When A Maryland Delegate Ignores The First Amendment High Quality

When A Maryland Delegate Ignores The First Amendment ===== https://urlin.us/2tvvP1

Meeting at the State House in Annapolis, the General Assembly changes, adds, and repeals laws through the legislative process of introducing and passing bills, or drafts of proposed legislation, which the Governor later signs into law. Current laws of the State are compiled in the Annotated Code of Maryland. State House, Annapolis, Maryland, June 2006. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.Bills1st Reading (introduction)2nd Reading (committee report)3rd Reading (floor vote)Budget BillVetoed BillsCommitteesConference CommitteeConsent CalendarMiller Senate Office Building, 11 Bladen St., Annapolis, Maryland, August 2010. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.Joint ResolutionsLaws, Effective Date ofLegislative ProcessBILLSThe State Constitution mandates that bills be limited to one subject clearly described by the title of the bill and be drafted in the style and form of the Annotated Code (Const., Art. III, sec. 29). The one-subject limitation and the title requirement are safeguards against fraudulent legislation and allow legislators and constituents to monitor a bill's progress more easily. Omnibus bills, common in the U.S. Congress, clearly are forbidden under Maryland law.Ideas for bills (proposed laws) come from many sources: constituents, the Governor, government agencies, legislative committees, study commissions, special interest groups, lobbyists and professional associations, for example. Each bill, however, must be sponsored by a legislator. At the request of legislators, bills are drafted to meet constitutional standards by the Department of Legislative Services until July (the Department starts to receive drafting requests in mid-April, shortly after the legislative session ends). During the interim between sessions, legislators meet in committees, task forces, and other groups to study and formulate bill proposals.From 2016 through 2020, the number of bills introduced per session has averaged 1,153 in the Senate and 1,642 in the House of Delegates. This volume of bills makes it difficult for each bill to get through the legislative process within the 90-day session. Therefore, legislators often try to introduce their bills as early as possible. A bill filed with the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Clerk of the House prior to the first day of a regular session is called a prefiled bill. Such a bill is introduced (i.e., read across the floor) and assigned to a standing committee on the opening day of a session, thus obtaining a head-start advantage. BUDGET BILLIn Maryland, the Constitution provides for an annual budget bill. Each year, the Governor presents a bill to the General Assembly containing the budget for State government for the next fiscal year. (In Maryland, the fiscal year begins July 1 and ends June 30.) The General Assembly may reduce the Governor's budget proposals, but it may not increase them. The budget, however, whether it is supplemented or amended, must be balanced; total estimated revenues always must be equal to or exceed total appropriations (Const., Art. III, sec. 52 (5a)).If the General Assembly has not acted upon the budget bill seven days before the expiration of a regular legislative session, the Governor by proclamation may extend the session for action to be taken on the bill. After both houses pass the budget bill, it becomes law without further action (Const., Art. III, sec. 52). The Governor may not veto the budget bill.JOINT RESOLUTIONSIn addition to bills, legislators introduce joint resolutions. Substantive in nature, joint resolutions express the will, opinion, or public policy of the General Assembly (Senate Rule 25; House Rule 25). They are subject to the same legislative process as are bills, and must be passed by both houses. After passage, however, they are not codified in the Annotated Code. Joint resolutions that pass both houses are numbered and printed in the session laws for that year. The Governor does not veto joint resolutions and may or may not sign them.Certain issues are required by law or the Constitution to be introduced in the form of a joint resolution and such joint resolutions have the force and effect of law. Examples include salary recommendations from the General Assembly Compensation Commission, the Governor's Salary Commission, and the Judicial Compensation Commission; reapportionment plans for General Assembly membership required after every decennial census; and amendments to the U.S. Constitution submitted for ratification.LEGISLATIVE PROCESSAfter the Department of Legislative Services drafts legislation in the form of a bill or a joint resolution, the sponsor files it (\"drops it into the hopper\") with the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Clerk of the House of Delegates. The bill or resolution is numbered, stamped for approval and codification by the Department of Legislative Services, and printed for first reading (Senate Rule 26; House Rule 26). Senate bills or resolutions appear on white paper and those for the House on blue paper.State House (from Maryland Ave.), Annapolis, Maryland, February 2007. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.The Constitution of Maryland requires that before any bill becomes law, it must be read on three different days in each legislative chamber, for a total of six readings. A bill may not be read for the third time in its house of origin until it has been reprinted. The Constitution also specifies that a bill must be passed in each house by a majority vote of the total membership, and the final vote on third reading in each house must be recorded.INTRODUCTION OF BILL (1st Reading of Bill)A bill may be introduced throughout the ninety days of a legislative session, but the later a bill is introduced, the more difficult its passage becomes. Any Senate bill introduced after the 24th calendar day of a session must be referred to the Senate Rules Committee, cannot be required to be returned to the floor except by a two-thirds vote of the membership, and may not be petitioned from the Rules Committee (Senate Rule 32). A House bill introduced after the 31st calendar day must be referred to the House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee, requires a two-thirds vote to be returned to the floor, and cannot be petitioned from the Rules and Executive Nominations Committee (House Rule 32). For a bill to be introduced during the last 35 days of a session, the rules must be suspended by a two-thirds vote (Const., Art. III, sec. 27). Except for the annual budget bill and bills creating or amending State debts, a House bill that crosses over to the Senate after the 76th day of session is subject to the same restrictions as is a bill introduced after the 24th day.COMMITTEESThe committee system of the General Assembly is a vital part of the legislative process. After introduction, a bill is assigned to a standing committee for review. Senate Standing Committees & House Standing Committees. Rules of each house require that every bill or joint resolution, with one exception, be referred to a standing committee after first reading (Senate Rule 33; House Rule 33). Standing committees are defined as those committees set forth in the Rules of the Senate or the Rules of the House of Delegates (Code State Government Article, sec. 2-101(f)). Their primary function is to consider all bills, or draft laws, referred to them by the Senate President or House Speaker. To review proposed legislation, the Senate has four standing committees, and the House has six such committees (Senate Rule 18; House Rule 18).Corridor, House Office Building, Maryland, April 2019. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.At the beginning of each session, the Senate President and House Speaker name the chairs, vice-chairs, and members of standing committees. A senator or delegate may not be appointed to more than one standing committee whose main function is to consider legislation. The Senate or House of Delegates may suspend rules in order to consider a bill or resolution without referring it to a standing committee as long as each member receives a copy of the bill or resolution to be so considered (Senate Rule 33(f); House Rule 33(f)).The fate of most legislative proposals is determined within the standing committee to which they are assigned. Committees hold a public hearing on each bill or joint resolution assigned to them. During session, the Department of Legislative Services issues a weekly hearing schedule so that those interested may testify for or against proposed legislation. The Department of Legislative Services prepares a fiscal and policy analysis for each bill, and these fiscal and policy notes are considered during committee deliberations. To gauge a bill's economic impact on small business, the Department of Legislative Services (since 1997) also prepares an economic analysis and rating for each proposal introduced by a member of the General Assembly.At the committee hearing, testimony usually is heard from the bill's sponsor and other proponents and opponents of the bill. Testimony and further consideration may result in amendments to the bill made by the committee. The final vote of the committee is recorded by member, and may be favorable (with or without amendment), unfavorable, or without recommendation. Having been \"voted out of committee,\" the bill now returns to the floor of its chamber of origin accompanied by a report of committee action.Select Committees. Bills having a purely local impact are referred to select committees. A select committee usually is composed of a county's delegation in the House or its senators, with other members appointed as necessary to make up the minimum number of three. Counties without home rule keep their select committees busy.CONSIDERATION OF COMMITTEE REPORT (2nd Reading of Bill)After consideration of committee amendments, the bill is then open to amendment from the floor. There, committee action may be reversed, although this happens infrequently. Second reading is completed when the presiding officer orders the bill, with an