Legislative Wish List Takes Shape in S.Md.

Alcohol Fines, Other Issues on Docket

Proposals to extend electronic wiretapping, increase fines for alcohol-related violations and create a citizen complaint oversight panel are among the ideas that some residents and elected officials want the General Assembly to approve next year for Southern Maryland.

In Charles County, Sheriff Rex W. Coffey (D) is seeking legislative authorization for county law enforcement officers to use electronic wiretapping in third-degree sexual offense cases. Those are considered less severe than first- and second-degree cases, in which wiretapping is allowed.

Diane Richardson, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, said the proposal grew out of the sheriff's experiences investigating cases that involve the sexual abuse of children. Because there are often no witnesses in such cases and the victim's credibility is often challenged, a wiretap can be critical in the investigation, she said.

Coffey is also proposing that auxiliary sheriff's officers, who are trained volunteers, be added to the list of employees covered under workers' compensation plans.

The county Board of License Commissioners, which oversees liquor licenses, is also seeking several changes, mostly involving fines for selling or serving alcohol to minors. One proposal would increase the maximum fine for selling to a minor from $500 to $750. Another would allow the board to suspend a bar or store's liquor license on weekend days for a first offense of selling to a minor.

The board also wants the legislature to approve an increase in annual beverage license fees.

A similar proposal in St. Mary's County would increase the fine for alcoholic beverage sale violations from $500 to $1,000. Most of the other legislative initiatives being discussed in St. Mary's involve bond bills and small tax incentives.

Jack Cheseldine, chairman of the Board of License Commissioners in Charles, said the board's proposals are designed to bring the county in line with most others in the state. The current fees and fines are among the lowest in Maryland, he said.

"The increase in fines would serve as a deterrent and give us a little more of a cushion to fine people," he said.

The board is also backing a proposal that would allow certain stores that hold liquor licenses to open as early as 5 a.m. Currently, businesses that hold liquor licenses must be closed between 2 and 6 a.m., which Cheseldine said punishes some small grocery stores and delis.

"What we want to do is have some discretion for little mom-and-pop operations that open early, not to sell alcohol, but to sell coffee and doughnuts," he said. "Some of them want to be able to sell stuff to fishermen going out early and things like that."

Also in Charles, the county's NAACP wants to establish a citizen complaint panel to consider allegations against county officials and law enforcement officers. The NAACP has proposed creating such a board in the past, but the idea has never gained the backing of county government officials.

County commissioners in all three jurisdictions will vote on which measures to ask the General Assembly to approve when it convenes next month.

In Calvert, officials want legislators to authorize expanded benefits for volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians.

Another proposal would provide back pay to the sheriff's retirement fund as part of a deal cut last year to include the sheriff in the county's main pension program rather than maintain a separate plan. If approved, commissioners would pay $21,600 to Sheriff Mike Evans's retirement plan for his six-plus years of service.

"This eliminates the need for the sheriff to have a custom retirement plan," said commissioners President Wilson H. Parran (D-Huntingtown).

Staff writer Christy Goodman contributed to this report.