Latest news with #HouseBill724
CBS News
20-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Convicted felons in Maryland could soon petition for early release with bill advancing
Convicted felons in Maryland could soon have a chance to petition for reduced sentences under a new bill that is one step closer to becoming a law. The Second Chance Act, or House Bill 724, which would apply to convicted felons who have already served 20 years and are not a danger to the public, survived Crossover Day passed the House chamber and now heads to the Senate. Under the proposed bill , petitions would be filed once every three years. Per the measure, the courts would consider factors including the individual's age at the time of the offense, behavior during incarceration, participation in educational programs, and public safety risk. A similar bill, the Maryland Clean Slate Act , would direct the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to clear marijuana possession records and cases at least three years old. The bill would also allow for expungement of misdemeanor charges after seven years. However, domestic-related crimes and second-degree assault charges would remain ineligible for expungement under the proposed law. If passed, the legislation would require all electronic court records of cases eligible for expungement to be removed from public view starting in August 2027. The bill specifies that physical documents and media would not need to be redacted or destroyed. After recreational cannabis was legalized in Maryland in July 2023, Gov. Wes Moore pardoned more than 175,000 convictions for cannabis or drug paraphernalia possession. Currently, the Juvenile Restoration Act allows people who served at least 20 years of a sentence for a crime they committed when they were under the age of 18 to request a sentence reduction. The law passed in 2024, also prohibits the courts from sentencing minors to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or release. According to a 2024 report by the Second Look Movement , nearly one-third of people serving life sentences are 55 or older, which amounts to more than 60,000 people. The report also says that lengthy sentences do not significantly deter crime and that people tend to desist from crime as they age. In December 2023, the Maryland Equitable Justice Commission shared recommendations to reduce mass incarceration in the state and reduce racial disparities in the justice system. The commission said that Maryland has the highest amount of Black individuals in its prisons when compared to the state population. Expanding second look laws, limiting the automatic charging of children in adult criminal court, and increasing the number of people eligible for parole consideration due to serious medical conditions, or reaching an age where they are no longer a threat to public safety.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
House kills pair of lead poisoning bills despite rising numbers in New Hampshire
Lawmakers return to the State House following a break on Thursday, March 6, 2025. (Photo by Dana Wormald/New Hampshire Bulletin) As recent data prompts concern about childhood lead poisoning in the state, the New Hampshire House shot down two bills last week aimed at addressing the issue. Lawmakers voted, 202-167, to indefinitely postpone House Bill 724. This bill would have lowered the childhood blood lead action level — the exposure level that triggers an investigation from the Department of Health and Human Services — from 5 micrograms per deciliter to 3.5. It would have also required the agency to inspect other units when one in a multi-unit residential building has a lead hazard. It also would have established a legal standard — called a rebuttable presumption — that would presume residences built prior to 1978 contain 'lead based substances' unless an inspector has determined otherwise. It would have also mandated that municipal building permits include the Environmental Protection Agency license numbers for those renovating, repairing, or painting buildings built before 1978. (1978 is the year a federal ban on lead in residential paint came into effect.) House members also rejected, 202-169, House Bill 756. This measure would have added to law that health forms submitted when children 6 and under enter public school or day care should include the result of at least one blood lead level test, with certain exemptions. If they didn't, the school or day care would have had to notify the parents or guardians of the requirement and provide education materials on the importance of testing and the dangers of lead poisoning. The moves come months after a report raised concerns about childhood lead poisoning in the state. In 2023, 1,142 children in the state had levels of lead in their blood 'high enough to impair their ability to think, learn, and concentrate,' according to a state report published in December. This was the highest number found in the past five years of data. Though state law requires that children be tested for lead at ages 1 and 2, the report showed the state falling short. Among children 12 to 23 months included in the 2023 data, 24% had not undergone the required testing, while 31% of children ages 24 to 35 months had not been tested. The report also found that one in 10 children on Medicaid had elevated blood lead levels, almost twice the rate of other children. Lead paint and dust in older residences account for 70% of U.S. children's lead exposure, followed by 15% each from lead in consumer products and drinking water, according to the report. The residential exposure is especially relevant in New Hampshire, where slightly more than half of housing units were built before 1980 and at least 32,350 young children live in residences with lead paint, according to the report. Proponents of the bill aimed at schools and day cares hoped it would help raise the state's testing numbers. 'Regrettably, currently significant numbers of children are not tested at all,' said Rep. Trinidad Tellez, a Hooksett Democrat, on the House floor. 'Given the potentially devastating impacts of lead on children's developing brains, and the very concerning low numbers of 1- and 2-year-old children currently tested for blood lead levels, this bill provides an important stop-gap opportunity for increasing the blood testing of infants and children.' But Rep. Jim Kofalt, a Wilton Republican, argued it was an 'unnecessary and burdensome bill.' 'This bill adds a step to the process of enrolling a child in school or day care,' Kofalt said. 'It doesn't actually add additional lead testing requirements. We already require children to be tested at age 1 and then again at age 2.' The Conservation Law Foundation denounced the House's vote to reject HB 727, the multi-part proposal that included the housing-related measures. The group called the bill 'crucial' legislation that would have helped to protect children from lead exposure in their homes. 'As a mother and environmental advocate, I am deeply troubled by the House's vote,' said Heidi Trimarco, a staff attorney with the foundation, in a statement. 'Lead poisoning is a silent thief that robs children of their futures. Our lawmakers had the power to better protect our kids — and instead, a majority of them turned their backs on the families who need help the most.'
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Lead poisoning is a threat to young children — and still a big problem in New Hampshire
New Hampshire lawmakers are now considering House Bill 724, which aims to ensure safe lead removal practices during repairs. (Photo by) Have you ever known a rambunctious kindergartener who had difficulty concentrating, was easily distracted, and sometimes disruptive? You might blame poor parenting or failed pedagogy when often these symptoms typify a threat causing irreversible damage: lead poisoning. Imagine this child as your own. You equip your home with smoke detectors and an alarm system. You test well water for contaminants, and air for radon gas and asbestos dust, yet overlook a simple, routine test to detect elevated blood lead levels. According to the National Library of Medicine, knowledge of lead-based paint as a source of lead poisoning in children dates back to the early 20th century. Though lead was officially removed from paint in 1978 after the passage of the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act, deteriorating lead-based paint in older homes remains the most significant source of lead exposure in children. Lead dust and paint chip hazards arise from friction between surfaces like door frames and window sills and during home renovation projects, all harmful to 1- and 2-year-olds exploring their surroundings while touching surfaces in constant hand-to-mouth activity. The World Health Organization states that lead can permanently affect children's brain development resulting in a lower IQ, social isolation, speech delays, lower academic achievement, kidney damage, hearing loss, and sometimes death. Schools spend more on special education addressing hyperactivity and behavioral challenges, and health care systems bear the cost of managing long-term effects of lead exposure. Heidi Trimarco of the Conservation Law Foundation writes: 'As parents, we all want the best for our kids. We want to see them running around happily, thriving in school, and dreaming big about their futures. … As a mom, I can't imagine the heartbreak of knowing my child might not be able to learn, focus, or dream big because of a threat hiding in our own home.' In 2018, New Hampshire passed a law requiring that new residential rental units as well as day care centers in pre-1978 buildings be certified lead free. Despite this corrective measure, as well as other lead-safety measures contained in the bill, lead poisoning in New Hampshire has worsened. According to the state report from the Department of Health and Human Services, 1,142 children were poisoned by lead in 2023, the highest rate since required testing of 1- and 2-year-olds, bringing the five-year total to 4,570. Nearly 350 more children were poisoned in 2023 than the year before, a 42% increase. Lower-income and Medicaid-eligible children are twice as likely to be affected. To close this tragic equity gap, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently awarded $19.8 million in Lead Paint Hazard Reduction grants for the City of Nashua, New Hampshire Housing, and Sullivan County to make 500 housing units lead-safe. Currently, an estimated 32,350 children under 6 years old live in pre-1978 housing. In 2022, 816 children had elevated blood lead levels, though only 70% of children ages 1 to 2 have been tested. New Hampshire lawmakers are now considering House Bill 724, which aims to ensure safe lead removal practices during repairs. The bill also requires building permit applicants to provide an RRP license (Renovation, Repair, and Painting) for contractors and restores DHHS's ability to inspect other units for lead within a multi-unit building. Finally, it creates a rebuttable presumption that homes constructed prior to 1978 contain lead-based substances. In his compelling story published by the Concord Monitor, Rich DiPentima, who has served as chief of communicable disease epidemiology and assistant director of public health for the New Hampshire Division of Public Health Services and deputy public health director for the Manchester Health Department, recalls a 2-year-old refugee girl placed in an older home. 'She was full of life, just beginning to discover the world around her,' DiPentima writes. 'But hidden in the peeling paint and dust of that home was a silent killer: lead. Within two months, she suffered acute lead poisoning and died. Her blood lead level was 391 micrograms per deciliter — nearly 80 times the state's safety limit. … Her life was cut short before it had truly begun. More than two decades later, I am still haunted by that tragedy, because I know it was preventable.' Lead-safe housing, universal testing, and fully funded abatement programs are essential. Your advocacy counts. Next time you visit your pediatrician, let them know the importance of lead screenings so that early childhood and beyond doesn't become a living hell for New Hampshire's children.
CBS News
19-02-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Convicted felons in Maryland could have a chance at a reduced sentence under proposed bill
A proposed bill aims to give individuals serving lengthy prison sentences an opportunity to reduce their sentence. Under House Bill 724, the Second Chance Act, those who have served at least 20 years of their sentence would be able to petition for sentence reduction. Petitions would be filed once every three years. Per the measure, the courts would consider factors including the individual's age at the time of the offense, behavior during incarceration, participation in educational programs, and public safety risk. Similar proposed laws A similar bill, the Maryland Clean Slate Act, would direct the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to clear marijuana possession records and cases at least three years old. The bill would also allow for expungement of misdemeanor charges after seven years. However, domestic-related crimes and second-degree assault charges would remain ineligible for expungement under the proposed law. If passed, the legislation would require all electronic court records of cases eligible for expungement to be removed from public view starting in August 2027. The bill specifies that physical documents and media would not need to be redacted or destroyed. After recreational cannabis was legalized in Maryland in July 2023, Gov. Wes Moore pardoned more than 175,000 convictions for cannabis or drug paraphernalia possession. Impact of existing sentence reduction laws Currently, the Juvenile Restoration Act allows people who served at least 20 years of a sentence for a crime they committed when they were under the age of 18 to request a sentence reduction. The law passed in 2024, also prohibits the courts from sentencing minors to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or release. According to a 2024 report by the Second Look Movement, nearly one-third of people serving life sentences are 55 or older, which amounts to more than 60,000 people. The report also says that lengthy sentences do not significantly deter crime and that people tend to desist from crime as they age. In December 2023, the Maryland Equitable Justice Commission shared recommendations to reduce mass incarceration in the state and reduce racial disparities in the justice system. The commission said that Maryland has the highest amount of Black individuals in its prisons when compared to the state population. Expanding second look laws, limiting the automatic charging of children in adult criminal court, and increasing the number of people eligible for parole consideration due to serious medical conditions, or reaching an age where they are no longer a threat to public safety.
