House Judiciary Committee declines concurrence on two Senate bills, advances eviction funding extension

The Maryland House Judiciary Committee met April 5 and took action on three Senate measures: it voted not to concur with the House on Senate Bill 608 (U visa) and Senate Bill 181 (geriatric and medical parole), appointing House conferees to each matter, and approved Senate Bill 154, which extends a funding mechanism for legal services in eviction cases through fiscal 2028.

Committee leadership opened the session by calling for a motion "not to recede" on Senate Bill 608, Senator Augustine’s U visa bill. The committee said it would appoint three House conferees to the conference committee; the names listed were Moon, Embry and Valentine. "All those in favor of the motion not to recede, please raise your hands," the chair said. "We are not receding on that."

Committee discussion about Senate Bill 608 included procedural clarification about the conferee appointments and no extended debate on policy details recorded in the transcript.

On Senate Bill 181, the committee again voted not to concur and appointed three…