HB 853 Maryland House of Delegates · 2025 Regular Session

Postconviction Review - Procedure to Reduce Duration of Sentence (Maryland Second Look Act)

HB 853 (Maryland Second Look Act) allows individuals serving prison sentences of 20+ years to petition courts for sentence reduction under specific conditions. To qualify, petitioners must have served at least 20 years and wait 5 years after any prior petition, with a maximum of three petitions total. Courts must hold hearings considering factors like rehabilitation, victim input, the individual’s age at the offense, and safety risks, and must publicly state their reasons for granting or denying relief. The law applies retroactively to eligible individuals already serving long sentences.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2025

House of Delegates Passage

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

Signed into Law

Apr 2025

Introduced Jan 30, 2025 Signed Apr 22, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Third - Postconviction Review - Procedure to Reduce Duration of Sentence (Maryland Second Look Act) → Enrolled - Postconviction Review - Procedure to Reduce Duration of Sentence (Maryland Second Look Act) · 3 edits · Apr 22, 2025

MINOR

The bill was finalized and enrolled for the Governor's signature, moving from a House draft to an official legislative text. The substantive policy content regarding sentence reduction eligibility and procedures remains unchanged, though minor formatting adjustments were made to the header and explanatory notes.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; it continues to authorize individuals serving long-term sentences to petition for sentence reduction after meeting specific time and conduct requirements.

TECHNICAL

The document header was updated to reflect the bill's enrolled status, including the addition of proofreader and speaker signature lines, and the removal of internal committee tracking labels.

Minor formatting adjustments were made to the explanatory notes regarding how amendments and deletions are visually represented in the text.

Line breaks and spacing within the statutory text were adjusted to align with standard enrolled bill formatting conventions.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 16, 2025 · House of Delegates Mar 20, 2025

How they voted

30–16

Passed

Total votes 46

Mar 16, 2025

D Democratic33

29 Yea 4 Nay

87% Yea

R Republican13

1 Yea 12 Nay

92% Nay

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 22, 2025

Signed into law

Approved by the Governor - Chapter 96

executive

Apr 3, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed Enrolled

lower

Apr 3, 2025

Lower · Passed

Motion Vote Previous Question (Delegate Ivey) Adopted

lower

Apr 3, 2025

Introduced

House Concurs Senate Amendments

lower

Apr 3, 2025

Upper · Passed

Third Reading Passed

upper

Apr 2, 2025

Introduced

Floor Amendment {

upper

Apr 2, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable Adopted

upper

Mar 31, 2025

Upper · Passed

Motion Special Order until 4/1 (Senator Smith) Adopted

upper

Mar 31, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable

upper

Mar 31, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable Report by Judicial Proceedings

upper

Mar 20, 2025

House Of Delegates · Passed

House of Delegates Vote: pass (87-47-5)

house of delegates

Mar 17, 2025

Committee

Referred Judicial Proceedings

upper

Mar 17, 2025

Lower · Passed

Third Reading Passed

lower

Mar 16, 2025

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (30-16)

senate

Mar 15, 2025

Introduced

Floor Amendment {

lower

Mar 14, 2025

Lower · Passed

Motion Special Order until 03/15 (Delegate Clippinger) Adopted

lower

Mar 14, 2025

Lower · Passed

Favorable with Amendments {

lower

Mar 14, 2025

Lower · Passed

Favorable with Amendments Report by Judiciary

lower

Jan 30, 2025

Committee

First Reading Judiciary

lower

45 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role

Legislator

Party

State

District