Maryland 2025 Regular Session

Maryland Senate Bill SB410 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	sb0410
6	6
7	7	SENATE BILL 410
8	8	E1 5lr1026
9	9	HB 318/24 – JUD CF 5lr1025
10	10	By: Senator Waldstreicher
11	11	Introduced and read first time: January 20, 2025
12	12	Assigned to: Judicial Proceedings
13	13
14	14	A BILL ENTITLED
15	15
16	16	AN ACT concerning 1
17	17
18	18	Criminal Law – Mail and Package Theft 2
19	19
20	20	FOR the purpose of altering the prohibition against taking and breaking open a letter; 3
21	21	prohibiting the theft of mail under certain circumstances; prohibiting a person from 4
22	22	possessing an arrow key under certain circumstances; providing for concurrent 5
23	23	jurisdiction in the District Court and circuit court to try a violation of this Act; and 6
24	24	generally relating to theft of mail and packages. 7
25	25
26	26	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 8
27	27	Article – Courts and Judicial Proceedings 9
28	28	Section 4–301 and 4–302 10
29	29	Annotated Code of Maryland 11
30	30	(2020 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 12
31	31
32	32	BY repealing 13
33	33	Article – Criminal Law 14
34	34	Section 3–905 15
35	35	Annotated Code of Maryland 16
36	36	(2021 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 17
37	37
38	38	BY adding to 18
39	39	Article – Criminal Law 19
40	40	Section 3–905 and 3–905.1 20
41	41	Annotated Code of Maryland 21
42	42	(2021 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 22
43	43
44	44	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 23
45	45	That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 24
46	46
47	47	Article – Courts and Judicial Proceedings 25
48	48	2 SENATE BILL 410
49	49
50	50
51	51	4–301. 1
52	52
53	53	(a) Except as provided in §§ 3–803 and 3–8A–03 of this article and 4–302 of this 2
54	54	subtitle, the District Court has exclusive original jurisdiction in a criminal case in which a 3
55	55	person at least 16 years old or a corporation is charged with violation of the vehicle laws, 4
56	56	or the State Boat Act, or regulations adopted pursuant to the vehicle laws or State Boat 5
57	57	Act. 6
58	58
59	59	(b) Except as provided in § 4–302 of this subtitle, the District Court also has 7
60	60	exclusive original jurisdiction in a criminal case in which a person at least 18 years old or 8
61	61	a corporation is charged with: 9
62	62
63	63	(1) Commission of a common–law or statutory misdemeanor regardless of 10
64	64	the amount of money or value of the property involved; 11
65	65
66	66	(2) Violation of § 7–104, § 7–105, § 7–107, or § 7–108 of the Criminal Law 12
67	67	Article, whether a felony or a misdemeanor; 13
68	68
69	69	(3) Violation of a county, municipal, or other ordinance, if the violation is 14
70	70	not a felony; 15
71	71
72	72	(4) Criminal violation of a State, county, or municipal rule or regulation, if 16
73	73	the violation is not a felony; 17
74	74
75	75	(5) Doing or omitting to do any act made punishable by a fine, 18
76	76	imprisonment, or other penalty as provided by the particular law, ordinance, rule, or 19
77	77	regulation defining the violation if the violation is not a felony; 20
78	78
79	79	(6) Violation of § 8–103 of the Criminal Law Article, whether a felony or a 21
80	80	misdemeanor; 22
81	81
82	82	(7) Violation of § 8–203, § 8–204, § 8–205, § 8–206, § 8–207, § 8–208, or § 23
83	83	8–209 of the Criminal Law Article, whether a felony or misdemeanor; 24
84	84
85	85	(8) Forgery or violation of Title 8, Subtitle 6 of the Criminal Law Article, 25
86	86	whether a felony or misdemeanor; 26
87	87
88	88	(9) Violation of Title 27, Subtitle 4 of the Insurance Article, whether a 27
89	89	felony or a misdemeanor; 28
90	90
91	91	(10) Violation of § 9–1106 of the Labor and Employment Article; 29
92	92
93	93	(11) Violation of § 8–301 of the Criminal Law Article, whether a felony or 30
94	94	misdemeanor; 31
95	95
96	96	(12) Violation of § 2–209 of the Criminal Law Article; 32
97	97	SENATE BILL 410 3
98	98
99	99
100	100	(13) Violation of Title 2, Subtitle 5 of the Criminal Law Article; 1
101	101
102	102	(14) Violation of Title 11, Subtitle 5 of the Financial Institutions Article; 2
103	103
104	104	(15) Violation of § 10–604, § 10–605, § 10–606, § 10–607, § 10–607.1, or § 3
105	105	10–608 of the Criminal Law Article, whether a felony or misdemeanor; 4
106	106
107	107	(16) Violation of Title 7, Subtitle 3, Part III of the Criminal Law Article, 5
108	108	whether a felony or misdemeanor; 6
109	109
110	110	(17) Violation of § 20–102 of the Transportation Article, whether a felony or 7
111	111	misdemeanor; 8
112	112
113	113	(18) Violation of § 8–801 of the Criminal Law Article; 9
114	114
115	115	(19) Violation of § 8–604 of the Criminal Law Article; 10
116	116
117	117	(20) Violation of Title 8, Subtitle 2, Part II of the Criminal Law Article; 11
118	118
119	119	(21) Violation of § 16–801, § 16–802, § 16–803, or § 16–804 of the Election 12
120	120	Law Article; 13
121	121
122	122	(22) Violation of § 3–203(c) of the Criminal Law Article; 14
123	123
124	124	(23) Violation of § 11–208 of the Criminal Law Article as a second or 15
125	125	subsequent offense; 16
126	126
127	127	(24) Violation of § 11–721 of the Criminal Procedure Article as a second or 17
128	128	subsequent offense; [or] 18
129	129
130	130	(25) Violation of § 3–1102(b) or § 3–1103 of the Criminal Law Article; OR 19
131	131
132	132	(26) VIOLATION OF § 3–905 OR § 3–905.1 OF THE CRIMINAL LAW 20
133	133	ARTICLE. 21
134	134
135	135	4–302. 22
136	136
137	137	(a) Except as provided in § 4–301(b)(2), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), 23
138	138	(15), (16), (17), (18), (19), (20), (21), (22), (23), (24), [and] (25), AND (26) of this subtitle, the 24
139	139	District Court does not have jurisdiction to try a criminal case charging the commission of 25
140	140	a felony. 26
141	141
142	142	(b) Except as provided in § 4–303 of this subtitle, the District Court does not have 27
143	143	criminal jurisdiction to try a case in which a juvenile court has exclusive original 28
144	144	jurisdiction. 29
145	145	4 SENATE BILL 410
146	146
147	147
148	148	(c) The jurisdiction of the District Court is concurrent with that of the juvenile 1
149	149	court in any criminal case arising under the compulsory public school attendance laws of 2
150	150	this State. 3
151	151
152	152	(d) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the jurisdiction 4
153	153	of the District Court is concurrent with that of the circuit court in a criminal case: 5
154	154
155	155	(i) In which the penalty may be confinement for 3 years or more or 6
156	156	a fine of $2,500 or more; or 7
157	157
158	158	(ii) That is a felony, as provided in § 4–301(b)(2), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), 8
159	159	(11), (12), (13), (14), (15), (16), (17), (18), (19), (20), (21), (22), (23), (24), [and] (25), AND (26) 9
160	160	of this subtitle. 10
161	161
162	162	(2) (i) Except as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, a 11
163	163	circuit court does not have jurisdiction to try a case charging a violation of § 5–601 or § 12
164	164	5–620 of the Criminal Law Article. 13
165	165
166	166	(ii) A circuit court does have jurisdiction to try a case charging a 14
167	167	violation of § 5–601 or § 5–620 of the Criminal Law Article if the defendant: 15
168	168
169	169	1. Properly demands a jury trial; 16
170	170
171	171	2. Appeals as provided by law from a final judgment entered 17
172	172	in the District Court; or 18
173	173
174	174	3. Is charged with another offense arising out of the same 19
175	175	circumstances that is within a circuit court’s jurisdiction. 20
176	176
177	177	(e) (1) The District Court is deprived of jurisdiction if a defendant is entitled 21
178	178	to and demands a jury trial at any time prior to trial in the District Court. 22
179	179
180	180	(2) (i) Except as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, unless 23
181	181	the penalty for the offense with which the defendant is charged permits imprisonment for 24
182	182	a period in excess of 90 days, a defendant is not entitled to a jury trial in a criminal case. 25
183	183
184	184	(ii) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (i) of this 26
185	185	paragraph, the presiding judge of the District Court may deny a defendant a jury trial if: 27
186	186
187	187	1. The prosecutor recommends in open court that the judge 28
188	188	not impose a penalty of imprisonment for a period in excess of 90 days, regardless of the 29
189	189	permissible statutory or common law maximum; 30
190	190
191	191	2. The judge agrees not to impose a penalty of imprisonment 31
192	192	for a period in excess of 90 days; and 32
193	193	SENATE BILL 410 5
194	194
195	195
196	196	3. The judge agrees not to increase the defendant’s bond if an 1
197	197	appeal is noted. 2
198	198
199	199	(iii) The State may not demand a jury trial. 3
200	200
201	201	(f) (1) Except as provided in Title 4, Subtitle 5 of the Family Law Article, the 4
202	202	District Court does not have jurisdiction of an offense otherwise within the District Court’s 5
203	203	jurisdiction if a person is charged: 6
204	204
205	205	(i) With another offense arising out of the same circumstances but 7
206	206	not within the District Court’s jurisdiction; or 8
207	207
208	208	(ii) In the circuit court with an offense arising out of the same 9
209	209	circumstances and within the concurrent jurisdictions of the District Court and the circuit 10
210	210	court described under subsection (d) of this section. 11
211	211
212	212	(2) In the cases described under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the circuit 12
213	213	court for the county has exclusive original jurisdiction over all the offenses. 13
214	214
215	215	Article – Criminal Law 14
216	216
217	217	[3–905. 15
218	218
219	219	(a) A person may not take and break open a letter that is not addressed to the 16
220	220	person without permission from the person to whom the letter is addressed or the personal 17
221	221	representative of the addressee’s estate. 18
222	222
223	223	(b) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction 19
224	224	is subject to imprisonment for 6 days and a fine of $15.] 20
225	225
226	226	3–905. 21
227	227
228	228	(A) (1) IN THIS SECTION, “MAIL” MEANS AN ITEM THAT H AS BEEN OR IS 22
229	229	INTENDED TO BE DELIV ERED BY USE OF THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE OR A COMMON 23
230	230	CARRIER OR DELIVERY SERVICE TO A PERSON WHOSE ADDRESS APPEAR S ON THE 24
231	231	ITEM. 25
232	232
233	233	(2) “MAIL” INCLUDES AN ADDRESSE D LETTER, A POSTAL CARD , OR A 26
234	234	PACKAGE. 27
235	235
236	236	(B) A PERSON MAY NOT KNOWI NGLY AND INTENTIONAL LY OPEN MAIL 28
237	237	ADDRESSED TO ANOTHER WITHOUT THE PERMISSI ON OF THE OTHER OR T HE 29
238	238	OTHER’S AUTHORIZED REPRESE NTATIVE OR DESIGNEE . 30
239	239	6 SENATE BILL 410
240	240
241	241
242	242	(C) A PERSON WHO VIOLATES THIS SEC TION IS GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR 1
243	243	AND ON CONVICTION IS SUBJECT TO IMPRISONM ENT NOT EXCEEDING 1 MONTH OR 2
244	244	A FINE OF $1,000 OR BOTH. 3
245	245
246	246	3–905.1. 4
247	247
248	248	(A) (1) IN THIS SECTION THE F OLLOWING WORDS HAVE THE MEANINGS 5
249	249	INDICATED. 6
250	250
251	251	(2) “ARROW KEY ” MEANS A KEY DESIGNED EXCLUSIVELY FOR 7
252	252	ALLOWING AN EMPLOYEE OF THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE OR A COMMON C ARRIER OR 8
253	253	DELIVERY SERVICE TO ACCESS A MAILBOX OR OTHER DEPOSITORY FOR STORING 9
254	254	MAIL. 10
255	255
256	256	(3) “MAIL” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 3–905 OF THIS SUBTITLE . 11
257	257
258	258	(B) (1) A PERSON MAY NOT COMMI T THEFT UNDER § 7–104 OF THIS 12
259	259	ARTICLE INVOLVING AT LEAST 1 BUT FEWER THAN 16 ITEMS OF MAIL. 13
260	260
261	261	(2) A PERSON MAY NOT COMMI T THEFT UNDER § 7–104 OF THIS 14
262	262	ARTICLE INVOLVING 16 OR MORE ITEMS OF MAI L. 15
263	263
264	264	(3) A PERSON MAY NOT COMMI T THEFT UNDER § 7–104 OF THIS 16
265	265	ARTICLE INVOLVING ON E OR MORE ITEMS OF M AIL USING AN ARROW K EY. 17
266	266
267	267	(C) A PERSON MAY NOT POSSE SS AN ARROW KEY WITH THE INTENT TO USE 18
268	268	OR ALLOW THE USE OF THE ARROW KEY IN THE COMMISSION OF A VIOL ATION OF 19
269	269	THIS SECTION. 20
270	270
271	271	(D) (1) A PERSON WHO VIOLATES SUBSECT ION (B)(1) OF THIS SECTION IS 21
272	272	GUILTY OF A MISDEMEA NOR AND ON CONVICTIO N IS SUBJECT TO IMPR ISONMENT 22
273	273	NOT EXCEEDING 6 MONTHS OR A FINE NOT EXCEEDING $1,000 OR BOTH. 23
274	274
275	275	(2) A PERSON WHO VIOLATES SUBSECTION (B)(2) OF THIS SECTION IS 24
276	276	GUILTY OF A FELONY AND ON C ONVICTION IS SUBJECT TO IMPRISONMENT NOT 25
277	277	EXCEEDING 2 YEARS OR A FINE NOT EXCEEDING $2,000 OR BOTH. 26
278	278
279	279	(3) A PERSON WHO VIOLATES SUBSECTION (B)(3) OF THIS SECTION IS 27
280	280	GUILTY OF A FELONY A ND ON CONVICTION IS SUBJECT TO IMPRISONM ENT NOT 28
281	281	EXCEEDING 5 YEARS OR A FINE NOT EXCEEDING $5,000 OR BOTH. 29
282	282
283	283	(4) A PERSON WHO VIOLATES SUBSECTION (C) OF THIS SECTION IS 30
284	284	GUILTY OF A FELONY A ND ON CONVICTION IS SUBJECT TO IMPRISONM ENT NOT 31
285	285	EXCEEDING 3 YEARS OR A FINE NOT EXCEEDING $3,000 OR BOTH. 32 SENATE BILL 410 7
286	286
287	287
288	288
289	289	(E) A SENTENCE IMPOSED UNDER T HIS SECTION MAY BE S EPARATE FROM 1
290	290	AND CONSECUTIVE TO O R CONCURRENT WITH A SENTENCE FOR ANY OTH ER CRIME 2
291	291	BASED ON THE ACTS ES TABLISHING A VIOLATI ON OF THIS SECTION . 3
292	292
293	293	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 4
294	294	October 1, 2025. 5
295	295