Gov. Wes Moore on Friday announced that the state corrections department is forgiving about $13 million in unpaid parole debts owed by more than 6,700 formerly incarcerated people.

The move coincides with a new law that took effect at the beginning of the month, House Bill 531, which eliminates the $40 to $50 monthly “supervision fees” and associated drug-testing fees paid by people released on parole from Maryland prisons.

Del. Elizabeth Embry, who co-sponsored the bill, cited research showing that the fees are being levied against people who cannot afford to pay them, hindering their ability to find and hold employment after release from prison.

“These are people that either don’t have a job or will struggle to gain employment, and we’re taking money out of their paycheck,” Embry said. “Even if someone is able to come up with it, it’s probably at the expense of another need that they have.”

In a joint statement, Moore said, “Marylanders who serve their time deserve a second chance without bearing the financial burden of recurring administrative fees.”

Attorney General Anthony Brown said in the statement that the elimination of parole fee debt was another advancement toward his and the governor’s shared goal of “eliminating mass incarceration.”

“Even the most motivated people coming home from prison have trouble getting a job, whether because of the scarlet letter of their criminal record, struggles with substance abuse or just managing that difficult transition to life back in the real world,” Brown said. “By waiving supervision fees, which disproportionately impact low-income communities and people of color, Governor Moore and the General Assembly are easing financial burdens on Marylanders trying to get their lives back on track.”

Brown has previously campaigned with Maryland Public Defender Natasha Dartigue in addressing mass incarceration, emphasizing that Black people make up about 30% of Maryland’s population, but roughly 71% percent of those in state prisons.

Two advocacy groups behind the push to eliminate the fees, Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development, or BUILD, and Turnaround Tuesday, released a joint statement in support of Moore and Corrections Secretary Carolyn Scruggs’s actions, which they said, “lift an unfair burden for thousands of returning citizens on parole across Maryland.”

“In 2023, BUILD and Turnaround listened to hundreds of people who were directly affected by these fees and their associated debts,” said BUILD co-chair Leslie McMillan and Turnaround executive director Melvin Wilson. “Today’s announcement marks a significant milestone, removing barriers to reentry and highlighting the importance of BUILD and Turnaround Tuesday’s organizing efforts.”