Maryland General Assembly

Last updated

Maryland General Assembly
Seal of Maryland (reverse).svg
Type
Type
Houses Senate
House of Delegates
Term limits
None
Leadership
Bill Ferguson (D)
since January 8, 2020
Adrienne A. Jones (D)
since May 1, 2019
Structure
Seats188
47 senators
141 delegates
Maryland Senate 2023.svg
Senate political groups
  •   Democratic (34)
  •   Republican (13)
2023 Maryland House of Delegates.svg
House of Delegates political groups
Length of term
Both chambers: 4 years
Elections
Last Senate election
November 8, 2022
Last House of Delegates election
November 8, 2022
Next Senate election
November 3, 2026
Next House of Delegates election
November 3, 2026
RedistrictingLegislative control
Motto
Fatti maschi, parole femmine
Meeting place
2006 09 19 - Annapolis - Sunset over State House.JPG
Maryland State House
Annapolis
Website
Maryland General Assembly
Constitution
Constitution of Maryland

The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives, and the lower chamber, the Maryland House of Delegates, has 141 representatives. Members of both houses serve four-year terms. Each house elects its own officers, judges the qualifications and election of its own members, establishes rules for the conduct of its business, and may punish or expel its own members.

Contents

The General Assembly convenes its legislative session for 90 days each year to act on more than 2,300 bills including the state's annual budget, which it must pass before adjourning sine die. The General Assembly's 446th session convened on January 10, 2024. [1]

History

The forerunner of the Maryland General Assembly was the colonial institution, an Assembly of Free Marylanders (and also Council of Maryland). Maryland's foundational charter created a state ruled by the Palatine lord, Lord Baltimore. As ruler, Lord Baltimore owned directly all of the land granted in the charter, and possessed absolute authority over his domain.

However, as elsewhere in British North America, British political institutions were re-created in the colonies, and the Maryland General Assembly fulfilled much the same function as the House of Commons. [2] An act was passed providing that:

from henceforth and for ever everyone being of the council of the Province and any other gentleman of able judgement summoned by writ (and the Lord of every Manor within this Province after Manors be erected) shall and may have his voice, seat, and place in every General Assembly ... together with two or more able and sufficient men for the hundred as the said freedmen or the major part of them ... shall think good.

In addition, the Lord Proprietor could summon any delegates whom he desired. [3] In 1639, noting that Parliament had not been summoned in England for a decade, the free men of Maryland passed an act to the effect that "assemblies were to be called once in every three years at the least", ensuring that their voices would be regularly heard. [2] During the American Revolution the colonial Assembly ceased to exist, and was replaced by its modern successor.

Starting in 1867, the Assembly became increasingly unrepresentative. As the population of Baltimore increased, it and other urban areas were not granted additional seats. By 1918, the city's population had increased 175% while the entire state gained only 46% with no reallocation of political power. [4] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the General Assembly adjourned early on March 18, 2020, for the first time since the Civil War. [5]

Qualifications and membership

Each senator or delegate must be a U.S. citizen and a resident of Maryland for at least one year preceding his or her election. A prospective legislator must have resided in the legislative district the candidate seeks to represent for the six months prior to election. A senator must be at least twenty-five years of age at the time of election and a delegate at least twenty-one. Military officers other than members of the reserves are not eligible for election to the General Assembly.

Each term lasts four years. However, members of the General Assembly are not term-limited. If a vacancy occurs in either house through death, resignation, or disqualification, the Governor of Maryland appoints a replacement whose name is submitted by the State Central Committee of the same political party as the legislator whose seat is to be filled.

Legislative districts

Map of Maryland house of delegates electoral districts:
3 sub-districts
2 sub-districts
1 sub-district
3 dem.

2 dem., 1 rep.

1 dem., 2 rep.

3 rep.
2 dem.

1 dem., 1 rep.

2 rep.
1 dem.

1 rep.

1 ind. Party Composition of Maryland House of Delegates Districts January 2023.svg
Map of Maryland house of delegates electoral districts:
3 sub-districts2 sub-districts1 sub-district
  3 dem.
  2 dem., 1 rep.
  1 dem., 2 rep.
  3 rep.
  2 dem.
  1 dem., 1 rep.
  2 rep.
  1 dem.
  1 rep.
  1 ind.
Current partisan composition:
Democratic senator
Republican senator Maryland Senate Map January 2023.svg
Current partisan composition:
   Democratic senator
   Republican senator

The current pattern for distribution of seats began with the legislative apportionment plan of 1972 and has been revised every ten years thereafter according to the results of the decennial U.S. Census. A Constitutional amendment, the plan created 47 legislative districts, many of which cross county boundaries to delineate districts relatively equal in population. Each legislative district elects one senator and three delegates. In most districts, the three delegates are elected at large from the whole district via block voting. However, in some more sparsely populated areas of the state, the districts are divided into subdistricts for the election of delegates: either into three one-delegate subdistricts or one two-delegate subdistrict and one one-delegate subdistrict.

Leadership

The Senate is led by a President and the House by a Speaker whose respective duties and prerogatives enable them to influence the legislative process significantly. The President and the Speaker appoint the members of most committees and name their chairs and vice-chairs, except in the case of the Joint Committee on Investigation whose members elect their own officers. The President and Speaker preside over the daily sessions of their respective chambers, maintaining decorum and deciding points of order. As legislation is introduced, they assign it to a standing committee for consideration and a public hearing. The president pro tempore appoints majority and minority whips and leaders.

Overview of legislative procedure

A bill is a proposal to change, repeal, or add to existing state law. A House Bill (HB) is one introduced in the House of Delegates (for example: HB 6); [6] a Senate Bill (SB), in the Senate.

Bills are designated by number, in the order of introduction in each house. For example, HB 16 refers to the sixteenth bill introduced in the House of Delegates. The numbering starts afresh each session. The names of the sponsor (and co-sponsors, if any), the legislator who introduced the bill, becomes part of the title. Bills listed as "The Speaker (By Request of Administration)", "The President (By Request of Administration)", "Minority Leader (By Request of Administration)", or "Committee Chair (By Request of Department)" are bills proposed by the Governor and his agencies and are not proposals of the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate, the Minority Leader, or the respective Committee Chair. They are listed with the official title of a legislator rather than the Governor due to requirements in the Maryland Constitution. [7]

The legislative procedure, is divided into distinct stages:

Legislators pose as Governor O'Malley signs a bill into law at a signing ceremony in Annapolis, Maryland, on May 13, 2008. Governor signs HB 83-2008.JPG
Legislators pose as Governor O'Malley signs a bill into law at a signing ceremony in Annapolis, Maryland, on May 13, 2008.

See also

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References

Notes

  1. "Maryland General Assembly – 2024 Session".
  2. 1 2 Andrews, p. 70
  3. Andrews, p.71
  4. Okrent, Daniel (May 11, 2010). Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. Scribner. loc 2017 (Kindle). ISBN   978-0743277020.
  5. Collins, David. "Maryland General Assembly adjourns early due to coronavirus" Archived April 25, 2020, at the Wayback Machine , WBAL, Baltimore, March 18, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  6. "House Bill 6 (2008)". Maryland Department of Legislative Services. Archived from the original on June 6, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
  7. "The Maryland General Assembly". Maryland Department of Legislative Services, Office of Information Systems. Archived from the original on July 19, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
  8. "Maryland Legislator's Handbook" (PDF). Maryland.gov. State of Maryland. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 28, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  9. "The Legislative Process: How A Bill Becomes Law" (PDF). Maryland State Archives. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2012.