Maryland lawmakers have approved a set of five police reform bills, and will now send them to Governor Larry Hogan (R).

If Hogan signs the bills, all police departments would be required to issue body-worn cameras to officers by 2025, control of the Baltimore Police Department would return to the city, and a host of other changes to policing and accountability would be put in place.

The reforms come after days of deliberation between House and Senate lawmakers, and in the wake of last summer’s protests over the police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville.

The reforms were initially laid out in nine bills in the Senate, but were combined into fewer pieces of legislation in the House. The package of bills includes a measure that changes Maryland’s Public Information Act to make police disciplinary records publicly available. That bill also regulates the execution of no-knock warrants. Another bill would establish a process to independently investigate incidents of use of force that result in death, and it prohibits law enforcement agencies from acquiring surplus military equipment. The bill requiring officers to have body-worn cameras also includes a provision to implement a statewide use-of-force policy. The final bill repeals and replaces the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (LEOBR), which lays out extensive job protections and due process requirements for officers facing allegations of misconduct.

The bill returning control of the Baltimore Police Department passed unanimously. The others passed along party lines, with Democrats supporting them. It’s unclear if Hogan will sign the bills.

In an interview with WBAL Radio Thursday morning, Hogan said the Senate reform bills were “really good” and that his team is reviewing the bills.

“We haven’t even had time to read what they slapped together,” Hogan said adding that the House “basically put some poison pills in each of the bills and combined them all together with some of the worst possible stuff, along with some positive reforms.”

Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) applauded the passage of the bills in a joint statement.

“The Senate passed the most comprehensive reforms to policing in generations. The only way we will make our communities safer is by restoring trust, transparency, and accountability between our law enforcement, and the community members they serve,” Ferguson said.

Jones reiterated Ferguson’s sentiment and said she hopes the bills will “ensure that public safety works for every Marylander – regardless of their race or background.”

Senator Jill Carter (D-Baltimore City), who sponsored many of the bills in the Senate, told Maryland Matters that she was happy with the increased transparency in the bill to change Maryland’s Public Information Act, also known as Anton’s Law. The bill is named after Anton Black, a 19-year-old Black man who died in police custody on the Eastern Shore in 2018. The officer involved in his killing had 30 use-of-force reports filed against him during his career with police in Dover, Delaware.

“Anton’s Law is great, but I’ll be happy when all this stuff is done because, as you know, many of these bills I’ve been pushing for a very long time,” Carter told Maryland Matters. “So, I’ll be happy to get to Sine Die and see that we have actually moved on police reform as we’ve claimed that we were going to do, and we should have done many, many years ago.”

Anton’s Law now incorporates a bill that would provide place additional regulations on warrants, such as requiring an explanation of why the warrant is needed and mandating that no-knock warrants be served between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Senator Mike Hough (R-Frederick County), said he was frustrated with the process that saw the Senate’s legislation condensed into fewer bills.

“We’ve now turned what was a bipartisan, well-thought-out process to passing these completely on party lines,” Hough told his Senate colleagues. “Quite frankly, there wasn’t even much of a debate. I just find it striking that we’re adopting whole-cloth whole sections of House stuff and no one can advocate or explain whole portions of it.”

The bill requiring police departments to provide body-worn cameras and mandating a use-of-force policy was the most controversial bill among Senate lawmakers Wednesday. While both parties agreed on the body-worn cameras, Republicans took issue with the use of force policy, saying that it changed the policy to one that was not defined in state law.

“The new terms have no legal standing…a new training requirement will have to be created for the [state’s] 16,000 police officers,” Hough told his colleagues.

The bill replacing LEOBR was also contentious. Maryland was one of the first states to enact LEOBR in 1974, but over the years, efforts to do away with it have grown. The bill institutes a new disciplinary process in which each county will be required to have a public accountability board  made up of civilians and appointed by the local governing body. The board investigates officer complaints and refers them to a charging board, also composed of civilians. The charging board then recommends discipline to the police department’s chief. The officer can appeal to a trial board if so desired. The local chief would also have authority to suspend officers without pay if they’re charged with a misdemeanor including second degree assault, theft, or fraud.

Montgomery and Prince George’s counties have witnessed multiple instances of police-involved deaths, misconduct, and excessive use of force in recent years, as well as charges of discrimination.

The Montgomery County community was outraged last week when body-camera footage was released showing two officers screaming at a 5-year-old Black boy near East Silver Spring Elementary School in January 2020.

In December 2019, Montgomery County police officer Kevin Moris was found guilty of assaulting a handcuffed suspect by driving his knee into the man’s neck. Moris was sentenced to two years of probation.

In June 2020, a Silver Spring family accused Montgomery County Police of using excessive force while entering their home with a no-knock warrant. Later that fall, Prince George’s County settled with the family of William Green, who was fatally shot by police while handcuffed in the back of a squad car in January 2020.

Officers of color in the Prince George’s County Police Department and the Maryland State Police have also alleged discrimination and racial harassment within the departments.

The story was updated with comments from Gov. Larry Hogan about the bills.