HB 686

Victims and Witnesses - U Nonimmigrant Status - Certification of Victim Helpfulness

Sponsor: Jared Solomon (District 18)Committee: JudiciarySubject: Criminal Law - ProceduresStatus: Hearing 2/27 at 1:00 p.m. (as of Dec 1, 2025)

What this bill does

Official synopsis

Altering the criteria for determining whether a certain victim or the victim's parent, guardian, or next friend shall be considered to be helpful, to have been helpful, or likely to be helpful to the detection, investigation, or prosecution of certain criminal activity for a certain purpose; altering the time periods within which a certain certifying entity shall certify or decline a certain form under certain circumstances; etc.

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Analysis reads the bill text, the fiscal note, and the witness list. It is generated by Claude and reviewed by nobody, so check the source documents before you rely on it.

Testimony (0)

MGA witness list

FAV 16FavorableFWA 6Favorable with amendmentsINFO 1Information only

Position	Witness	Organization	Testimony
FAV	Lopez, Ericlobbyist	Capital Area Immigrants' Rights (CAIR) Coalition	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Hudson, Lee	Delaware-Maryland Synod, ELCA	Position only
FAV	O’Mara Vignarajah, Krish	Krish O’Mara Vignarajah	Oral
FAV	Greene, Jonathan	MSBA Immigration Law Section Council	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Bennett, Jesse	Maryland Cemetery Legislative Advocates	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Jordan, Lisae Clobbyist	Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MCASA)	Position only
FAV	Rodriguez, Amanda	Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force/ TurnAround, Inc.	Oral
FAV	Orbe, Jr., Carlos	Maryland Latinos Unidos	Written (PDF)
FAV	Plante, Cecilia	Maryland Legislative Coalition	Written (PDF)
FAV	Ruth, Laure	Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Hoidra, Sharareh	Maryland State Bar Association Immigration Section	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Feldenzer, Christopher	Montgomery County Sheriff's Office	Oral
FAV	Asfaw, Senaya	Individual	Oral
FAV	Delegate Solomon, Delegate Solomonlegislator	Individual	Oral
FAV	Latino Caucus, Maryland Legislative	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Wambui, Maureen	Individual	Written (PDF)
FWA	Westbrook, Viviana	Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC)	Oral + Written (PDF)
FWA	Zelaya, Michellelobbyist	Maryland Catholic Conference	Written (PDF)
FWA	Thronson, Veronica	NIWAP, Inc.	Oral + Written (PDF)
FWA	Yang, Edna	NIWAP, Inc.	Oral + Written (PDF)
FWA	Orloff, Leslye	National Immigrant Women's Advocacy Project (NIWAP Inc)	Written (PDF)
FWA	Goyette, Alexander	Tahirih Justice Center	Position only
INFO	Harris, Mrs.	Individual	Position only