Both chambers in the Maryland General Assembly are scheduled to meet twice on Monday, also known as "Crossover Day." It's a deadline set by lawmakers to pass bills in at least one chamber.
"If you don’t get it crossed over into the Senate then it will go into the Senate rules committee and they will probably never consider the bill, so all of the work goes for naught if you don’t get your bill crossed over on the crossover deadline," said Delegate Curt Anderson (D-Baltimore City).
Delegate Anderson is feeling confident that a police reform bill he’s sponsoring will crossover Monday evening. The legislation was created from a set of recommendations released by the public safety and policing workgroup that aims to bring more transparency to policing.
"The main part of this bill is opening up the police process to training as well as the disciplinary process to civilians," said Del. Anderson.
Larry Stafford, the executive director of Progressive Maryland had his reservations about the bill when it was first introduced. He thinks there needs to be even more community involvement than proposed but he’s still pushing for its passage.
"We know that it doesn’t go far enough to really tackle the full problem but it’s the legislative process and we’re happy that things are at least moving and that people see a need for this to happen," said Stafford.
Delegate Anderson added that the House was diligently working to make sure each bill is given the proper consideration. Senate President Mike Miller also said they were making great progress and are ahead of schedule.
"The bills are being printed for third reading, the bills that we took up today, and the desk is going to be cleared again tonight. So, we’re on schedule, we’re going to do everything on time and it’s going to be a very productive session," Miller said.
The House will reconvene at 7 p.m. on Monday, the Senate at 8 p.m. If a bill doesn’t make it through at least one chamber Monday evening it must first be approved by the House or Senate rules committee.