The Minority Report 2017 Session Update - Week Nine

The Minority Report 2017 Session Update - Week Nine Greetings from the 437th Legislative Session! We want to connect with you to keep you informed on caucus initiatives and the latest in Annapolis. Please feel free to share this with friends, family, and colleagues, and on your own social media sites. Democrats Weaken Power of Governor at the Expense of Public Safety   As we saw earlier this session with their expansion of the powers of the Attorney General, the Democrats in the General Assembly are spending a significant amount of time trying to limit the powers of Governor Hogan. The most recent example of this is House Bill 723, which eliminates Governor Hogan's oversight of the parole of inmates serving life sentences. Currently, when the Parole Commission recommends parole for an inmate sentenced to life, the Governor can do one of three things; disapprove the recommendation and deny parole, grant parole, or take no action and allow the recommendation to go into effect after 180 days. This bill eliminates the Governor oversight of the Parole Commission's recommendations. This bill is a solution looking for a problem and it reeks of partisanship. Governor Hogan takes his executive clemency powers very seriously and, unlike his predecessor,  has been diligent in the execution of these duties. Over the past two years, Governor Hogan has received five non-medical parole requests. He has approved two. He has also commuted four life sentences. By comparison, over eight years, the O'Malley Administration granted two medical paroles, three commutations, and zero non-medical paroles.  Despite Governor O'Malley's clear failure to act, the General Assembly did not feel the need to move this legislation during his Administration. They have instead chosen to act now, when they have a Governor who takes his responsibilities seriously, but just happens to be from another party. While partisanship on some level isn't unexpected, what is most disturbing about this bill is the threat it poses to the safety of Marylanders. The bill removes an important check of having the Governor - who represents and is directly accountable to all of Maryland's citizens - review and approve the release of the very worst offenders - those deemed by the judicial system to be dangerous enough to be sentenced to life imprisonment. This dangerous and unnecessary bill is just another sad illustration that the Democrats in Annapolis, blinded by their desire to reign-in Governor Hogan, are willing to put the safety of our citizens at risk to achieve their political goals. International Women's Day   In recognition of International Women's Day which took place earlier this week as well as March being Women's History Month, we wanted to take a moment to recognize the fantastic group of Republican women we have in our Caucus. We are incredibly blessed to have such a dynamic, talented, and powerful group of legislators in our Caucus. They are teachers, veterans, mothers, lawyers, small-business owners - each with a unique world view and skillset. They stand on the shoulders of the strong women who came before them - like Ambassador Ellen Saurbrey who before her historic run for Governor held the position of Minority Leader in our Caucus; and they stand as examples for the strong women leaders that will follow them.  Bipartisan Support for Governor Hogan's Fight Against Sex Trafficking   While partisan rankor has dominated a great deal of the 2017 Session so far, it is important to highlight those instances when members unite on an important issue. HB632/SB308, Protecting Victims of Sex Trafficking Act of 2017, was unanimously passed by both chambers earlier this week. The video below provides more about this bill, and the other legislation included in Governor Hogan's Justice for Victims Initiative.   Governor Hogan Announces the Justice for Victims Initiative - 1/12/17 22 views