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Judiciary panel restores paraphernalia possession as a crime, aligns penalty with drug possession
Summary
The House Judiciary Committee adopted an amendment and passed a bill to make possession of controlled paraphernalia a crime with penalties matched to the underlying controlled dangerous substance possession. The amendment was adopted 19–1; the committee approved the bill as amended.
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday adopted an amendment and approved a bill that restores criminal penalties for possession of controlled paraphernalia and aligns those penalties with possession of the underlying controlled dangerous substance.
The amendment, offered during consideration of House Bill 260, “puts back in ... possession,” returning paraphernalia possession to criminal status and aligning its penalty with the underlying CDS possession, the member presenting the amendment said. The committee adopted the amendment 19–1, and later approved the bill as amended.
Why it matters: Committee members said the change corrects an inconsistency created when penalties for possession of certain drugs were reduced in prior legislation but the penalties for paraphernalia were not adjusted to match. Supporters framed the amendment as restoring internal consistency in the criminal code rather than creating a new offense.
Committee discussion focused on statutory detail and the amendment’s scope. A member asked specifically about language in “subsection 5620 on page 3” and whether the amendment removed language related to possession; the presenter confirmed the amendment removes the brackets and returns possession language. Another lawmaker summarized the change as “putting everything in line the way it should have been.”
The committee handled the amendment by voice/hand vote. Members then moved and seconded a favorable report on the bill as amended; the bill passed out of committee that evening.
What the bill does: As described in committee, the amendment restores possession of controlled paraphernalia as a punishable offense and aligns the penalty (a one-year offense under the amended language) with the reduced penalties already applied to possession of certain controlled substances.
Votes and formal action: The amendment was adopted 19–1. The committee subsequently voted to report the bill favorably as amended; the committee chair announced the bill was adopted with the amendment.
Next steps: The bill will proceed from committee according to the House calendar.
