENT, LOAN, OR 8
491	491	TRANSFER A REGULATED FIREARM TO A PURCHAS ER, LESSEE, BORROWER , OR 9
492	492	TRANSFEREE IF THE DEALER OR OTHER PERS ON HAS ACTUAL KNOWLE DGE THAT 10
493	493	THE PURCHASER , LESSEE, BORROWER , OR TRANSFEREE INTEND S TO USE THE 11
494	494	REGULATED FIREARM TO : 12
495	495
496	496	(I) COMMIT A CRIME ; OR 13
497	497
498	498	(II) CAUSE HARM TO THE PU RCHASER, LESSEE, TRANSFEREE , 14
499	499	OR RECIPIENT OR ANOT HER PERSON. 15
500	500
501	501	(2) A PERSON WHO VIOLATES THIS SUBSECTION IS G UILTY OF A 16
502	502	FELONY AND ON CONVIC TION IS SUBJECT TO I MPRISONMENT NOT EXCE EDING 10 17
503	503	YEARS. 18
504	504
505	505	(3) EACH VIOLATION OF THI S SUBSECTION IS A SE PARATE CRIME . 19
506	506
507	507	(4) A PERSON CONVICTED UND ER THIS SUBSECTION I S NOT 20
508	508	PROHIBITED FROM PARTICIPA TING IN A DRUG TREAT MENT PROGRAM UNDER § 21
509	509	8–507 OF THE HEALTH – GENERAL ARTICLE BECAUSE OF TH E LENGTH OF THE 22
510	510	SENTENCE. 23
511	511
512	512	(5) A DEFENDANT CHARGED WI TH VIOLATING THIS SU BSECTION 24
513	513	SHALL ALSO BE CHARGE D WITH VIOLATING SUB SECTION (B) OF THIS SECTION. 25
514	514
515	515	SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act is an emergency 26
516	516	measure, is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health or safety, has 27
517	517	been passed by a yea and nay vote supported by three–fifths of all the members elected to 28
518	518	each of the two Houses of the General Assembly, and shall take effect from the date it is 29
519	519	enacted. 30