HB 687

Criminal Procedure - Evidence - Protecting Artists' Creative Expression (PACE Act)

Sponsor: Marlon Amprey (District 40)Committee: JudiciarySubject: Criminal Law - ProceduresStatus: Rereferred to Judicial Proceedings (as of Sep 4, 2026)

What this bill does

Official synopsis

Providing that the creative expression of a criminal defendant or juvenile respondent is not admissible against the defendant or respondent unless the court makes certain findings, subject to a certain exception; and providing that the Act does not preclude the admission of creative expression in juvenile cases for the purposes of evaluating, recommending, or ordering referral to mental health services or diversion programs.

AI analysis is off. Set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY to enable summaries, pros and cons, and questions.

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 (24)

MGA witness list

FAV 17FavorableFWA 1Favorable with amendmentsUNF 6Unfavorable

Position	Witness	Organization	Testimony
FAV	Spaccasi, Olivia	ACLU-MD	Written (PDF)
FAV	Nance, Latasha	Author	Oral
FAV	Gonzalez, Greg	Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression	Written (PDF)
FAV	Walotsky, Phil	Free Our Art	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	LaPolt, Dina	LaPolt Law, P.C.	Written (PDF)
FAV	Phillips, N. Scott	Legislative Black Caucus of MD	Written (PDF)
FAV	Martinez, Ashanti	MD Legislative Latino Caucus	Written (PDF)
FAV	Kemerer, Hannibal	Maryland Office of the Public Defender	Written (PDF)
FAV	Holofcener, Adam	Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts	Written (PDF)
FAV	Miller, Montana	Recording Academy	Written (PDF)
FAV	Fernandez, Rafael	Recording Industry Association of America	Written (PDF)
FAV	McAnally, Erin	Songwriters of North America with Artist Rights Alliance, Music Artists Coalition, and Black Music Action Coalition	Written (PDF)
FAV	Amprey, Marlon	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Delegate Amprey, Delegate Ampreylegislator	Individual	Oral
FAV	Nielson, Erik	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Outlaw, Lucius	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Squirrel, Mike	Individual	Oral
UNF	Gibson, Rich	Howard County State's Attorney's Office	Written (PDF)
UNF	Vormelker, Will	Maryland Judiciary	Written (PDF)
UNF	Brown, Kirsten	Maryland State's Attorneys' Association	Written (PDF)
UNF	Lang, Alan	Individual	Position only
UNF	Meyerovich, Mark	Individual	Position only
UNF	Rosa, Richard	Individual	Position only
FWA	Bates, Ivan	State's Attorney for Baltimore City	Oral + Written (PDF)

Organizations on record

ACLU-MDFAV 1

AuthorFAV 1

Foundation for Individual Rights and ExpressionFAV 1

Free Our ArtFAV 1

Howard County State's Attorney's OfficeUNF 1

LaPolt Law, P.C.FAV 1

Legislative Black Caucus of MDFAV 1

Maryland JudiciaryUNF 1

Maryland Office of the Public DefenderFAV 1

Maryland State's Attorneys' AssociationUNF 1

Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the ArtsFAV 1

MD Legislative Latino CaucusFAV 1

Recording AcademyFAV 1

Recording Industry Association of AmericaFAV 1

Songwriters of North America with Artist Rights Alliance, Music Artists Coalition, and Black Music Action CoalitionFAV 1

State's Attorney for Baltimore CityFWA 1