Maryland SB 255: State Personnel Management System – Office of the Public Defender – Placement and Collective Bargaining

Bill Text

EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
*sb0255*

SENATE BILL 255
P4, P1 2lr0601
SB 757/21 – FIN CF HB 90
By: Senators Beidle, Benson, Carter, Feldman, Hettleman, Klausmeier, Kramer,
Waldstreicher, and Smith
Introduced and read first time: January 14, 2022
Assigned to: Finance
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
Senate action: Adopted
Read second time: February 22, 2022

CHAPTER ______

AN ACT concerning 1

State Personnel Management System – Office of the Public Defender – 2
Placement and Collective Bargaining 3

FOR the purpose of specifying that certain positions within the Office of the Public 4
Defender are in certain employment categories in the State Personnel Management 5
System; altering certain provisions of law regarding personnel actions within the 6
Office that relate to the hiring, discipline, and termination of employees; providing 7
that employees of the Office are subject to collective bargaining under the State 8
Personnel Management System; repealing a provision of law that excludes attorneys 9
in the Office from certain grievance procedures in the State Personnel Management 10
System; requiring the Secretary of Budget and Management to assign each 11
appointee or employee of the Office to the appropriate employment category within 12
the State Personnel Management System on or before a certain date; prohibiting any 13
appointee or employee of the Office from receiving a change in pay or benefits as a 14
result of a certain transfer or assignment except under certain circumstances; and 15
generally relating to the personnel of the Office of the Public Defender in the State 16
Personnel Management System. 17

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 18
Article – Criminal Procedure 19
Section 16–203 20
Annotated Code of Maryland 21
(2018 Replacement Volume and 2021 Supplement) 22

2 SENATE BILL 255

BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 1
Article – State Personnel and Pensions 2
Section 3–101(a) 3
Annotated Code of Maryland 4
(2015 Replacement Volume and 2021 Supplement) 5

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 6
Article – State Personnel and Pensions 7
Section 3–101(b), 3–102(a), 3–205(a) and (c), and 12–102 8
Annotated Code of Maryland 9
(2015 Replacement Volume and 2021 Supplement) 10

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 11
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 12

Article – Criminal Procedure 13

16–203. 14

(a) (1) The head of the Office is the Public Defender. 15

(2) The Public Defender shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees. 16

(3) By a vote of at least seven members, the Board of Trustees may remove 17
the Public Defender for: 18

(i) misconduct in office; 19

(ii) persistent failure to perform the duties of the Office; or 20

(iii) conduct prejudicial to the proper administration of justice. 21

(4) To qualify for appointment as Public Defender, an individual shall be 22
an attorney admitted to practice law in the State by the Court of Appeals of Maryland who 23
has engaged in the practice of law for at least 5 years before appointment. 24

(5) The Public Defender shall receive the same salary as a judge of a circuit 25
court. 26

(6) The Public Defender may not engage in the private practice of law. 27

(7) The Public Defender serves for a term of 6 years. 28

(b) (1) With the approval of the Board of Trustees, the Public Defender shall 29
appoint: 30

SENATE BILL 255 3

(i) a deputy public defender WHO IS IN THE EXECUTIVE SERVICE 1
OF THE STATE PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM; and 2

(ii) one district public defender for each district of the District Court, 3
EACH OF WHOM IS IN THE MANAGEMENT SERVICE OF THE STATE PERSONNEL 4
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. 5

(2) The deputy public defender and each district public defender shall have 6
the same qualifications as the Public Defender. 7

(3) A district public defender shall: 8

(i) assist the Public Defender to perform the duties of the Office; and 9

(ii) subject to the supervision of the Public Defender, be in charge of 10
the public defender offices in the district for which the district public defender is appointed. 11

(c) (1) With the advice of the district public defenders, the Public Defender 12
may [appoint] EMPLOY assistant public defenders in accordance with the State budget. 13

(2) To qualify for [appointment] EMPLOYMENT as an assistant public 14
defender, an individual shall be an attorney and admitted to practice law in the State by 15
the Court of Appeals of Maryland. 16

(3) ASSISTANT PUBLIC DEFENDERS ARE IN THE PROFESSIONAL 17
SERVICE OF THE STATE PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND MAY BE 18
TERMINATED OR OTHERWISE DISCIPLINED ONLY FOR CAUSE IN ACCORDANCE WITH 19
TITLE 11 OF THE STATE PERSONNEL AND PENSIONS ARTICLE. 20

(d) (1) The deputy public defe