Politics

Indecent exposure is often predatory behavior, particularly when the target is a child, and a crime that warrants increased punishment when a juvenile is the one to witness the act, say backers of a bill to up the penalties for indecent exposure to a minor. The bill, HB 0212, has bipartisan support, making sponsors Del. Brian Crosby, D-St. Mary’s, and Del. Jesse Pippy, R-Frederick, optimistic that it will pass this time around, after it failed in the Senate last year. The bill, titled Indecent Exposure Within the Sight of a Minor, was cross-filed in the Senate as SB 0208, where it is sponsored by Sen. Jack Bailey, R- St. Mary’s and Calvert.

Montgomery County’s elected leaders agree that something must be done to revamp a sluggish development review process and restore public trust after scandal and infighting last year imploded the county’s powerful planning board. They also agree that politics shouldn’t block the path to accomplishing these goals. But a state lawmaker’s effort to create a nonbinding work group focused on county planning has exposed simmering tensions among Montgomery’s power centers, leading the county council to request more representation after being left out of the negotiations to create the group. The final version of the group announced last week shocked council members, who received no advance notice of the specific plans despite holding oversight powers over the planning board.

Police departments in Carroll County could get help from the state with funding the high cost of outfitting officers with body cameras, if a bill introduced in the Maryland General Assembly is passed. A law passed during the 2021 General Assembly session requires police agencies in Maryland to have on-duty officers wearing body cameras by July 1, 2025. In September, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office took the first steps toward implementing the program, when commissioners approved a $1.4 million contract to purchase body and in-car cameras and related equipment. Smaller law enforcement agencies have struggled to come up with funding.

A city in Montgomery County, Maryland, is weighing whether it should allow non-U.S. citizens to vote in municipal elections, and residents last week expressed their opinions on the move. “Let’s eliminate the barriers for noncitizens to take part fully in our democracy,” said Sandy Shan, a naturalized citizen who came to the U.S. a decade ago and now lives in Rockville. “Noncitizens live here, work here, pay taxes here, raised families here, start businesses here and send their kids to school here,” she continued. Among other changes, such as ranked choice voting and lowering the voting age to 16 for local election, the Rockville City Council is contemplating allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections during their revisions to the city’s public charter.

In his first joint news conference with legislative leaders, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore announced support for a package of bills Thursday that would provide protection for patients seeking abortions and their providers for decades to come. “We’re going to make sure that Maryland is a safe haven for abortion rights long after I am governor of this state,” the new Democratic governor declared. “That’s the importance of today.”

Speaking to lawmakers, Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said he ran for office vowing to prosecute people who illegally carry handguns — a campaign promise that he’d like to keep. Bates was recently in Annapolis to push his proposal to increase the maximum sentence for those 21 and older for wearing, carrying or transporting a handgun without a permit in Maryland from three years in prison to five years. Five years is currently the highest penalty for people 18 to 20 years old.