Sen. Chris West

Maddy summarySB 618 (Eric's ID Law) requires Maryland's Motor Vehicle Administration to allow applicants for driver's licenses, ID cards, or moped permits to voluntarily indicate a nonapparent disability (like developmental or intellectual disabilities) on their documents. If selected, the MVA must add a visible notation to the document, with no fee, and cannot require proof of the disability or deny an application based on it. The law also prohibits disclosing this information to insurance companies and mandates public outreach about the notation, plus police training on interacting with individuals who have it. This directly affects Maryland residents with nonapparent disabilities who choose to use this option on their identification.

Maddy summarySB 548 modifies Maryland's child custody laws to require courts to consider additional factors when determining custody arrangements. It expands the definition of abuse to include harm to other parents, spouses, or children in the household (Section 9-101.1), mandates denial of custody to parents convicted of murder (with supervised visitation as an exception, Section 9-101.2), and adds 16 specific factors courts must weigh - including child safety from conflict/violence, developmental needs, and parental communication (Section 9-201). The bill directly affects parents involved in custody disputes, particularly those with histories of abuse or criminal convictions. These changes aim to strengthen child safety protections and provide clearer guidelines for judicial decisions.

Maddy summarySB 326 establishes confidentiality rules for peer support programs in Maryland law enforcement agencies. It requires that communications between officers and peer support specialists (trained law enforcement staff or Fraternal Order of Police members) remain private, with limited exceptions for threats of suicide, imminent harm to others, child/vulnerable adult abuse, or criminal admissions. Before any session, specialists must provide written notice of these confidentiality rules to participants. The bill directly affects law enforcement agencies and officers using these peer support services, ensuring their counseling discussions are protected unless specific safety or legal thresholds are met.

Maddy summarySB 352 reduces the number of members elected from each councilmanic district to the Baltimore County Republican Party Central Committee from four to three. The bill amends Section 4-203(c)(1) of Maryland's Election Law and takes effect October 1, 2025. This change specifically affects the Republican Party's central committee election process in Baltimore County, without altering rules for other parties or committees. The legislation modifies the existing law to adjust the committee's composition per district.

Maddy summarySB 280, the *Judicial and Public Safety for Service Members Act*, updates Maryland law to ensure legal protections apply consistently to all uniformed service members (not just veterans) in judicial, criminal, family, and public safety matters. It revises definitions in key laws to replace "veteran" with "uniformed services" and expands the application of court procedures, corrections policies, criminal laws, family law, and public safety regulations to cover active-duty and reserve service members. The bill adds new provisions (e.g., in family law and public safety sections) to address service-related circumstances, such as deployment impacts on custody or safety protocols. This directly affects service members navigating Maryland’s legal system during active duty or in related legal proceedings.

Maddy summarySB 152 modifies Maryland's animal cruelty laws to clarify exemptions and sentencing rules. It exempts routine veterinary practices (like dehorning), federally compliant research, and activities such as hunting or food processing when conducted humanely. The bill also establishes that each animal harmed in a cruelty violation counts as a separate offense for sentencing, and convictions cannot merge with other charges from the same act, allowing for consecutive sentences. This directly affects farmers, veterinarians, researchers, hunters, and individuals convicted of animal cruelty.

Maddy summarySB 274 modifies Maryland court procedures for child abuse cases by allowing a child victim to testify remotely via closed-circuit television outside the courtroom if a judge determines their presence with the defendant would cause serious emotional distress. It specifies that only certain attorneys (prosecution, defense, child's advocate), court staff, and therapeutic support personnel may be present with the child during remote testimony, while the defendant and judge remain in the courtroom. The bill explicitly prohibits two-way video that would let the child see or hear the defendant during testimony. This directly affects child victims, defendants, and their legal representatives in abuse cases covered under Maryland’s Family Law and Criminal Law Articles.

Maddy summarySenate Bill 432, known as the "Expungement Reform Act of 2025," updates Maryland's laws concerning the expungement of criminal records, directly affecting individuals seeking to clear certain past convictions. The bill modifies the waiting periods for filing expungement petitions after a sentence is completed and expands the list of misdemeanor convictions eligible for expungement. It also requires courts to consider if restitution has been paid or if the person lacks the ability to pay before granting expungement. Finally, the bill prohibits the Maryland Judiciary Case Search from displaying any reference to certain expunged records.

Maddy summarySB 286 requires applicants for domestic partnerships or marriage licenses in Maryland to provide the Social Security number of each partner or spouse who has one. This applies to both domestic partnership declarations filed with a register of wills (under Estates and Trusts law) and marriage license applications (under Family Law). The bill specifies that these Social Security numbers must be included in the application but cannot be disclosed as part of the public record. The law takes effect October 1, 2025, directly affecting individuals seeking domestic partnership registration or marriage licenses in Maryland.

Maddy summarySB 19 clarifies compensation rules for guardians of property and trustees in Maryland. It establishes specific tiered commission rates for guardians (e.g., 6% on real estate income, 6.5% on first $10,000 of other income) and allows trustees to charge "reasonable" compensation based on circumstances. The bill also sets a $50 monthly cap for guardians of disabled individuals receiving Medicaid services, unless a court approves higher fees for unusual circumstances. These changes update existing Maryland law (amending sections 13-218, 14.5-708, and others) to standardize payment structures for estate and trust administrators.