A hotly contested bill backed by the state’s bail bond industry cleared a critical hurdle in the House of Delegates Tuesday, but opponents still vowed to block it from reaching the floor of that chamber.
The House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee voted 19-1 in favor of releasing the bail legislation as part of a package of 66 Senate bills that came over past the deadline for automatic referral to the standing committees that decide whether bills receive a floor vote. The bill was sent too the House Judiciary Committee, which will hold a hearing on the Senate-passed bill Wednesday.
Opponents, including the Legislative Black Caucus, had hoped to head off the bill at the Rules Committee, but members deferred to a House tradition that allows committee chairs to decide whether to consider bills passed by the Senate. Judiciary Chairman Joseph F. Vallario Jr. asked that the bill be released, lawmakers said.
Vallario said he would hold a full hearing on the bill but would not predict whether legislation would emerge from his committee before the General Assembly adjourns for the year Monday night.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Michael Dresser over at the Baltimore Sun