Maryland General Assembly

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The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of Maryland. It is a bicameral body. The upper house, the Maryland State Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower house, the Maryland House of Delegates, has 141 representatives. The General Assembly meet each year for 90 days to act on more than 2300 bills including the State's annual budget, which it must pass before adjourning. The 423rd Session began January 10, 2007 and adjourned April 9, 2007. Like the Governor of Maryland, 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.

The Maryland General Assembly convenes within the State House in Annapolis.

Qualifications and membership

Each senator or delegate must be a citizen of Maryland and a resident for at least one year preceding his or her election. A prospective legislator must have resided for the six months prior to election in the legislative district the candidate seeks to represent. A senator must be at least twenty-five years of age at the time of election and a delegate at least twenty-one. Persons elected to or holding a civil or military office other than as a member of a reserve component under the federal or State government are not eligible for election to the General Assembly.

Each term lasts 4 years. However, members of the General Assembly are not subject to term limits. If a vacancy occurs in either house through death, resignation, or disqualification, the Governor 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

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.

Senate

The Maryland State Senate is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is composed of 47 senators elected from single-member districts.

The current make-up is 33 Democrats, 14 Republicans.

House of Delegates

The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland, and is composed of 141 Delegates elected from 47 districts.

The current make-up is 104 Democrats, 37 Republicans.

Joint General Assembly Committees

• Investigation Joint Committee, Maryland General Assembly
• Protocol Joint Committee, Maryland General Assembly

External links

• Official Maryland General Assembly Website
• Washington Post: Metro Report: Maryland Legislature
• Billhop - Maryland Legislative Wiki
• Info on General Assembly from Maryland Manual Online
• Article III of the Maryland Constitution (Legislative Department)
• http://aomol.net/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/html/legislative.html The Archives of Maryland extensive site on Maryland's various Legislative bodies. Full Session Laws for most sessions, full Proceedings, Journals and summaries for many, especially 17th-19th century.

References

• Wikipedia: Maryland Legislature

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