More than two years have passed since Betty Tubbs was assaulted, tied up and left for dead in her basement.

But her memories of Jose Garcia-Perlera, who hog-tied Tubbs and robbed her home during a string of home invasions that culminated in the murder of Bethesda resident Mary Frances Havenstein, still haunt her. She has installed an expensive security system in her Chevy Chase Village home, keeps a cell phone around her neck during her waking hours, and thinks twice about things she used to take for granted.

"It changes your whole perspective on yourself, your self-care," said Tubbs, now 79. "You realize you're not infallible, and you don't take chances you used to take."

A bill pending in the Maryland House of Delegates aims to create a new criminal statute so offenders like Garcia-Perlera face more severe punishments. In August, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Michael D. Mason sentenced Garcia-Perlera to life in prison for murder and other crimes related to four downcounty invasions.

But not all "home invaders" receive the appropriate punishment, according to legislators and prosecutors.

Under the proposed legislation, anyone who breaks into a home while a lawful occupant is present, and then commits one of 24 violent crimes against the occupant, including rape, assault and murder, can be convicted of a "home invasion crime of violence" and sentenced to up to 30 years in prison for that crime. While a common term, a home invasion cannot be prosecuted as a specific offense.

Del. Susan Lee, the bill's chief sponsor, said Garcia-Perlera's actions in 2007 and 2008 along with other incidents in Maryland inspired the legislation, which is House Bill 776. A vote in the Judiciary Committee is still pending, and if the committee votes in favor it will be brought to the House floor.

"It shatters their sense of security and well-being. It's not like committing a crime on the street, although that's terrible too," said Lee (D-Dist. 16) of Bethesda.

Similar crimes already on the books do not have the same level of punishment: a first-degree burglary conviction can carry up to a 20-year sentence, while a first-degree robbery conviction carries a maximum 15-year sentence.

The proposed home invasion crime of violence is intended to put the power of the law behind the idea that a home is its occupant's "castle," according Senior Assistant State's Attorney for Montgomery County Eric Nee. The statute would elevate a home invasion to the same criminal classification as carjacking and kidnapping, and if approved would take effect Oct. 1.

"When you break into somebody's home, you're invading the home, you have family there and you have children there. It becomes an extremely, extremely dangerous scenario," Nee said.

In addition to giving prosecutors new latitude in prosecuting violent home invasions, Nee also said he hoped the statute would deter robberies, burglaries and other crimes committed in private residences, and would target individuals already prone to violence.

Similar statutes specifically creating home invasion crimes have been passed in Connecticut, Michigan and Illinois, according to Andrew Isaac, Lee's legislative director.

To illustrate why the new statute would be important, Nee used the example of a 2008 assault of a single mother in her Silver Spring apartment. While the woman's two children were in her home, five people were arrested for breaking in the apartment, sexually assaulting her and ransacking the residence. Another person was arrested for being the "mastermind" behind the incident but did not enter the woman's residence, Nee said.

The person who planned the crime received a 10-year sentence and the three individuals who entered the apartment were sentenced to 18-months in prison. Two others involved in the incident did not receive jail time.

"In those situations, I felt that people got off with kind of a slap on the wrist, and did not receive long sentences, jail sentences, when they should have," Nee said.

While she may think twice about more of her everyday life than she used to, Tubbs has no doubts about the importance of the proposed home invasion law.

"I don't have any compunction making a specific determination for the home invasion part," she said. "It needs to get out that the penalties will be more severe than just a robbery or something like that."