Posted on 01/23/23
| News Source: FOX45
With the General Assembly in full swing, the pressure is mounting to get bills drafted and introduced, but it’s unclear if a top priority for Baltimore’s new top prosecutor will get introduced.
On day one in office, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said his legislative push included evening the sentencing maximums for misdemeanor gun offenses. Bates said if a defendant is between 18 and 20 years of age, the maximum sentence was five years, but for offenders over the age of 21, he said the max penalty was three years.
“The one thing I’ll go down to Annapolis and talk about is let’s raise that from three years to five years,” Bates said during an exclusive interview with FOX45 News hours after being sworn in as state’s attorney.
A few weeks later, Bates stood before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee to make his pitch to lawmakers.