Maryland 2025 Regular Session

Maryland Senate Bill SB735 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	sb0735
6	6
7	7	SENATE BILL 735
8	8	E2 5lr1376
9	9	SB 44/24 – JPR
10	10	By: Senators Folden, Bailey, Jennings, Hershey, Gallion, Ready, and Carozza
11	11	Introduced and read first time: January 27, 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	Real Time for Violent Crime Act 2
19	19	(Geri’s Law) 3
20	20
21	21	FOR the purpose of prohibiting the earning of diminution credits to reduce the term of 4
22	22	confinement of an incarcerated individual who is serving a sentence for murder in 5
23	23	the first degree or murder in the second degree in a State or local correctional facility; 6
24	24	prohibiting a deduction of diminution credits of more than a certain percentage of an 7
25	25	incarcerated individual’s aggregate sentence for crimes of violence for an 8
26	26	incarcerated individual who is serving a sentence for a crime of violence; prohibiting 9
27	27	a judicial officer from authorizing the pretrial release of a defendant who is charged 10
28	28	with a crime of violence if the defendant has a pending charge for a certain crime or 11
29	29	was previously convicted within a certain number of years of a certain crime; and 12
30	30	generally relating to crimes of violence, diminution credits, and pretrial release. 13
31	31
32	32	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 14
33	33	Article – Correctional Services 15
34	34	Section 3–702, 3–708, and 11–502 16
35	35	Annotated Code of Maryland 17
36	36	(2017 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 18
37	37
38	38	BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 19
39	39	Article – Correctional Services 20
40	40	Section 3–707(a) 21
41	41	Annotated Code of Maryland 22
42	42	(2017 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 23
43	43
44	44	BY adding to 24
45	45	Article – Correctional Services 25
46	46	Section 11–507.1 26
47	47	Annotated Code of Maryland 27
48	48	(2017 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 28 2 SENATE BILL 735
49	49
50	50
51	51
52	52	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 1
53	53	Article – Criminal Procedure 2
54	54	Section 5–202 3
55	55	Annotated Code of Maryland 4
56	56	(2018 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 5
57	57
58	58	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 6
59	59	That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 7
60	60
61	61	Article – Correctional Services 8
62	62
63	63	3–702. 9
64	64
65	65	(a) Subject to subsections (b) [and], (c), AND (D) of this section, § 3–711 of this 10
66	66	subtitle, and Title 7, Subtitle 5 of this article, an incarcerated individual committed to the 11
67	67	custody of the Commissioner is entitled to a diminution of the incarcerated individuals’ 12
68	68	term of confinement as provided under this subtitle. 13
69	69
70	70	(b) (1) Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, an incarcerated individual 14
71	71	who is serving a sentence for a violation of § 3–303 or § 3–304 of the Criminal Law Article 15
72	72	involving a victim who is a child under the age of 16 years, or an incarcerated individual 16
73	73	who is serving a sentence for a violation of § 3–305 or § 3–306 of the Criminal Law Article, 17
74	74	as the sections existed before October 1, 2017, involving a victim who is a child under the 18
75	75	age of 16 years, is not entitled to a diminution of the incarcerated individual’s term of 19
76	76	confinement as provided under this subtitle. 20
77	77
78	78	(2) An incarcerated individual who is serving a sentence for a violation of 21
79	79	§ 3–303 of the Criminal Law Article that occurred on or after October 1, 2024, is not entitled 22
80	80	to diminution of the incarcerated individual’s term of confinement as provided under this 23
81	81	subtitle. 24
82	82
83	83	(c) An incarcerated individual who is serving a sentence for a violation of § 3–307 25
84	84	of the Criminal Law Article involving a victim who is a child under the age of 16 years is 26
85	85	not entitled to a diminution of the incarcerated individual’s term of confinement as provided 27
86	86	under this subtitle, if the incarcerated individual was previously convicted of a violation of 28
87	87	§ 3–307 of the Criminal Law Article involving a victim who is a child under the age of 16 29
88	88	years. 30
89	89
90	90	(D) AN INCARCERATED INDIV IDUAL WHO IS SERVING A SENTENCE FOR A 31
91	91	VIOLATION OF § 2–201 OR § 2–204 OF THE CRIMINAL LAW ARTICLE IS NOT 32
92	92	ENTITLED TO A DIMINU TION OF THE INCARCER ATED INDIVIDUAL ’S TERM OF 33
93	93	CONFINEMENT AS PROVID ED UNDER THIS SUBTIT LE. 34
94	94
95	95	3–707. 35
96	96
97	97	(a) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, in addition to 36 SENATE BILL 735 3
98	98
99	99
100	100	any other deductions allowed under this subtitle, an incarcerated individual may be 1
101	101	allowed a deduction of up to 20 days from the incarcerated individual’s term of confinement 2
102	102	for each calendar month during which the incarcerated individual manifests satisfactory 3
103	103	progress in those special selected work projects or other special programs, including 4
104	104	recidivism reduction programming, designated by the Commissioner and approved by the 5
105	105	Secretary. 6
106	106
107	107	(2) The deduction described in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be 7
108	108	calculated at the rate of up to 10 days for each calendar month, if an incarcerated 8
109	109	individual’s term of confinement includes a consecutive or concurrent sentence for: 9
110	110
111	111	(i) a crime of violence, as defined in § 14–101 of the Criminal Law 10
112	112	Article; 11
113	113
114	114	(ii) a sexual offense for which registration is required under Title 11, 12
115	115	Subtitle 7 of the Criminal Procedure Article; or 13
116	116
117	117	(iii) a crime of manufacturing, distributing, dispensing, or possessing 14
118	118	a controlled dangerous substance in violation of § 5–612 or § 5–613 of the Criminal Law 15
119	119	Article. 16
120	120
121	121	3–708. 17
122	122
123	123	(A) Except as provided in § 3–706.1 of this subtitle, and notwithstanding any 18
124	124	other provision of this subtitle, an incarcerated individual may not be allowed a deduction 19
125	125	under this subtitle of more than: 20
126	126
127	127	(1) 20 days for a calendar month for an incarcerated individual described 21
128	128	in [§ 3–707(a)(2)] § 3–707(A)(2)(II) AND (III) of this subtitle; and 22
129	129
130	130	(2) 30 days for a calendar month for all other incarcerated individuals. 23
131	131
132	132	(B) AN INCARCERATED INDIV IDUAL WHO IS SERVING A SENTENCE FOR A 24
133	133	CRIME OF VIOLENCE , AS DEFINED IN § 14–101 OF THE CRIMINAL LAW ARTICLE, MAY 25
134	134	NOT BE ALLOWED A DEDUCTI ON UNDER THIS SUBTIT LE THAT AMOUNTS TO A 26
135	135	NUMBER OF DAYS THAT IS GREATER THAN 10% OF THE INCARCERATED 27
136	136	INDIVIDUAL’S AGGREGATE SENTENCE FOR CRIMES OF VIOLEN CE. 28
137	137
138	138	11–502. 29
139	139
140	140	(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) [and], (c), AND (D) of this section, an 30
141	141	incarcerated individual who has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment shall be allowed 31
142	142	deductions from the incarcerated individual’s term of confinement as provided under this 32
143	143	subtitle for any period of presentence or postsentence confinement in a local correctional 33
144	144	facility. 34
145	145	4 SENATE BILL 735
146	146
147	147
148	148	(b) (1) Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, an incarcerated individual 1
149	149	who is serving a sentence for a violation of § 3–303 or § 3–304 of the Criminal Law Article 2
150	150	involving a victim who is a child under the age of 16 years, or an incarcerated individual 3
151	151	who is serving a sentence for a violation of § 3–305 or § 3–306 of the Criminal Law Article, 4
152	152	as the sections existed before October 1, 2017, involving a victim who is a child under the 5
153	153	age of 16 years, may not be allowed deductions from the incarcerated individual’s term of 6
154	154	confinement as provided under this subtitle for any period of presentence or postsentence 7
155	155	confinement in a local correctional facility. 8
156	156
157	157	(2) An incarcerated individual who is serving a sentence for a violation of 9
158	158	§ 3–303 of the Criminal Law Article that occurred on or after October 1, 2024, may not be 10
159	159	allowed deductions from the incarcerated individual’s term of confinement as provided 11
160	160	under this subtitle for any period of presentence or postsentence confinement in a local 12
161	161	correctional facility. 13
162	162
163	163	(3) This subsection may not be construed to require an incarcerated 14
164	164	individual to serve a longer sentence of confinement than is authorized by the statute under 15
165	165	which the incarcerated individual was convicted. 16
166	166
167	167	(c) (1) An incarcerated individual who is serving a sentence for a violation of 17
168	168	§ 3–307 of the Criminal Law Article involving a victim who is a child under the age of 16 18
169	169	years, who has previously been convicted of violating § 3–307 of the Criminal Law Article 19
170	170	involving a victim who is a child under the age of 16 years, may not be allowed deductions 20
171	171	from the incarcerated individual’s term of confinement as provided under this subtitle for 21
172	172	any period of presentence or postsentence confinement in a local correctional facility. 22
173	173
174	174	(2) This subsection may not be construed to require an incarcerated 23
175	175	individual to serve a longer sentence of confinement than is authorized by the statute under 24
176	176	which the incarcerated individual was convicted. 25
177	177
178	178	(D) (1) AN INCARCERATED INDIV IDUAL WHO IS SERVING A SENTENCE 26
179	179	FOR A VIOLATION OF § 2–201 OR § 2–204 OF THE CRIMINAL LAW ARTICLE MAY NOT 27
180	180	BE ALLOWED DEDUCTION S FROM THE INCARCERA TED INDIVIDUAL ’S TERM OF 28
181	181	CONFINEMENT AS PROVI DED UNDER THIS SUBTI TLE FOR ANY PERIOD OF 29
182	182	PRESENTENCE OR POSTS ENTENCE CONFINEMENT IN A LOCAL CORRECTIO NAL 30
183	183	FACILITY. 31
184	184
185	185	(2) THIS SUBSECTION MAY N OT BE CONSTRUED TO R EQUIRE AN 32
186	186	INCARCERATED INDIVID UAL TO SERVE A LONGE R SENTENCE OF CONFIN EMENT 33
187	187	THAN IS AUTHORIZED B Y THE STATUTE UNDER WHICH THE INCARCERATED 34
188	188	INDIVIDUAL WAS CONVI CTED. 35
189	189
190	190	11–507.1. 36
191	191
192	192	AN INCARCERATED INDIV IDUAL WHO IS SERVING A SENTENCE FOR A CRI ME 37
193	193	OF VIOLENCE, AS DEFINED IN § 14–101 OF THE CRIMINAL LAW ARTICLE, MAY NOT 38 SENATE BILL 735 5
194	194
195	195
196	196	BE ALLOWED A DEDUCTI ON UNDER THIS SUBTIT LE THAT AMOUNTS TO A NUMBER OF 1
197	197	DAYS THAT IS GREATER THAN 10% OF THE INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL’S 2
198	198	AGGREGATE SENTENCE F OR CRIMES OF VIOLENC E. 3
199	199
200	200	Article – Criminal Procedure 4
201	201
202	202	5–202. 5
203	203
204	204	(a) A District Court commissioner may not authorize pretrial release for a 6
205	205	defendant charged with escaping from a correctional facility or any other place of 7
206	206	confinement in the State. 8
207	207
208	208	(b) (1) A District Court commissioner may not authorize the pretrial release of 9
209	209	a defendant charged as a drug kingpin under § 5–613 of the Criminal Law Article. 10
210	210
211	211	(2) [A] EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBSECTION (H) OF THIS SECTION, A 11
212	212	judge may authorize the pretrial release of a defendant charged as a drug kingpin on 12
213	213	suitable bail and on any other conditions that will reasonably ensure that the defendant 13
214	214	will not flee or pose a danger to another person or the community. 14
215	215
216	216	(3) There is a rebuttable presumption that, if released, a defendant charged 15
217	217	as a drug kingpin will flee and pose a danger to another person or the community. 16
218	218
219	219	(c) (1) A District Court commissioner may not authorize the pretrial release of 17
220	220	a defendant charged with a crime of violence if the defendant has been previously convicted: 18
221	221
222	222	(i) in this State of a crime of violence; 19
223	223
224	224	(ii) in any other jurisdiction of a crime that would be a crime of 20
225	225	violence if committed in this State; or 21
226	226
227	227	(iii) of an offense listed in subsection (f)(1) of this section. 22
228	228
229	229	(2) (i) [A] EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBSECTION (H) OF THIS 23
230	230	SECTION, A judge may authorize the pretrial release of a defendant described in paragraph 24
231	231	(1) of this subsection on: 25
232	232
233	233	1. suitable bail; 26
234	234
235	235	2. any other conditions that will reasonably ensure that the 27
236	236	defendant will not flee or pose a danger to another person or the community; or 28
237	237
238	238	3. both bail and other conditions described under item 2 of 29
239	239	this subparagraph. 30
240	240
241	241	(ii) When a defendant described in paragraph (1) of this subsection 31 6 SENATE BILL 735
242	242
243	243
244	244	is presented to the court under Maryland Rule 4–216(f), the judge shall order the continued 1
245	245	detention of the defendant IN ACCORDANCE WITH S UBSECTION (H) OF THIS SECTION 2
246	246	OR if the judge determines that neither suitable bail nor any condition or combination of 3
247	247	conditions will reasonably ensure that the defendant will not flee or pose a danger to 4
248	248	another person or the community before the trial. 5
249	249
250	250	(3) There is a rebuttable presumption that a defendant described in 6
251	251	paragraph (1) of this subsection will flee and pose a danger to another person or the 7
252	252	community. 8
253	253
254	254	(d) (1) A District Court commissioner may not authorize the pretrial release of 9
255	255	a defendant charged with committing one of the following crimes while the defendant was 10
256	256	released on bail or personal recognizance for a pending prior charge of committing one of 11
257	257	the following crimes: 12
258	258
259	259	(i) aiding, counseling, or procuring arson in the first degree under § 13
260	260	6–102 of the Criminal Law Article; 14
261	261
262	262	(ii) arson in the second degree or attempting, aiding, counseling, or 15
263	263	procuring arson in the second degree under § 6–103 of the Criminal Law Article; 16
264	264
265	265	(iii) burglary in the first degree under § 6–202 of the Criminal Law 17
266	266	Article; 18
267	267
268	268	(iv) burglary in the second degree under § 6–203 of the Criminal Law 19
269	269	Article; 20
270	270
271	271	(v) burglary in the third degree under § 6–204 of the Criminal Law 21
272	272	Article; 22
273	273
274	274	(vi) causing abuse to a child under § 3–601 or § 3–602 of the Criminal 23
275	275	Law Article; 24
276	276
277	277	(vii) a crime that relates to a destructive device under § 4–503 of the 25
278	278	Criminal Law Article; 26
279	279
280	280	(viii) a crime that relates to a controlled dangerous substance under 27
281	281	§§ 5–602 through 5–609 or § 5–612 or § 5–613 of the Criminal Law Article; 28
282	282
283	283	(ix) manslaughter by vehicle or vessel under § 2–209 of the Criminal 29
284	284	Law Article; and 30
285	285
286	286	(x) a crime of violence. 31
287	287
288	288	(2) A defendant under this subsection remains ineligible to give bail or be 32
289	289	released on recognizance on the subsequent charge until all prior charges have finally been 33
290	290	determined by the courts. 34 SENATE BILL 735 7
291	291
292	292
293	293
294	294	(3) [A] EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBSECTION (H) OF THIS SECTION, A 1
295	295	judge may authorize the pretrial release of a defendant described in paragraph (1) of this 2
296	296	subsection on suitable bail and on any other conditions that will reasonably ensure that the 3
297	297	defendant will not flee or pose a danger to another person or the community. 4
298	298
299	299	(4) There is a rebuttable presumption that a defendant described in 5
300	300	paragraph (1) of this subsection will flee and pose a danger to another person or the 6
301	301	community if released before final determination of the prior charge. 7
302	302
303	303	(e) (1) A District Court commissioner may not authorize the pretrial release of 8
304	304	a defendant charged with violating: 9
305	305
306	306	(i) the provisions of a temporary protective order described in § 10
307	307	4–505(a)(2)(i) of the Family Law Article or the provisions of a protective order described in 11
308	308	§ 4–506(d)(1) of the Family Law Article that order the defendant to refrain from abusing or 12
309	309	threatening to abuse a person eligible for relief; or 13
310	310
311	311	(ii) the provisions of an order for protection, as defined in § 4–508.1 14
312	312	of the Family Law Article, issued by a court of another state or of a Native American tribe 15
313	313	that order the defendant to refrain from abusing or threatening to abuse a person eligible 16
314	314	for relief, if the order is enforceable under § 4–508.1 of the Family Law Article. 17
315	315
316	316	(2) [A] EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBSECTION (H) OF THIS SECTION, A 18
317	317	judge may allow the pretrial release of a defendant described in paragraph (1) of this 19
318	318	subsection on: 20
319	319
320	320	(i) suitable bail; 21
321	321
322	322	(ii) any other conditions that will reasonably ensure that the 22
323	323	defendant will not flee or pose a danger to another person or the community; or 23
324	324
325	325	(iii) both bail and other conditions described under item (ii) of this 24
326	326	paragraph. 25
327	327
328	328	(3) When a defendant described in paragraph (1) of this subsection is 26
329	329	presented to the court under Maryland Rule 4–216(f), the judge shall order the continued 27
330	330	detention of the defendant IN ACCORDANCE WITH S UBSECTION (H) OF THIS SECTION 28
331	331	OR if the judge determines that neither suitable bail nor any condition or combination of 29
332	332	conditions will reasonably ensure that the defendant will not flee or pose a danger to 30
333	333	another person or the community before the trial. 31
334	334
335	335	(f) (1) A District Court commissioner may not authorize the pretrial release of 32
336	336	a defendant charged with one of the following crimes if the defendant has previously been 33
337	337	convicted of a crime of violence or one of the following crimes: 34
338	338
339	339	(i) wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun under § 4–203 of 35 8 SENATE BILL 735
340	340
341	341
342	342	the Criminal Law Article; 1
343	343
344	344	(ii) use of a handgun or an antique firearm in commission of a crime 2
345	345	under § 4–204 of the Criminal Law Article; 3
346	346
347	347	(iii) violating prohibitions relating to assault weapons under § 4–303 4
348	348	of the Criminal Law Article; 5
349	349
350	350	(iv) use of a machine gun in a crime of violence under § 4–404 of the 6
351	351	Criminal Law Article; 7
352	352
353	353	(v) use of a machine gun for an aggressive purpose under § 4–405 of 8
354	354	the Criminal Law Article; 9
355	355
356	356	(vi) use of a weapon as a separate crime under § 5–621 of the 10
357	357	Criminal Law Article; 11
358	358
359	359	(vii) possession of a regulated firearm under § 5–133 of the Public 12
360	360	Safety Article; 13
361	361
362	362	(viii) transporting a regulated firearm for unlawful sale or trafficking 14
363	363	under § 5–140 of the Public Safety Article; or 15
364	364
365	365	(ix) possession of a rifle or shotgun by a person with a mental 16
366	366	disorder under § 5–205 of the Public Safety Article. 17
367	367
368	368	(2) (i) [A] EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBSECTION (H) OF THIS 18
369	369	SECTION, A judge may authorize the pretrial release of a defendant described in paragraph 19
370	370	(1) of this subsection on: 20
371	371
372	372	1. suitable bail; 21
373	373
374	374	2. any other conditions that will reasonably ensure that the 22
375	375	defendant will not flee or pose a danger to another person or the community; or 23
376	376
377	377	3. both bail and other conditions described under item 2 of 24
378	378	this subparagraph. 25
379	379
380	380	(ii) When a defendant described in paragraph (1) of this subsection 26
381	381	is presented to the court under Maryland Rule 4–216(f), the judge shall order the continued 27
382	382	detention of the defendant IN ACCORDANCE WITH S UBSECTION (H) OF THIS SECTION 28
383	383	OR if the judge determines that neither suitable bail nor any condition or combination of 29
384	384	conditions will reasonably ensure that the defendant will not flee or pose a danger to 30
385	385	another person or the community before the trial. 31
386	386
387	387	(3) There is a rebuttable presumption that a defendant described in 32
388	388	paragraph (1) of this subsection will flee and pose a danger to another person or the 33 SENATE BILL 735 9
389	389
390	390
391	391	community. 1
392	392
393	393	(g) (1) A District Court commissioner may not authorize the pretrial release of 2
394	394	a defendant who: 3
395	395
396	396	(i) is registered, or the commissioner knows is required to register, 4
397	397	under Title 11, Subtitle 7 of this article; or 5
398	398
399	399	(ii) is a sex offender who is required to register by another 6
400	400	jurisdiction, a federal, military, or tribal court, or a foreign government. 7
401	401
402	402	(2) (i) [A] EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBSECTION (H) OF THIS 8
403	403	SECTION, A judge may authorize the pretrial release of a defendant described in paragraph 9
404	404	(1) of this subsection on: 10
405	405
406	406	1. suitable bail; 11
407	407
408	408	2. any other conditions that will reasonably ensure that the 12
409	409	defendant will not flee or pose a danger to another person or the community; or 13
410	410
411	411	3. both bail and other conditions described under item 2 of 14
412	412	this subparagraph. 15
413	413
414	414	(ii) When a defendant described in paragraph (1) of this subsection 16
415	415	is presented to the court under Maryland Rule 4–216(f), the judge shall order the continued 17
416	416	detention of the defendant IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBSECTION (H) OF THIS SECTION 18
417	417	OR if the judge determines that neither suitable bail nor any condition or combination of 19
418	418	conditions will reasonably ensure that the defendant will not flee or pose a danger to 20
419	419	another person or the community before the trial. 21
420	420
421	421	(3) There is a rebuttable presumption that a defendant described in 22
422	422	paragraph (1) of this subsection will flee and pose a danger to another person or the 23
423	423	community. 24
424	424
425	425	(H) A JUDICIAL OFFICER MAY NOT AUTHORIZE THE PR ETRIAL RELEASE OF 25
426	426	A DEFENDANT WHO IS C HARGED WITH A CRIME OF VIOLENCE IF THE D EFENDANT: 26
427	427
428	428	(1) HAS A PENDING CHARGE FOR: 27
429	429
430	430	(I) A CRIME OF VIOLENCE IN THE STATE; OR 28
431	431
432	432	(II) A CRIME IN ANY OTHER JURISDICTION THA T WOULD BE A 29
433	433	CRIME OF VIOLENCE IF COMMITTED IN THE STATE; OR 30
434	434
435	435	(2) WAS CONVICTED WITHIN THE PREVIOUS 10 YEARS: 31
436	436	10 SENATE BILL 735
437	437
438	438
439	439	(I) IN THE STATE OF A CRIME OF V IOLENCE; OR 1
440	440
441	441	(II) IN ANY OTHER JURISDI CTION OF A CRIME THA T WOULD BE 2
442	442	A CRIME OF VIOLENCE IF COMMITTED IN THE STATE. 3
443	443
444	444	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall be construed to 4
445	445	apply only prospectively and may not be applied or interpreted to have any effect on or 5
446	446	application to any offense committed before the effective date of this Act. 6
447	447
448	448	SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 7
449	449	October 1, 2025. 8