Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has activated the state’s dormant Sexual Offender Advisory Board, which was created four years ago but never met and failed to produce a required report on the state’s sex offender policies, reports the Baltimore Sun. Reconstitution of the board is among six proposals on sex offenders O’Malley will push for this year. He’ll also seek lifetime supervision of violent and repeat sex offenders, changes to the state sex offender registry that will bring it into federal compliance, and criminal background checks for those who work with children.
Former Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. will serve as chairman. Other members have not yet been selected. The first meeting is to be next week. Some lawmakers who approved creation of the board as part of emergency sex offender legislation in 2006 say the O’Malley administration needs to explain why it hasn’t been meeting over the years.