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UPDATE: Just hours after Hogan announced a veto on the major Maryland house police reform bill, delegates voted to overturn it.
The bill repeals the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights that some said made it difficult for police departments to discipline officers.
The governor also vetoed two senate bills. One would have ordered police departments statewide to provide body worn cameras for on-duty officers by 20-25. The other would have regulated the execution of search warrants.
The Maryland senate is scheduled to meet today with the current general assembly session ending at midnight on Monday.
This is an update to an earlier story. Read the original version below
This content was republished with permission from 草莓传媒鈥檚 news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for today.
Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) vetoed three of five bills from the General Assembly鈥檚 bicameral police reform package Friday evening 鈥� and about an hour after the public announcement, the override vote on a bill from Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) was underway.
鈥淭hese bills would undermine the goal that I believe we share of building transparent, accountable, and effective law enforcement institutions and instead further erode police morale, community relationships, and public confidence,鈥� Hogan said in a聽. 鈥淭hey will result in great damage to police recruitment and retention, posing significant risks to public safety throughout our state.鈥�
鈥淯nder these circumstances, I have no choice but to uphold my primary responsibility to keep Marylanders safe 鈥� especially those that live in vulnerable communities most impacted by violent crime 鈥� and veto these bills.鈥�
Hogan acted quickly on the measures after the full police reform package was delivered to his office late Wednesday night.
Vetoed bills include:
- , sponsored by Sen. Charles E. Sydnor III (D-Baltimore County), which would order police departments throughout Maryland to provide body-worn cameras for on-duty officers by 2025, create an employee assistance mental health program and implement a statewide use of force policy;
- , sponsored by Sen. Jill P. Carter (D-Baltimore City), which would alter the Maryland Public Information Act to allow certain officer misconduct records to be available for public inspection and regulate the execution of search warrants; and
- , sponsored by House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County), which, among other things, would repeal the Law Enforcement Officers鈥� Bill of Rights and substitute it with a new officer disciplinary process.
During an interview on WBAL Radio鈥檚 鈥淐4鈥� show Thursday morning, Hogan signaled that his administration would be amenable to 鈥渞easonable reforms,鈥� but said that they hadn鈥檛 yet had an opportunity to read what the legislature had 鈥渟lapped together,鈥� adding that while some bills in the Senate package were 鈥渞eally good,鈥� the House added 鈥減oison pills.鈥�
House Judiciary Committee Vice Chair Vanessa E. Atterbeary (D-Howard), who worked on the police reform package since the inception of the House Workgroup to Address Police Reform and Accountability in Maryland following the death of George Floyd last May, refuted the suggestion that the House had 鈥渟lapped鈥� the legislation together in a rush.
鈥淭his was painstakingly put together to protect Black and Brown citizens in our state,鈥� Atterbeary said on the House floor Friday evening. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 slap this together like the governor said.鈥�
Hogan will allow two bills to become law without his signature:聽聽sponsored by Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Chairman William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery), which will prohibit law enforcement agencies from procuring weaponized surplus military equipment and create a unit of the Attorney General鈥檚 office to investigate fatal use of force incidents, and聽聽sponsored by Sen. Cory V. McCray (D-Baltimore City), which would re-establish local control of the Baltimore Police Department if city residents vote in favor of a charter amendment at either the 2022 or 2024 general election.
Hogan called these bills 鈥渕eaningful steps forward鈥� that 鈥渙ffer promise for much needed change.鈥�
Lawmakers who labored over the policing bills said they aren鈥檛 surprised by the vetoes, but are still disappointed.
鈥淚t is unfortunate, but expected,鈥� Carter told聽Maryland Matters聽in a text message. 鈥淚t goes against the will of the majority of Marylanders have made it clear they want police accountability and transparency. We cannot improve public safety without improving public trust, so the only way to have a safer Maryland is to 鈥� improve the institution of policing. It starts there.鈥�
In a brief phone interview with聽Maryland Matters聽Friday evening, Atterbeary called the vetoes 鈥渁n absolute slap in the face鈥� to the work that lawmakers have done over the last 11 months.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 shameful during the trial of [former Minneapolis police officer Derek] Chauvin who murdered George Floyd that the governor of Maryland sees fit to veto legislation to protect all Black and Brown people of the state of Maryland,鈥� Atterbeary said.
Within two hours of Hogan鈥檚 announcement, the House chamber overrode his veto of Jones鈥� House Bill 670.
Two Republicans, Del. Lauren C. Arikan (Harford and Baltimore counties) and Del. Daniel L. Cox (Frederick), spoke in favor of the governor鈥檚 veto.
鈥淗e vetoed this bill because he did not believe that it was going to make our state and our citizens any safer,鈥� said Arikan. 鈥淚 agree with the governor that, while we did a lot of work on these bills, they are not ready for primetime.鈥�
Atterbeary and Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles) rose in favor of an override.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not about casting aspersions on law enforcement. See the thing about our country is that the peace and the law and order that we depend on relies on this social contract where citizens agree to submit to the authority of sworn officers,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淏ut that submission requires trust. And that trust is eroding 鈥� you cannot deny that.鈥�
Wilson said some lawmakers were moved to act on reform legislation by the death of George Floyd. For others, it was the 1991 beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers. The proliferation of police brutality videos from cell phone cameras clearly shows the seriousness of the problem, he said.
鈥淚t was a surprise at one point that police brutality existed. Now it鈥檚 a given, it鈥檚 just what do we do about it?鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淒oing nothing is not the answer.鈥�
The veto was overridden on a vote of 95-42.
Senators are expected to begin debate on the other vetoed bills Saturday.
Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said the Senate also plans to take up a veto override vote on the聽, which聽, on Saturday.
As late as Friday afternoon, Ferguson was still holding open the option that lawmakers would extend the legislative session beyond 90 days to override police reform vetoes, though that seems increasingly unnecessary.
鈥淭he package that we put forward was very thoughtful. It was complex, it addressed a number of issues, and fundamentally, it expands and enhances accountability, transparency and trust in policing. That is what our state needs,鈥� Ferguson said. 鈥溾�his was a priority from the beginning, and so we鈥檙e going to keep every option on the table to make sure that that this gets done this session.鈥�
Editor鈥檚 Note: This story was updated throughout the night on Friday, April 9, to include breaking news developments. Danielle E. Gaines contributed to this report.聽
