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VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN/DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
HB 27 Domestic Violence-Protective Orders
Synopsis: Establishing that all relief
contained in a final protective order continues in effect, subject only to
specified provisions of law; repealing a provision of law specifying that a
final protective order is effective for the period stated in the order, not to
exceed 12 months; and repealing a provision of law authorizing a court to extend
the term of a protective order for 6 months.
BNOW Position: Support
HB344 Crimes - On-Line Harassment
Synopsis: Expanding the scope of the existing
prohibition against using electronic mail with the intent to harass to include
making an Internet transmission or posting; etc.
BNOW Position: Support
HB182 (SB393)
Domestic Violence - Permanent Protective Order
After Conviction and Imprisonment
Synopsis: Providing that a protective order
is permanent if a respondent is convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for a
specified act of abuse.
BNOW Position: Support
HB183
(SB392)c Violence - Enforcement of Protective Order
Synopsis: Authorizing a judge to order a law
enforcement officer to use all reasonable and necessary force to enforce a
temporary custody provision of a final protective order.
BNOW Position: Support
HB659 Domestic Violence - Temporary Protective Order - Additional Relief
Synopsis: Authorizing a court in a specified
proceeding for relief from abuse to order the respondent to surrender specified
firearms and to refrain from possessing firearms under specified circumstances;
requiring a law enforcement officer to provide specified information to a
respondent when a firearm is surrendered and to provide for the safe storage of
the firearm; providing for the retaking of surrendered firearms by the
respondent under specified circumstances; etc.
BNOW Position: Support
HB640 (SB42)
Family Law - Temporary Protective Orders -
Surrender of Firearms
Synopsis: Authorizing a judge in entering a
temporary protective order to order a specified person to surrender to law
enforcement authorities any firearm in the person's possession for a specified
period of time; etc.
BNOW Position: Support
HB1106
District Court Commissioners - Interim Protective Orders - Petitions Filed
by Law Enforcement
Synopsis: Proposing an amendment to the
Maryland Constitution to authorize a District Court Commissioner to issue an
interim protective order when a specified petition is filed by a law enforcement
officer under specified circumstances; and submitting the amendment to the
qualified voters of the State of
BNOW Position: Support
HB1105
Family Law - Interim Protective Orders - Petitions Filed by Law Enforcement
Synopsis: Requiring that a law enforcement
officer file a petition for an interim protective order with a District Court
Commissioner under specified circumstances; requiring a law enforcement officer
to take specified actions if an arrest is made; making the Act contingent on the
passage and ratification of a specified Constitutional Amendment
BNOW Position: Support
HB1257
Stalking and Domestic Violence - Cruelty Toward a Pet or Service
Animal
Synopsis: Changing the definition of
"stalking" to include a malicious course of conduct that puts another
person in reasonable fear that a pet or service animal likely will suffer
cruelty or aggravated cruelty; authorizing a District Court Commissioner or a
judge in a specified protective order to order a respondent to remain away from
or refrain from cruelty or aggravated cruelty to a pet or service animal or to
give the pet or service animal to a specified person; etc.
BNOW Position: Support
HB1116
(SB700) Domestic Violence - Violation of
Protective Order - Active Electronic Monitoring
Synopsis:
Authorizing the court, in a county that
implements a global positioning satellite tracking system program, to suspend
the sentence of a defendant convicted of failing to comply with specified relief
granted in an interim, temporary, or final protective order and place the
defendant under active electronic monitoring under specified conditions;
requiring the defendant to pay specified fees established by the county under
specified circumstances; etc.
BNOW Position: Support
HB1413
Peace Orders - Referral to Mediation
Synopsis: Authorizing the District Court to
refer a specified case relating to peace orders to a District Court mediator at
any time, under specified circumstances
BNOW Position: Support
SB615 Stalking and Domestic Violence - Cruelty Toward a Pet or Service
Animal
Synopsis: Authorizing a District Court
Commissioner or judge in a specified interim, temporary, or final protective
order to order a respondent to remain away from, refrain from cruelty or
aggravated cruelty toward, or give a specified pet or service animal to another;
providing specified penalties for failure to comply with relief ordered in a
protective order; changing the definition of "stalking" to include a
course of conduct that puts a person in reasonable fear that a pet or service
animal may suffer cruelty; etc.
BNOW Position: Support
SB394 (HB181)
Criminal Procedure - Pretrial Release - Violation
of Condition of "No Contact" - Penalty
Synopsis: Making it a misdemeanor to violate
a condition of pretrial release that requires a defendant to have no contact
with the alleged victim or the alleged victim's premises or place of employment;
requiring an officer to arrest with or without a warrant and take into custody a
person who the officer has probable cause to believe is in violation of a
specified condition of pretrial release; and establishing penalties for a
violation of the Act.
BNOW Position: Support
HB245 Task Force for the Prevention of Human Trafficking in Maryland
Synopsis: Establishing the Task Force for the
Prevention of Human Trafficking in
BNOW Position: Support
EMPLOYMENT
HB439 (SB563)
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2008
Synopsis: Authorizing the recovery of back
pay for up to 2 years preceding the filing of the complaint, where the unlawful
employment practice is similar or related to a specified other unlawful
employment practice; clarifying that an unlawful employment practice with
respect to discrimination in compensation occurs when a specified decision or
practice is adopted, when an individual becomes subject to a specified decision
or practice, or when an individual is affected by application of a specified
decision or practice; etc.
BNOW Position: Support
HB40 Flexible Leave Act
Synopsis: Authorizing employees of specified
employers to use leave with pay for the illness of the employee's immediate
family; providing that an employee may only use leave with pay that has been
earned; providing that an employee who earns more than one type of leave with
pay may elect the type and amount of leave with pay to be used; requiring an
employee who uses leave with pay under the Act to comply with the terms of a
collective bargaining agreement or employment policy with a certain exception;
etc
BNOW Position: Support
HB1156 Labor and Employment - Pay Disparity Data - Reporting
Synopsis: Authorizing the
Commissioner of Labor and Industry to collect specified employee data; and
authorizing the Commissioner to analyze specified records to study pay disparity
issues
BNOW Position: Support
SB328 (HB627)
Unemployment Insurance - Eligibility - Part-Time
Work
Synopsis: Authorizing that an individual who
is only able to work part-time be deemed eligible for specified benefits under
specified circumstances; clarifying that the Secretary of Labor, Licensing, and
Regulation may not use the disability of a qualified individual with a
disability in finding that an individual is not available for work, actively
seeking work, or eligible for benefits under the Act; requiring the Department
to adopt specified regulations; etc.
BNOW Position: Support
SB344 The Flexible Leave Act
Synopsis: Authorizing employees of specified
employers to use leave with pay for the illness of the employee's immediate
family; providing that an employee may only use leave with pay that has been
earned; providing that an employee who earns more than one type of leave with
pay may elect the type and amount of leave with pay to be used; etc.
BNOW Position: Support
FAMILY
LAW
HB500 (SB
516) Family Law - Denial of Paternity,
Custody, and Visitation
Synopsis: Excluding as a father of a child a
man who has committed a specified sexual crime against the child's mother for
purposes of specified provisions relating to the paternity of a child in a
guardianship or adoption proceeding under specified circumstances; requiring a
court to consider a specified statement when making a specified finding;
prohibiting a court from requiring publication of specified information under
specified circumstances; etc.
BNOW Position: Support
HB1147
Family Law - Child Custody Determinations
Synopsis: Specifying the procedures for court
determinations of legal and physical custody of minor children; requiring the
court, in any proceeding between parents in which the custody of a child is
raised as an issue, to make a determination as to legal and physical custody of
the child; authorizing the court to award specified types of legal or physical
custody; etc.
BNOW Position: Support
WOMEN’S
HEALTH
HB701 Health Insurance - Coverage for In Vitro Fertilization - Miscarriage
Synopsis: Providing that, for purposes of
meeting a specified eligibility requirement, the duration of the history of
infertility of the patient and the patient's spouse shall be calculated without
regard to any pregnancy of the patient that terminates as the result of a
miscarriage.
BNOW Position: Support
REPRODUCTIVE
RIGHTS
HB541 (SB23)
Teenage Protection Pilot Program
Synopsis: Requiring specified facilities
performing abortions to offer specified options to specified patients; requiring
specified facilities to provide a specified "Teenage Informational
Form"; providing for the information to be included on the form; requiring
the form to be maintained in the medical record of the patient for a specified
time period; providing for a specified penalty; providing that the Act applies
in Anne Arundel County; providing for the termination of the Act; etc.
BNOW Position: Oppose
SB427 Due Process-The Right to Life Act
Synopsis: Establishing that a person's right
to due process and equal protection of the laws under the Maryland Constitution
vests at conception.
BNOW Position: Oppose
SB660 Family Support Act
Synopsis: Establishing the Family Planning
and Reproductive Health Program in the Family Health
BNOW Position: Watch
SB690
(HB1146) Limited Service Pregnancy Centers
- Disclaimers
Synopsis: Requiring that limited service
pregnancy centers make specified disclaimers to clients and potential clients;
requiring that disclaimers be given by specified staff under specified
circumstances and in a specified manner; defining a term; etc.
BNOW Position: Support
CIVIL
RIGHTS
SB169
Synopsis: Adding a new section to the
Maryland Constitution to establish that only a marriage between a man and a
woman is valid in the State; establishing that specified unions or relationships
between individuals of the same sex are not valid in the State; and submitting
the amendment to the qualified voters of the State of Maryland for their
adoption or rejection.
BNOW Position: Oppose
SB290 Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act
Synopsis: Establishing that a marriage
between two individuals who are not otherwise prohibited from marrying is valid
in the State; prohibiting an official of a religious institution or body
authorized to solemnize marriages from being required to solemnize any marriage
in violation of the constitutional right to free exercise of religion; etc
BNOW Position: Support
SB689 (HB848)
Family Law - Domestic Partnerships
Synopsis: Repealing references to
"marriage" in specified provisions of law governing marriage and
substituting references to "domestic partnership"; making specified
provisions of law that previously applied to marriages apply to domestic
partnerships; providing that only a domestic partnership between two individuals
not otherwise prohibited from entering into a domestic partnership is valid in
this State; etc.
BNOW Position: Watch
HB570 Family Law--Civil Unions
Synopsis: Authorizing specified parties to
enter into civil unions in the State; establishing that provisions relating to
marriages apply to civil unions; establishing that a civil union entered into in
another jurisdiction that is valid under the laws of that jurisdiction is valid
in the State; establishing that State and local laws that apply to spouses apply
to parties who have entered into a civil union; etc.
BNOW Position: Support
HB351 Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act
Synopsis: Repealing a provision specifying
that only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid in this State; and
establishing that only a marriage between two people not otherwise prohibited
from marrying is valid in this State.
BNOW Position: Support
HB631 Family Law - Change Term "Marriage" to "Civil
Marriage"
Synopsis: Changing the term
"marriage" to "civil marriage" in specified provisions of
law; reenacting a specified current provision of law in order to clarify that
the Act does not affect religious marriage ceremonies; and requiring the
publisher of the Annotated Code of Maryland, in consultation with the Department
of
BNOW Position: Watch
HB1345
Synopsis: Adding a new section to the
Maryland Constitution to establish that only a marriage between a man and a
woman is valid in the State; establishing that specified unions or relationships
between individuals of the same sex are not valid in the State; and submitting
the amendment to the qualified voters of the State of Maryland for their
adoption or rejection.
BNOW Position: Oppose
HB733 (SB566)
Health Care Facility Visitation and Medical
Decisions - Domestic Partners
Synopsis: Requiring specified health care
facilities to allow domestic partners and specified relatives of domestic
partners to visit a domestic partner except under specified circumstances;
requiring two adults to be treated as domestic partners under specified
circumstances related to medical emergencies; providing that a health care agent
retains specified authority to make specified decisions notwithstanding
specified provisions of law; etc.
BNOW Position: Support
HB668 (SB523)
Inheritance Tax - Exemptions - Domestic Partners
Synopsis: Providing an exemption from the
inheritance tax for specified property that passes from a decedent to or for the
use of a domestic partner of a decedent or to or for the use of a domestic
partner of a child of the decedent or a domestic partner of a lineal descendant
of a child of the decedent under specified circumstances; and providing an
exemption from the inheritance tax under specified circumstances for specified
amounts received by a decedent because the decedent was a domestic partner of a
Holocaust victim.
BNOW Position: Support
HB746 (SB597) Recordation and Transfer Taxes -
Exemptions - Domestic Partners
Synopsis: Exempting from
recordation tax and State and county transfer taxes instruments of writing
transferring property between domestic partners and former domestic partners
under specified circumstances; requiring the submission of specified evidence to
qualify for specified exemptions; etc.
BNOW Position: Support
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