HARRY HUGHES, Governor

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sanctions for nonsupport of destitute parents and destitute adult
children are invoked very seldom by the State's Attorneys. In
the only reported appellate decision under the destitute parent
statute, the Court of Special Appeals reversed the conviction on
the ground that the defendants had insufficient means to support
their destitute parent. Hale & Hossler v. State, 44 Md. App. 376
(1979). This State may be the only state that has a criminal
penalty for nonsupport of these destitute adult relatives in the
absence of a statutory civil obligation to pay support. The
General Assembly may wish to reconsider its earlier decisions to
retain the criminal penalties (see, e.g., Senate Bill 258, 1980
Session), and consider enacting a civil support statute in place
of these penalties.

The Commission to Revise the Annotated Code notes, for
consideration by the General Assembly, that stringent and
impractical requirements are imposed by §§ 13-107 through 13-109
of this title for the payment of support and the giving of bond.
Under § 13-107(c) of this title, an individual must pay support
until the individual's destitute parent or destitute adult child
has other means of adequate support or dies. Additionally, the
individual must give bond, conditioned on making the support
payments. Under § 13-108 of this title, on failing to give bond,
the court may imprison the individual for 1 year or release the
individual on probation for the period during which the support
payments are required (i.e., for the remainder of the destitute
relative's life or until the relative has other adequate means of
support). Recognizance must be given for the probation, on the
condition that the individual appear in court when required to do
so, and pay support. If the conditions are violated, the
defendant may be imprisoned for 1 year on the original failure to
give bond.

The relationship between §§ 13-107 through 13-109 of this
title and the penalty provision of § 13-102 of this title is
unclear. The General Assembly may wish to consider whether it
is reasonable to order an individual to pay support and give
bond, subject to imprisonment for failure to give bond, if the
individual already is serving a sentence on the conviction. The
General Assembly may wish to clarify whether these provisions are
in addition to or instead of the penalty provisions of § 13-102
of this title.

The General Assembly also may wish to consider whether the
court should order an individual to pay support indefinitely, or
whether a time limitation should be imposed on the required
payment.

The General Assembly also may wish to consider whether the
court should imprison an individual who fails to give bond and
the nature of the alternative probation for failure to give bond.
Since the probation is conditioned on the payment of support, the
statute appears to create an indefinite probation for an offense
(the failure to give bond) that carries a 1-year maximum penalty.
It is not clear whether Article 27, § 641A applies to limit the
probation.