Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that amends criminal law.

Highlights:

• Specifies that the mandatory sentencing for the use of a handgun in a felony or violent crime now extends to the use of any firearm, requiring a mandatory 10-year incarceration for a second offense, which can not be suspended (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes the use of wiretaps in firearm-related investigations (Sec. 1).

• Increases the penalty for unlawfully carrying or transporting a firearm to a maximum sentence of 15 years for a second offense (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that a second offense of carrying a firearm on school property or carrying with intent to injure or kill has a minimum sentence of 10 years (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that a second offense of using a firearm in a crime of violence carries a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of 40 years (Sec. 1).

• Increases the penalty for carrying a firearm while committing a drug trafficking offense to a maximum of 40 years (Sec. 1).

• Requires a 10-year maximum sentence for threatening or harming a witness or other court participant and a 30-year maximum sentence if the offense involved a crime of violence (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that for any defendant who is charged with, convicted of, or serving a sentence for a crime of violence, the court may not order them to be evaluated by or committed to a treatment facility for drug or alcohol abuse until they are eligible for parole (Sec. 1).

• Establishes the Tyrone Ray Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund to provide grants to nonprofits and local government offices using evidenced-based strategies to reduce gun violence (Sec. 1).  

• Requires the Governor to appropropriate at least $5 million per year in the annual state budget for the Tyrone Ray Fund for fiscal years 2020 through 2023 (Sec. 1).

• Appropriates $3.6 million per year for “Safe Streets Initiatives” by nonprofits in Baltimore City neighborhoods impacted with gun violence (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that a crime of violence includes, but is not limited to (Sec. 1):

• The use of a handgun when committing a felony;

• Child abuse in the first degree;

• Sexual abuse of a minor;

• Kidnapping or abduction;

• Sexual offense in the first or second degree;

• Rape;

• Carjacking;

• Robbery; and

• Arson in the first degree.

Full Bill Text