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Letter in Support of Senate Bill 515 |
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March 11, 2004 Senator Brian E. Frosh Chairman, Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee 2 East, Miller Senate Building Annapolis, Maryland 21401-1991 Re: Senate Bill 515 Courts and Judicial Proceedings – Exemptions from Execution and Bankruptcy Exemptions Dear Chairman Frosh and Members of the Committee; The Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition, a nonprofit consumer education and advocacy organization, endorses SB 515. This proposed legislation is designed to further the public policy of granting the citizens of Maryland the right to retain some personal and real property so that they are not destitute. Under current exemptions, the individual who faces collection of a judgment through an execution sale will see that they can lose most possessions at a sheriff’s sale. The person who is most often affected by this result or threat of this action is someone of low income, often the working poor or senior citizen, who has few resources for payment to the creditor. The debts are often the result of medical bills, or debts that were not paid due to a decrease in income in the household through death of a family member or loss of employment. Maryland has no homestead exemptions and in more than two decades, there have been no amendments to the current law to increase exemptions from execution for consumers. As a result, Maryland continually sees a large number of individuals turning to bankruptcy to protect themselves from creditors. Even then debtors may find little refuge as Maryland has opted out of the federal bankruptcy exemptions, which do increase every three years, and filing bankruptcy in federal court in Maryland only permits protection for an additional $2500 in property of any kind. SB 515 would increase the present exemptions from execution to a more reasonable level. In the years that have passed the costs of real and personal property has risen but Maryland laws have not kept pace to permit consumers to protect from execution anything above a very marginal amount of property. In order to recognize the increase in the costs of goods and that Maryland citizens should not be left without basic household and other property, the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition urges a favorable report for SB 515. Sincerely Yours, Louise M. Carwell Board Member Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition |
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