TH E M A RY L A N D GENER AL A SSEMBLY
D E PA R T M E N T O F
L E G I S L AT I V E S E R V I C E S
THE MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
DEPARTMENT OF
LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
For further information concerning this document contact:
Office of Policy Analysis
Department of Legislative Services
90 State Circle
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Baltimore Area: 410-946-5400
Washington Area: 301-970-5400
Other Areas: 1-800-492-7122, Ext. 5400
TTY: 410-946-5401 • 301-970-5401
Maryland Relay Service: 1-800-735-2258
Email: [email protected]
Home Page: http://mgaleg.maryland.gov
The Department of Legislative Services does not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry,
color, creed, marital status, national origin, race, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual
orientation, or disability in the admission or access to its programs, services, or activities.
The department’s Information Officer has been designated to coordinate compliance with
the nondiscrimination requirements contained in Section 35.107 of the Department of
Justice regulations. Requests for assistance should be directed to the Information Officer
at the telephone numbers shown above.
Revised December 2016
T
he Department of Legislative Services (DLS) of the Maryland General Assembly
is one of the oldest legislative staff agencies in the nation, maintaining a long and
proud tradition of providing nonpartisan, professional services for the State
legislature and the people of Maryland. Created in 1906 as the Department of Legislative
Reference, the agency’s original purpose was to provide drafting, library, and reference
services to the City Council of Baltimore. In 1916, the department also began to provide
professional support to the Maryland General Assembly during its legislative sessions in
Annapolis. This same staff also drafted the legislative package for the Governor and the
Executive Branch agencies. A Fiscal Research Bureau was established in the department in
1947 to provide budget and other fiscal services to the General Assembly and the
Governor.
In 1966, after 50 years of moving to Annapolis for the legislative sessions and returning
to Baltimore during each interim, the department was reorganized to provide services
exclusively to the Legislative Branch and, on its behalf, to the public. Two years later, a
separate agency, the Department of Fiscal Services, was created to assist with the
increasingly complex fiscal matters before the legislature. At the same time, the State
auditing function was transferred from the Executive Branch to the new fiscal
department. A third agency, the Office of Legislative Data Processing, was established in
1981 in response to growing technological needs. In 1997, the three previously separate
agencies were consolidated under the present Department of Legislative Services.
Today, as the central staffing agency for the Maryland General Assembly, DLS employs
more than 350 people who provide legal, fiscal, committee, research, reference, auditing,
administrative, and technological support to the members of the legislature and its
committees. Additionally, DLS serves as a major source of information about legislative
activity for the public.
The department, which maintains its principal offices in the Legislative Services Building
in Annapolis, performs its functions within four divisions:
The Office of the Executive Director (OED)
The Office of Policy Analysis (OPA)
The Office of Information Systems (OIS)
The Office of Legislative Audits (OLA)
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Legislative Services Building
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Offices
Office of the Executive Director
The Executive Director of the Department of Legislative Services has overall responsibility for
the administration of the department and its functions and activities. The Office of the
Executive Director (OED) performs services related to administration, finance, human
resources, and legislative document management (data entry, editing, graphic design, and
printing), both for the department and the General Assembly. The Ethics Counsel, who staffs
the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics and is responsible for advising legislators regarding
the application of the Ethics Law, is a part of this office. OED staff also manages the General
Assembly’s student intern and page programs.
Office of Policy Analysis
The Office of Policy Analysis (OPA) performs several major functions within the
Department of Legislative Services. OPA analysts provide legal, fiscal and policy analysis,
and committee support for the General Assembly. These activities include drafting
legislation and amendments, analyzing the State’s budget and economic posture, preparing
fiscal estimates of proposed legislation, revising State statutes, analyzing proposed executive
agency regulations, and undertaking studies and the preparation of reports on issues of
legislative concern. Analysts also staff standing, statutory, and special committees of the
General Assembly and often provide support to joint executive/legislative study groups, task
forces, and commissions. Evaluation of State programs and regulatory agencies is another
important function.
Library and Information Services staff within OPA provides reference, research, and
information services to the General Assembly, legislative staff, other government agencies,
and the public. The library serves as a repository for an extensive collection of legislative
documents, reports, and other materials. Staff responds to requests on a wide array of topics,
prepares various documents and publications, and provides legislative and general research
services for legislators and other staff. Additional responsibilities include providing
legislative and bill status information and managing the distribution of the department’s
publications. This unit also coordinates the General Assembly’s educational and visitor
programs and conducts workshops and orientations about the legislative process.
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Offices
Office of Information Systems
The Office of Information Systems (OIS) is the primary information technology support
group for the department and the General Assembly. Among the services provided by OIS
are the design, development, maintenance, and support of custom legislative systems for
legislative bill and amendment drafting, bill status, committee information, budget
analysis, fiscal and policy notes, and Senate and House chamber automation. The latter
includes software on laptop computers used by legislators, as well as the automated voting
and floor proceedings systems. OIS also supports numerous computers in the Annapolis
complex and operates the legislative data center and campus infrastructure and other
related facilities. Legislators have computers with integrated legislative office packages,
wireless capability, and Internet service. Staff is also responsible for computer-related
training activities. OIS maintains and manages the Maryland General Assembly website
at http://mgaleg.maryland.gov.
Office of Legislative Audits
The Office of Legislative Audits (OLA) is responsible for auditing agencies in the
Executive and Judicial branches of State government and reporting the findings to the
General Assembly’s Joint Audit Committee. The audits provide constructive
recommendations for improving State government operations. Staff conducts fiscal
compliance audits to determine whether an agency has properly managed its fiscal
operations, established effective systems and controls, used State resources as intended,
and complied with legal requirements; performance audits to evaluate whether an agency
or program is operating in an economic, efficient, and effective manner and has achieved
the desired program results; financial management audits of local school systems; and
audits of the State’s information systems. This office is located in Baltimore but conducts
audits throughout the State.
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Department of Legislative Services
Office of the Executive Director
Finance and
Administrative Services
Office of Policy
Analysis
Human Resources
Office
Office of Information
Systems
Ethics Counsel
Legislative Document
Management
Office of Legislative
Audits
Fiscal and
Policy Analysis
Legislation and
Committee
Support
Library and
Information
Services
Legislative
System
Development
Deputy
Legislative
Auditor
Director of
Fiscal
Compliance
Audits
Fiscal and
Policy Notes
Legislative
Drafting
Reference
Services
Infrastructure
and Member
Services
Director of
Information
Systems
Audits
Director of
Performance
Audits
Operating
Budget
Committee
Staffing
Information
Services
Technical
Support
Services
Capital
Budget
Acquisition
Services
Local
Government
Research
and Analysis
Cataloging
Services
SAP Technical
Services
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Director of
Quality
Assurance and
Professional
Development
The Senate Chamber
The House Chamber
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Services and Programs Provided by the
Department of Legislative Services
The following services and programs provided by the Department of Legislative
Services assist, whether directly or indirectly, the members of the General Assembly
to produce timely and effective legislation and benefit public participation in, and
knowledge of, the legislative process. The audit review function is designed to identify
ways to improve government, as well as to assess the accountability and performance
of State agencies.
Legislation and Amendments
Each year, more than 3,000 bills and joint resolutions are drafted and prepared by
departmental staff at the request of members of the Senate and the House of
Delegates. Approximately 2,600 of these proposals are introduced each session and
about 800 are passed and sent to the Governor for consideration. After bills are
introduced, the department plays a critical role in the legislative process by preparing,
reviewing, and processing individually sponsored and committee-initiated
amendments to legislation. Amendments are formalized changes to legislation and
can significantly alter the content and effect of the proposed law.
Fiscal Analysis and Review
In addition to the major task of analyzing the State of Maryland’s annual operating
and capital budgets, the department is also charged with evaluating executive agency
programs and the cost effectiveness of those programs, forecasting revenues and
expenditures, and analyzing State debt and debt management. Staff provides policy
analyses of fiscal issues, carries out management policy studies, evaluates the
effectiveness of Executive Branch agencies, and collects and publishes local
government fiscal data. When the General Assembly is in session, analysts present
recommendations on reductions before the budget committees and process the
operating and capital budgets and supporting documents. As well, staff prepares fiscal
and policy notes showing revenue and expenditure estimates for every bill introduced,
including analyses of the impact of proposed legislation on small business and other
background information.
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Services and Programs Provided by the Department of Legislative Services
Committee Staffing
The committee system is a vital component of the legislative process in Maryland, with
the standing committees of the Senate and House serving as the primary clearinghouse for
legislation considered during each session. The department furnishes professional staff
services for all of the standing committees of the General Assembly, as well as for the joint
statutory committees, special committees, and many of the task forces and commissions
established by legislative initiative or in cooperation with the Governor’s office. Staff also
supports a number of county and regional delegations in the Senate and the House. These
policy analysts provide advisory, administrative, legal, fiscal, and research support and
assistance throughout the year to committee chairmen and members in an objective,
nonpartisan manner.
Legal Analysis and Review
Legislative Services staff responds to requests from legislators for legal analysis pertinent
to legislation. Staff also periodically reviews decisions of the Court of Special Appeals and
the Court of Appeals and the opinions of the Attorney General that affect the State’s laws,
keeping members informed of court decisions that may raise issues for the legislature.
Similar analyses may be prepared for decisions of the federal courts. Annual supplements
to the charters of Maryland’s municipal corporations are also prepared as a part of the legal
review function. Staff also participates in the activities involved with the department’s
responsibility in program evaluation (sunset review) of various Executive Branch
regulatory boards, commissions, and agencies.
The department also assists the General Assembly in its oversight of the Executive Branch
by reviewing and analyzing regulations proposed for adoption by State agencies. The
purpose of the review is to ensure that agencies have acted in accordance with legislative
intent, that they did not exceed their statutory authority, and that they have complied
with public notice requirements.
Because federal legislation, both pending and enacted, may have an impact on Maryland
statutes or legislative proposals, the department periodically reviews legislative activity in
the United States Congress and makes assessments as to how federal law or legislation may
affect State law.
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Services and Programs Provided by the Department of Legislative Services
Audit Review
The department conducts fiscal compliance, performance, and financial statement
opinion audits of departments and units of State government. These audits are designed
to review and evaluate a wide range of management, administrative and financial
operations, and programs. In addition, Legislative Services is often called upon by the
General Assembly to assist in various special projects, ranging from the auditing of private
institutions receiving State funds to gathering data for special investigations. Staff may
also audit a county office or unit that collects State taxes and may review the audit reports
of local governments and taxing districts, community colleges, boards of education, and
library boards. Copies of audit reports and Legislative Audit Bulletins issued by the
department can be found on the Office of Legislative Audits’ website at
http://www.ola.state.md.us.
Code Revision
In 1970, the State committed to the preparation and enactment of a comprehensive
revision of the statutory body of law of Maryland, an endeavor which was supported by
legally trained staff in Legislative Services, with extensive review of each proposed revised
article by an independent, objective article review committee. With the enactment in
2016 of the Alcoholic Beverages Article, the last revised article of the Annotated Code of
Maryland, Legislative Services fulfilled its statutory duty to “complete the formal revision
of statutory law for the General Assembly.”
Although the formal code revision process ended in 2016, the statutory duties of
Legislative Services still include:
• making recommendations for the reclassification, rearrangement, renumbering,
rewording, and other formal revision of the public general laws of Maryland; and
• maintaining the clarity, simplicity, and consistency of style of statutory law.
Accordingly, the department is continuing the process by utilizing a more targeted,
limited approach to revise discrete areas of the law in need of revision.
Legislative Information
Information on the legislative process and status of legislation considered during each
annual session is collected and made available by the department in several ways:
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Services and Programs Provided by the Department of Legislative Services
• The Maryland General Assembly’s website at http://mgaleg.maryland.gov, developed
and maintained by the Office of Information Systems, contains: bill status information;
text of bills/amendments; synopses of bills; bills indexed by sponsor, subject, and statute;
floor proceedings; floor and committee votes; hearing schedules; fiscal and policy notes;
budget information; video (live and on-demand) of committee meetings; and video
tutorials. The weekly Legislative Wrap-Up, published during each session, and the
post-session 90 Day Report are among the numerous documents and publications posted
on the site. Prior session information may be obtained beginning with 1996. Users may
also determine who their legislators are and send them email. Information on the
resources and services of the Department of Legislative Services is also available on the
website, as is access to the department’s library catalog and to the Maryland statutes.
• Information on legislative activity is also available through the staff of Library and
Information Services (LIS). The Library and its Information Desk, in the basement of the
Legislative Services Building, are open all year. A second Information Desk in the State
House is open during session. Staff is available to answer questions, provide assistance,
and distribute all legislative documents and departmental publications including the daily
Synopsis, the Committee Meetings and Hearing Schedule, amendments, floor and
committee votes, and various reports. The public also may telephone for information
from anywhere in Maryland toll-free or email their requests and questions to LIS at
[email protected].
• LIS staff also coordinates the General Assembly’s educational and visitor programs for
students, constituents, public interest groups, and international dignitaries, many of
whom are legislators in their own countries. Staff arranges and conducts programs
throughout the year, customizing each visit to the group’s interests, and provides
appropriate packets of legislative materials for these groups. Workshops and orientations
relating to the legislative process and the General Assembly are conducted on request.
Library and Information Services
The department’s library provides reference services to members of the General Assembly,
legislative staff, other State agencies, and members of the public. It is supported by a team
of professional legislative librarians specializing in research, indexing, acquisitions, and
cataloging, as well as other staff experienced in standard library activities. Through the
combined efforts of these groups, the library is responsive to the needs of the General
Assembly by keeping abreast of current issues that ultimately affect State government.
They perform computer searches of proposed legislation, prepare 50-state legislative
reports, and create subject databases. The library staff is also responsible for the subject
indexing of legislation, as well as the indexing for the House and Senate Journals and the
Maryland Session Laws. The library contains a collection of over 125,000 volumes that
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Services and Programs Provided by the Department of Legislative Services
includes Maryland’s laws, county codes, and municipal charters, as well as decisions of the
Court of Appeals and Court of Special Appeals, opinions of the Attorney General, State
agency reports and publications, the U.S. and other states’ codes, decisions of the federal
courts, numerous legal and general reference materials, and nearly 200 legal and general
periodicals and newspapers. There is a newspaper clippings file arranged by subject that
was started in 1967, and has been available to search through online resources since 2009.
Members and staff may borrow from the library and interlibrary loan is available. The
public may use the library, but may not borrow. The library catalog is accessible on the
Maryland General Assembly website.
Information Services provides legislative information from its Information Desks through
toll-free telephone lines, by mail, email, and in person. This information includes bill
statuses, committee assignments, hearing dates, votes, floor proceedings, and
amendments. Bill status and other legislative information is also available on the bill status
system via public terminals located throughout the legislative complex. Information
Services is also the distribution center for Department of Legislative services’ reports and
publications.
Legislative Bill Room, Subscription, and Bin Services
The bill room serves as the central distribution point for all versions of bills and chapter
laws from the most current session. Up to five copies of a bill are available to the public
on request without charge. The department also operates a subscription mailing service
for those interested in obtaining bills, hearing schedules, synopses, “advance sheets” and
bound volumes of the laws, and journals of House and Senate proceedings on a regular
basis. In addition, for a fee, there is a “bin” or pickup service for anyone who is interested
in picking up bills and other legislative documents at one location in Annapolis on a
regular basis. These operations are located on the ground floor of the Legislative Services
Building.
Legislative Intern and Student Page Programs
The General Assembly’s Legislative Intern Program provides approximately 100 college
and university students the opportunity to provide research and staff assistance to
legislators during each session and to experience an educational, practical experience in
the Legislative Branch of State government. In the Student Page Program, selected
Marylands high school seniors learn about the legislative process by assisting legislators
with tasks in the respective chambers. Participants in both programs are awarded stipends
to defray expenses.
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The Legislative Process
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Documents and Publications Prepared
by the Department of Legislative Services
Session-oriented
(Available on the Maryland General Assembly website and in print copy)
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Bills and Joint Resolutions
Amendments and Conference Committee Reports
Synopses of Bills and Joint Resolutions
Proceedings of Senate and House Floor Sessions (daily)
Committee Meetings and Hearing Schedules and Addenda
(published weekly year-round)
Fiscal and Policy Notes for Bills and Joint Resolutions
Analysis of the Maryland Executive Budget
Official Dates of Interest Calendar
Bill Analyses and Floor Reports (for selected committees)
Roster and List of Committees
Legislative Drafting Manual and Maryland Style Manual for Statutory Law
Compilation of the Changes in the Public Local Laws
Issue Papers (forecasts for each session)
The 90 Day Report (post-session review of legislation)
Indexes of Legislation by Subject, Sponsor, Committee, Article/Section
Number
Final Status of Bills
Synopsis of Laws
Laws of Maryland (paperbound and hardbound)
Vetoed Bills and Messages from Governor
Journals of the Senate and House of Delegates
Effect of the Legislative Program on the Financial Condition of the State
(Fiscal Effects Report)
Annapolis Reports (post-session newsletters)
Legislative Wrap-Up (weekly)
The Major Issues Review (summary of legislative activity over a 4-year term)
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Documents and Publications Prepared by the Department of Legislative Services
General Documents
(Available on the Maryland General Assembly website and in print copy)
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Maryland Constitution with the United States Constitution
Roster and Interim List of Committees
Summary Reports of Committees to the Legislative Policy Committee
Local Government Finances in Maryland
Effect of Long-term Debt on the Financial Condition of the State
Constitutional Amendments and Referendum Issues Analyses
Interim Dates of Interest Calendar
Maryland Documents (monthly documents list)
Legislative Handbook Series (nine volumes on topics such as State
government, the budget process and revenue structure, local government,
business regulation, and the criminal and juvenile justice process in
Maryland)
Charters of Municipal Corporations
Gubernatorial Appointments Lists
Your Voice in Annapolis (guide to the General Assembly)
Accessing the Department of Legislative Services, A Quick Guide to Services
Provided to the Maryland General Assembly
Miscellaneous reports, flyers, and brochures
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Department of Legislative Services
90 State Circle
Annapolis, Maryland 21401-1991
For general legislative information, documents, and publications contact:
Library and Information Services
Baltimore Area
410-946-5400
Washington, DC Area
301-970-5400
Other Maryland Areas
1-800-492-7122
ext. 5400
TTY
410-946/301-970-5401
TTY users may also call 711 or the Maryland Relay Service
to contact the General Assembly
Email
[email protected]
Maryland General Assembly website
http://mgaleg.maryland.gov
To request the subscription mailing
service or pickup service for legislative
documents, contact:
Legislative Distribution Center
410-946/301-970-5065
12/2016