Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh and the Maryland Access to Justice Commission, an advocacy group, have formed a task force aimed at creating legislation they say would address a “crisis of justice.”

Members say the commission is a response to the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the national reaction to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Frosh, joined by Maryland politicians, judges, and non-profit leaders, announced the task force in a news conference Thursday. Members said they would propose solutions to the extreme challenges Marylanders face now.

For example, the number of unemployment claims in the state has soared from 2,000 two months ago to 660,000 more recently. And as benefits from those claims expire, many will face joblessness, homelessness, and hunger. 

The leaders said there is a pattern of criminalizing poverty and that it must stop.

Frosh said the task force would be “intentional and transparent to developing recommendations for reform through a lens of racial equity.”

The group will break into committees and meet as a whole three times between now and December.