Md. Lawmakers Update Policy On Sexual Harassment
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- When the Maryland General Assembly convenes in January, there will be new guidelines in effect to address reports of sexual harassment.
Tuesday's update to the sexual harassment policy includes a centralized reporting system to keep track of complaints.
Baltimore's Maggie McIntosh has been a state delegate since 1992.
[Reporter: "As a veteran in Annapolis, have you seen cases where there may have been questionable things going on?"]
"You know, there's been a couple of articles in the newspaper that actually made reference to this. Here's what I hear: Younger members, younger staff people who talk a lot about the harassment or what they feel has been harassment, and i always encourage them - if you really feel that way, if you believe it - there is an avenue here to report it," McIntosh said.
The House and Senate leadership sees attention to this issue as a good thing.
"I think it's positive, honestly and truly. I've got six sisters, four daughters, ten granddaughters and everybody needs to be free of harassment and discrimination," Maryland Senate President Mike Miller said.
Maryland House Speaker Mike Busch says they want to be proactive.
"We've had incidents in the past and you go over how to make the process easier for the people who do have a complaint coming forward and it's not always women -- sometimes it's men who have a complaint," Busch said.
The new system also requires an annual report, and this will also give the public a way to check on the number of complaints filed each year.
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