Public Safety - Police Accountability - Time Limit for Filing Administrative Charges
Summary
HB238 revises Maryland’s police accountability law by changing the deadline for filing and completing administrative misconduct charges against law enforcement officers. Under current law, the review process from an investigation through an administrative charging committee’s disposition must generally be completed within 1 year and 1 day after a citizen complaint is filed. The bill instead ties that deadline to the date an appropriate agency official became aware of the incident, and it applies that same timing rule to administrative charges that are not required to go through an administrative charging committee.
The bill also creates a separate timing rule for misconduct that appears to be connected to criminal activity. In those cases, administrative charges must be filed within 1 year and 1 day after one of three events: the investigating agency determines the matter is not criminal, all related criminal charges are finally resolved, or the prosecutor declines to file criminal charges. The bill takes effect October 1, 2025 and amends Section 3-113 of the Public Safety Article.
Impact
HB238 amends Maryland Public Safety Article § 3-113 to alter when police misconduct administrative charges must be filed and when the review process must be completed. It shifts the triggering event from the filing of a citizen complaint to the date the relevant law enforcement official became aware of the incident, and it extends similar filing deadlines to agency-handled misconduct cases and cases overlapping with criminal investigations. The practical effect is to standardize and clarify limitations periods for police disciplinary proceedings while preserving a separate timeline when criminal proceedings are involved.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad support. It received a favorable committee report, was adopted by the House, and passed third reading unanimously with 137 yeas and 0 nays. The available record shows no committee transcript opposition or recorded dissent, suggesting the measure was viewed as a procedural clarification or accountability improvement rather than a controversial policy shift.
Contention
No specific points of contention are reflected in the available transcripts or vote history. The main policy issue implicit in the bill is the choice of trigger for the administrative deadline: whether the clock should start when a complaint is filed or when an agency first becomes aware of the incident, and how to coordinate disciplinary timelines with parallel criminal investigations. Any concern would likely come from balancing timely accountability for police misconduct against allowing enough time for criminal investigations to conclude before administrative action is required.