William Folden

Folden with Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates Michael E. Busch, 2015

Folden was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 14, 2015. He served in this position until January 9, 2019, after being defeated by Democratic challenger Ken Kerr in the 2018 Maryland House of Delegates election.[1][8] He was the only active police officer in the state legislature.[9]

• Member, Judiciary Committee, 2015 (family law subcommittee, 2015)
• Environment and Transportation Committee, 2015–2019 (housing & real property subcommittee, 2015–19; land use & ethics subcommittee, 2015–19; motor vehicle & transportation subcommittee, 2017–2019)
• Member, Public Safety and Policing Work Group, 2015–2016
• Chair, Frederick County Delegation, 2018–2019 (vice-chair, 2017)
• Member, Maryland Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus, 2015–2019
• Maryland Veterans Caucus, 2015–2019

Folden was sworn into the Maryland Senate on January 11, 2023.[1] He is a member of the Judicial Proceedings Committee.[10]

During the 2017 legislative session, Folden introduced a bill that would provide state funding to and relax restrictions on the state's charter schools.[11]

During the 2017 legislative session, Folden introduced a bill that would allow military members to end their housing leases early if deployed or called to a new duty station. The bill passed the House of Delegates unanimously.[12]

In January 2018, Folden said he supported a bill that would prohibit people convicted of domestic abuse from having access to firearms.[13]

During the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries, Folden endorsed Ted Cruz and served on the Cruz for Maryland Leadership Team.[14][15]

In July 2015, following the Baltimore protests earlier that year, Folden sent a letter to the co-chairs of the Public Safety and Policing Work Group requesting that Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake testify about the city's tactical response.[9]

During the 2017 legislative session, Folden introduced a bill that would create the Maryland Police Training Commission to develop a lethality screening protocol and training to use when investigating complains of domestic violence and assault by strangulation, which was signed by Governor Larry Hogan in May 2016.[16]

During the 2018 legislative session, Folden introduced a bill that would train emergency responders on how to properly handle interactions with veterans affected by trauma.[17]

During the 2017 legislative session, Folden voted against a joint resolution that would allow the Attorney General of Maryland to file lawsuits against the federal government, saying that he opposed the expanded powers because the Attorney General did not have these powers when they were elected.[18]

In October 2018, Folden called for an independent review of complaints against Frederick Community College president Elizabeth Burmaster, which claimed that she had been verbally and physically abusive toward faculty and administrators at the college.[19] Later that month, the community college board of trustees voted to request an investigation into the complaints.[20]

During the 2017 legislative session, Folden introduced a bill that would make it illegal to drive in the far left lane of a highway unless the driver was passing another vehicle.[21][22] The bill passed the House of Delegates by a 73-66 vote, but failed to move in the state senate.[23] Folden reintroduced the bill during the 2018 legislative session, where it failed to move out of committee.[24][25]