Policy Initiatives

2024 Legislative Priorities

HB 508|SB 550
Children – Labor Trafficking

House Testimony
Senate Testimony
Sponsors: Delegate Embry & Senator Sydnor

Adds labor trafficking by a child’s parent or guardian to the list of conditions under which a local department of social services is authorized to ask the juvenile court in a child in need of assistance proceeding to find that reasonable efforts to reunify a child with the child’s parent or guardian are not required; and expands provisions of law relating to the Safe Harbor Regional Navigator Grant Program to apply to child victims of labor trafficking.

HB 575|SB 471
Criminal Procedure – Victim Compensation – Alterations

Creates an accessible, non-discriminatory victim compensation process to support all victims of crime, or their family members left behind.
Provides prompt and crucial financial support when it is needed most and removes unnecessary and arbitrary denials of financial relief for applicants for expenses incurred as a result of being a victim of crime.

HB 728
Qualified Resident Enrollment Program – Access to Care Act

Requires the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange to establish and implement a Qualified Resident Enrollment Program to allow qualified residents, including undocumented individuals, to obtain health insurance coverage, and facilitate the enrollment of those qualified residents in health insurance plans.

HB297|SB292
Safe Harbor and Service Response

Written Testimony
Sponsors: Delegate Bartlett and Senator Waldstreicher
Status: PASSED

Decriminalizes prostitution for minors so that when law enforcement encounters a minor engaged in sex work, that child will be referred to DSS and the relevant Regional Navigator and not the Department of Juvenile Services. In addition, this bills protects minors from criminal prosecution or proceeded against for certain criminal or civil offences if the minor committed the offense as a direct result of sex trafficking.
This bill establishes a process to halt open court cases involving minors when indicators of trafficking arise. The case will resume after a trafficking assessment is conducted with appropriate steps.

HB588|SB366
Health Insurance – Access to Care Act

Written Testimony
Sponsors: Delegate Pena-Melnyk and Senator Lam
Status: DID NOT PROCEED

Alters the purpose of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Fund to include the provision of funding for the establishment and operation of the Qualified Resident Enrollment Program
Requires the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange to establish and implement the Program to allow qualified residents to obtain coverage, facilitate the enrollment of qualified residents in qualified health plans, and, based on the availability of funds, provide premium assistance and cost-sharing reductions to qualified residents; etc.

HB833|SB768
Victims of Child Sex Trafficking – Safe Harbor and Service Response

House Testimony
Senate Testimony

Sponsors: Delegate Brooke Lierman, Senators Lee and Watson
Status: DID NOT PROCEED

Asserts that a minor may not be criminally prosecuted or proceeded against as a delinquent child for certain crimes or civil offenses if the minor committed the crime or civil offense as a direct result of sex trafficking.
Ensures that minors involved in the juvenile justice system who are suspected to be victims of sex trafficking will have their court proceeding stayed while they are assessed for sex trafficking by the Regional Navigator. If the assessment finds the minor to be a victim of sex trafficking, their prosecution will be dismissed and they will be directed out of juvenile justice and into victim services.

SB689/HB871
Criminal Law – Human Trafficking & Prostitution Offenses

Sponsors: Senator Susan Lee and Delegate Jesse Pippy

Status: PASSED

Moves sex trafficking from the prostitution section of the code the crimes against a person section – further pushing the shift away from thinking that sex trafficking is just prostitution.
Makes human trafficking a crime of violence, which extends the period before which a person is eligible for parole.
Fixes several sections of the code to ensure that the definition of sex trafficking laws are clear and able to be enforced.

SB690/HB734
Anti-Exploitation Act of 2019

Sponsors: Senator Susan Lee and Delegate Wanika Fisher

Status: PASSED

Criminalizes labor trafficking based on the collective experiences of other states and federal law.
Resembles the Maryland sex trafficking statute by making labor trafficking a felony with a 25-year maximum penalty.
Grants concurrent jurisdiction to the Attorney General, who will be able to independently investigate and prosecute labor trafficking.

SB688/HB827
Child Sex Trafficking Screening & Services Act of 2019

Sponsors: Senator Susan Lee and Delegate Brooke Lierman

Status: PASSED

Creates a Regional Navigator program which ensures that every sex trafficked individual aged under 25 will have access to immediate and local specialized services
Requires law enforcement and the Departments of Social Services to refer cases of sex trafficking to a Regional Navigator.
Requires children involved with the Department of Social Services to be screened for sex trafficking.