Homeowners in danger of foreclosure now have a right to mediation, schools and police can communicate more freely about gang activity, and civil court filing fees increase — all part of the package of more than 150 new state laws that take effect today.
Marylanders are unlikely to be affected by most of the changes, which include local liquor board tweaks and a slew of legislative study panels and reports. The new legislation likely to have the broadest impact, the ban on handling cell phones will driving, doesn't take effect until Oct. 1. That's the date when the majority of the laws passed by the General Assembly this year take effect.
Here's a look at some of today's new laws:
Foreclosure mediation: Gov. Martin O'Malley pressed for and won added protection for homeowners in financial trouble. The new law helps homeowners at several stages in the foreclosure process.
When a lender notifies a homeowner about a possible foreclosure, it must also provide information about modification programs, including the federal Home Affordable Modification Program and local nonprofit assistance.
Before a foreclosure can occur, a lender must file an affidavit in court attesting that it has evaluated the homeowner's eligibility for loss mitigation programs and state the basis for any denial, according to the governor's spokesman. If the homeowner disagrees with the lender's conclusion, he or she can pay a $50 fee and take part in a court-supervised mediation program with the lender. (Lenders pay a much larger mediation fee: $300.)
Gangs in schools: House Speaker Michael E. Busch championed this law after the gang-related killing last year of Christopher Jones, a teen in Anne Arundel County. The law clarifies that juvenile courts and police officers can communicate certain information about a suspected gang member to authorities at the child's school, and vice versa. Such information, while it can now be shared, is not to be included in a student's permanent record.
"What we really tried to do was clear the barriers that existed in the laws, to have the juvenile system and the courts be able to communicate with the school boards and the school system when they observe problems with youngsters in gang-related activities," Busch said. "We believe that if they can share information, they can intervene in lot of cases and prevent further incidents, like Christopher Jones."
