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SB 650

An Act amending the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Human Services Code, in departmental powers and duties as to licensing, further providing for right to enter and inspect.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Jay Costa and 6 co-sponsors

Creates a public Domestic Violence Offender Registry for people with 3+ domestically related convictions; 15-year term, plus 20 more years per additional qualifying conviction.

Referred to Health & Human Services
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · SB 650

SB 650 — Criminal Procedure: Domestic Violence Offender Registry

Status: Hearing scheduled Feb 12 at 1:00 p.m. | Introduced: early 2025 (reported Jan 25/Feb 20 in filings)
Primary subject: Establishes a publicly accessible registry for repeat domestic-violence–related offenders

Purpose / Intent

Create and maintain a central, public Domestic Violence Offender Registry to inform the public and law enforcement about individuals convicted repeatedly of domestically related crimes and to provide a statutory framework for registration, duration, exemptions, and penalties.

Key provisions

  • Establishes a Domestic Violence Offender Registry to be created and maintained by the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS).
  • Who must register: any person convicted three or more times of a “domestically related crime.” A “domestically related crime” means (1) a crime of domestic violence under Family Law §4‑701 or (2) a crime against a victim who had a sexual relationship with the defendant within the 12 months preceding the offense. A conviction includes findings of guilt or pleas of guilty/no contest.
  • Registration procedure:
    • Registrants must register with the county sheriff where they reside on or before release, the start of probation or suspended sentence, or when receiving a sentence with no incarceration.
    • Required information: legal name, current residential address/location, the qualifying crimes and dates/locations, and a full‑face digital head‑and‑shoulders image (photograph).
    • Sheriffs forward registration data to DPSCS; DPSCS updates the central registry from sheriff submissions and other available information.
    • Registrants must update annually and must report any address changes within 10 days.
  • Duration:
    • Registration remains in effect 15 years after the later of the latest conviction date or release from incarceration.
    • The 15‑year term is extended by an additional 20 years for each qualifying conviction occurring after initial registration.
  • Public access: registry information must be made available via Internet, telephone, written request, and in person.
  • Exemptions/removal:
    • A person required to register may petition the circuit court for an exemption. The court may exempt and order removal if it finds the crimes and criminal history do not indicate a risk of reoffense and the person is not a danger to others; the court must provide written findings.
    • Registration termination also occurs if convictions are reversed, vacated, set aside, or the person is pardoned.
  • Penalty for noncompliance: failure to register or knowingly providing inaccurate information is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $2,000 fine.

Who is affected

  • Required registrants: individuals with three or more qualifying domestically related convictions.
  • State agencies: DPSCS (creates/operates registry), county sheriffs (collect/register, obtain images, forward data), Judiciary (handles exemption petitions).
  • Local governments: sheriffs’ offices will incur administrative costs (staffing, processing).
  • Public and victims: gain access to registry data.
  • Defense/public defender offices may see litigation/workload changes (e.g., exemption petitions), though fiscal analyses vary.

Administrative & fiscal impacts (estimates)

  • DPSCS one‑time programming costs: approx. $1.39 million (FY2026 estimate).
  • DPSCS staffing: estimate provided by agency for 15 staff (1 manager, 2 supervisors, 12 registry specialists) — ~$1.1 million in FY2026, rising in later years; actual needs depend on caseload and interpretation of supervision responsibilities.
  • Judiciary programming: one‑time costs ~ $10,742 (FY2026).
  • Local sheriff offices: potential significant increases in workload/costs (many counties report potential need for added staff).
  • Public Defender: some offices estimated additional staff, though state analysts note impacts may be manageable within existing resources.
  • Racial equity considerations: analyses note potential disparate impacts given existing domestic violence arrest/conviction patterns (data show overrepresentation of Black victims and arrests in related categories).

Procedural / timeline notes

  • Hearing: scheduled Feb 12 at 1:00 p.m. (per bill metadata).
  • Effective date in the bill text (Maryland draft): October 1, 2025.
  • Implementation would require DPSCS programming, sheriff coordination, and administrative procedures to operationalize registration, updates, public access, and court exemption processes.

Considerations / tradeoffs

  • Public safety vs. privacy/stigma: registry increases transparency for victims and communities but raises concerns about public disclosure, collateral impacts on registrants, and potential racial disparities.
  • Local cost burden: sheriffs and counties may need resources to absorb registration intake, photo capture, record forwarding, and annual updates.
  • Legal standards for exemption: the circuit‑court petition process creates a judicial safety valve but may generate litigation and case processing workload.

If you want, I can:
- Draft a one‑page stakeholder brief (law enforcement, courts, advocacy groups) summarizing operational needs; or
- Extract the exact statutory text sections and create a side‑by‑side comparison with existing sex‑offender registry law for implementation guidance.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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