SB 531

Criminal Procedure - Victims of Sexually Assaultive Behavior - Request for Verbal Acknowledgement (Verbal Waiver Transparency Act)

Sponsor: Shelly Hettleman (District 11)Committee: Judicial ProceedingsSubject: Criminal Law - ProceduresStatus: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 407 (as of Sep 4, 2026)

What this bill does

Official synopsis

Prohibiting a law enforcement agency from making a certain request for verbal acknowledgement in an interaction with a person suspected to have been subjected to sexually assaultive behavior or who claims to have been subjected to sexually assaultive behavior.

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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 (13)

MGA witness list

FAV 10FavorableFWA 1Favorable with amendmentsUNF 2Unfavorable

Position	Witness	Organization	Testimony
FAV	Jessick, Laura	MCASA	Oral
FAV	Hettleman, Shelly	MGA- Senator Hettleman	Written (PDF)
FAV	Jordan, Lisae Clobbyist	Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MCASA)	Written (PDF)
FAV	Ruth, Laure	Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence	Written (PDF)
FAV	Bahm, Jason	Montgomery County Police Department	Oral
FAV	Feinstein, Debbie	Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office	Position only
FAV	Hatfield, Carisa	Office of the Attorney General - SAEK Committee	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	OMalley, Catherine	Women's Law Center	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Kaplowitz, Richard KAP	Year	Written (PDF)
FAV	Senator Hettleman, Senator Hettlemanlegislator	Individual	Oral
UNF	Price, Suzanne	Concerned Citizen	Position only
UNF	Tibbals, Trudy	Individual	Position only
FWA	Mupanduki, Joanna	Maryland Crime Victims' Resource Center, Inc.	Written (PDF)