HB 778

Did not advanceConstitutional amendmentCrossfile SB 630

Circuit Court Judges - Selection and Retention Elections

Sponsor: Chair, Judiciary CommitteeCommittee: JudiciarySubject: Courts and Court Personnel - StatewideStatus: Hearing 2/12 at 1:00 p.m. (Judiciary) (as of Dec 1, 2025)

What this bill does

Official synopsis

Proposing amendments to the Maryland Constitution relating to the selection and tenure of circuit court judges; altering the method of filling vacancies in the office of a judge of a circuit court; providing for retention elections following an appointment to fill a vacancy in the office of a judge of a circuit court; providing for a transitional period during which the terms of certain amendments are to become effective; and submitting this amendment to the qualified voters of the State for their adoption or rejection.

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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 25FavorableFWA 1Favorable with amendmentsUNF 6Unfavorable

Position	Witness	Organization	Testimony
FAV	Collins, Carvillelobbyist	Columbia Gas of Maryland	Oral
FAV	Drayton, Morganlobbyist	Common Cause MD	Written (PDF)
FAV	Simpkins, Judge Cheri	Hispanic Judges Association	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Maloney, Timothy	Joseph, Greenwald and Laake, PA	Oral
FAV	Iverson, Kelly Hughes	MSBA	Oral
FAV	Caroom, Philip	Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform	Position only
FAV	Jarashow, Ronald	Maryland Association for Justice	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Clarke, Patrice	Maryland Association for Justice, Inc.	Written (PDF)
FAV	Berry, Judge Bibi	Maryland Judiciary	Oral
FAV	Fader, Chief Justice Matthew	Maryland Judiciary	Oral
FAV	Rhodes, Judge James	Maryland Judiciary	Oral
FAV	Vormelker, Will	Maryland Judiciary	Written (PDF)
FAV	Williams, Judge Alex	Maryland Judiciary	Oral
FAV	Santini, Raphael	Maryland State Bar Association	Oral
FAV	Sarkar, Shaolilobbyist	Maryland State Bar Association	Written (PDF)
FAV	La Forge, Amanda	Office of the Governor	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Ryan-Colbert, Janelle	Prince George's County Bar Association	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Tillerson Adams, Sheila	Retired Administrative Judge	Written (PDF)
FAV	Schmoke, Kurt	University of Baltimore	Written (PDF)
FAV	Tobin, Dean Donald	University of Maryland Carey School of Law	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Jarashow, Ron	myself	Written (PDF)
FAV	Chair, Judiciary Committee, Chair, Judiciary Committee	Individual	Oral
FAV	Hewlett, Elizabeth	Individual	Oral
FAV	Stephenson, Judge Monise	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Wiggins, Grasonlobbyist	Individual	Oral
UNF	Barber, Claudia	Claudia Barber, Attorney at Law	Oral + Written (PDF)
UNF	Pierre, Marylin	Law Office of Marylin Pierre	Oral + Written (PDF)
UNF	Jones, Rickey	NAACP (AAC)(2nd Vice President) & National Bar Association Chair, Law & Religion Section)	Oral + Written (PDF)
UNF	Adkins-Tobin, Diane	Individual	Written (PDF)
UNF	Daniels, Robert	Individual	Oral
UNF	Oesterreicher, Maria	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
FWA	Watkins, Ralph	League of Women Voters of Maryland	Oral + Written (PDF)

Registered lobbyists who testified

FAVCollins, CarvilleColumbia Gas of MarylandRegistered for: Artesian Resources Corporation; Columbia Gas of Maryland; Maryland Employers for Civil Justice Reform Coalition; Pepco Holdings, LLC.; Health Facilities Association of Maryland; General Motors LLC…

FAVDrayton, MorganCommon Cause MDRegistered for: Common Cause Maryland

FAVSarkar, ShaoliMaryland State Bar AssociationRegistered for: Maryland State Bar Association, Inc.

FAVWiggins, GrasonRegistered for: Maryland Chamber of Commerce; United Way of Central Maryland, Inc.; Madison Marquette Property Investments LLC; Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund; Family Tree, The; OVG Facilities…

HB 778

What this bill does

Testimony (0)

Organizations on record

Registered lobbyists who testified