Name Joseph Vallario, | Religion Catholic Occupation Attorney Party Democratic Party | |
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Constituency Prince George\'s and Calvert Counties Born March 4, 1937 (age 87) Washington, D.C., United States ( 1937-03-04 ) Children 6 children, 21 grandchildren Education George Washington University, University of Balti | ||
Joseph F. Vallario Jr. (born March 4, 1937) is an American politician who represents district 27A in the Maryland House of Delegates and is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Vallario was first elected in 1974 and is the longest serving chairman in the Maryland General Assembly.
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Background
Delegate Vallario attended Washington, DC, parochial schools, the Benjamin Franklin University (since merged into George Washington University), B.C.S. (commercial science) and M.C.S. (commercial science), 1959; Eastern College, and the Mt. Vernon School of Law, LL.B., J.D., 1963 (Now the University of Baltimore School of Law). Admitted to Maryland Bar in 1964, he is now an attorney and a member of the American and Maryland State Bar Associations. Vallario is a past president of the Prince George's County Criminal Trial Lawyers Association and a member of the Order of Sons of Italy.
In the legislature
Delegate Vallario has been the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee since 1993 and a member of the Rules and Executive Nominations Committee, also since 1993. He currently serves on the Legislative Policy Committee, the Article 27 (crimes & punishments) Revision Committee and is a past member of the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics, the Drunk and Drugged Driving Task Force (1988–90), the Joint Task Force on Maryland's Procurement Law(1993–94)and the Joint Committee on the Selection of the State Treasurer(1996 & 2002). He was the Co-Chair of the Task Force to Examine Crime Victims' Rights Laws in Maryland(1996–2003), a member of the Special Committee on Gaming(2001), a member of the Maryland State Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy and the past chair, Prince George's County Delegation. National Conference of State Legislatures (law & criminal justice committee). Vallario has been an active supporter of victims rights as well as a proponent for strengthening Maryland's laws against child predators. He has opposed legalizing same-sex marriage, but in March 2011 he voted as chairman for a bill to do just that in the Judiciary Committee. He was criticized for that vote, with Del. Michael D. Smigiel, Sr. saying, "The chairman did what he was told. That's why he's chairman."