Delegation to sponsor bill for mandating polygraph tests at county jail
Jan. 29—Frederick County's 15-member delegation to the state legislature voted along party lines to sponsor a bill that would expand whom the Frederick County Sheriff's Office can require to take a polygraph test.
The Sheriff's Office is responsible for overseeing the Frederick County Adult Detention Center, and Maryland state law permits the Sheriff's Office to require polygraph tests for correctional officers.
The bill, HB49, would give the Sheriff's Office the authority to require any employee who works in the Detention Center and has direct contact with inmates to take a polygraph test as a condition of employment.
Nine of the delegation's 11 Republican members voted in favor of sponsoring the bill. Del. William Wivell, R-Frederick and Washington, was not present for the meeting and Del. Christopher "Eric" Bouchat, R-Frederick and Carroll, abstained from the vote.
"We wanna make sure that we have people in key positions, that have access to some of the people that are committing crimes in our communities... that their integrity is intact," Sen. William "Bill" Folden, R-Frederick, said during a delegation meeting Friday.
Folden is a former Frederick police officer and used to work as a Sheriff's Office sergeant. He is now an assistant chief for the University of Maryland, Baltimore Police Department.
The delegation's four Democrats voted against sponsoring the bill.
"It's like we're putting forward a solution in search of a problem," said Sen. Karen Lewis Young, D-Frederick. "There's no real reason or past experience to suggest this is necessary."
Del. Kris Fair, D-Frederick, said the use of polygraphs and lie-detector tests has yielded "historically inaccurate data collection" and relying on them in the hiring process for employees working in the Detention Center would be a "huge disservice" to county residents.
Del. Jesse Pippy, a Republican who serves as the chair of the delegation, said the county government included the bill in its legislative package because officials from Sheriff's Office and the Division of Public Works requested it.
The bill was part of the Frederick County government's legislative priorities for the 2023 session.
The county's priorities also included bills to protect existing forests, increase the cost of marriage licenses in the county and permit programs for special education students to sell coffee at schools — the latter of which the delegation voted Jan. 20 to sponsor and advance to the Ways and Means Committee.
At their next meeting, scheduled for Feb. 3, the delegation members are expected to discuss whether to sponsor a bill to increase the salary for the Frederick County sheriff. The delegation supported the bill during last year's session, but the Democrat-led House of Delegates voted it down when it reached the floor for a vote.
Follow Jack Hogan on Twitter: @jckhogan
