Maryland General Assembly
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The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is bicameral. The upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber, the Maryland House of Delegates, has 141 representatives. It meets in the Maryland State House 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 420th Session began January 12, 2005 and adjourned April 11, 2005. Like the governor, 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.
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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.
Members of the General Assembly are not term limited. 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. Some of the larger districts are divided into delegate subdistricts to provide local representation to areas not large enough to constitute an entire legislative district.
Leadership
The Senate is lead 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.
See also
- Government of Maryland
- List of members of the Maryland State Senate
- List of members of the Maryland House of Delegates
External links
- Official Maryland General Assembly Website (http://mlis.state.md.us/)
- Washington Post: Metro Report: Maryland Legislature (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/library/mdstateleg/main.htm)
- Info on General Assembly from Maryland Manual Online (http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/mdmanual/07leg/html/ga.html)
- Article III of the Maryland Constitution (Legislative Department) (http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/mdmanual/43const/html/03art3.html)