RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL CRIMES.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Henry Aquino and 9 co-sponsors

Expunges certain internal police misconduct records three years after the Administrative Charging Committee finds no charges, limiting public access to past investigations.

Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.

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Main purpose

SB 762 would carve out a limited exception to Maryland’s existing prohibition on expunging or destroying records of police misconduct investigations. It would require expungement of certain internal investigation records when an Administrative Charging Committee (ACC) reviews a matter and decides the officer will not be administratively charged.

Key provisions

Amends Article — Public Safety, §3‑112.

Current law (prior to the bill) prohibits expungement or destruction of records relating to administrative or criminal investigations of police officer misconduct (including internal affairs investigative records, hearing records, and disciplinary records).

SB 762 exempts matters reviewed by an Administrative Charging Committee: when the ACC determines an officer will not be administratively charged, the record relating to that administrative investigation — including the complaint of misconduct — must be expunged three years after the ACC’s determination.

The bill sets the expungement trigger (the ACC’s determination) and a 3‑year retention window before mandatory expungement.

Effective date specified in the bill: October 1, 2025 (if enacted).

Who would be affected

Police officers: officers who were the subject of administrative investigations that the ACC declines to charge could have those investigation records removed from agency files after three years.

Law enforcement agencies and internal affairs units: would need procedures to track ACC determinations and carry out the three‑year expungement requirement, and adjust records-retention practices.

Public transparency and oversight entities: potential reductions in the availability of past investigatory records for purposes of background checks, civil litigation discovery, or public information requests.

Complainants and the public: access to records about past complaints could be reduced once expungement occurs.

Procedural / timeline aspects

Expungement is not immediate; it occurs three years after the ACC determines no administrative charge will be filed.

The bill was introduced in early 2025 but was withdrawn by the sponsor before enactment, so it did not become law. Had it passed, the bill specified an October 1, 2025 effective date.

Potential impacts and considerations

Privacy and career protection for officers cleared by the ACC (addresses concerns about lingering records affecting employment).

Potential reduction in long-term transparency and public access to records of complaints that did not result in charges, which may affect historical accountability and patterns analysis.

Administrative burden on agencies to implement tracking and expungement processes and to reconcile expungement with other legal obligations (e.g., retention for civil litigation or federal reporting requirements).

The bill’s impact would be limited in scope — it applies only where an ACC reviewed the matter and declined to administratively charge.

Note: This summary is based on the bill text and legislative status available in early 2025. Because the measure was withdrawn by its sponsor, it did not advance to become law.

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