Maryland Senate

Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, the first President of the Maryland Senate

The origins of the Maryland Senate lie in the creation of an assembly during the early days of the Maryland colony. This assembly first met in 1637, making it the longest continuously operating legislative body in the United States.[2] Originally, the assembly was unicameral, but in 1650, the Governor and his appointed council began serving as the upper house of a now bicameral legislature. These appointees had close political and economic ties to the proprietors of the Maryland colony, Cecilius Calvert and his descendants. Thus, the upper house in colonial times often disagreed with the lower house, which was elected, tended to be more populist, and pushed for greater legislative power in the colony.[3]

The upper house was briefly abolished during the English Civil War, as Puritan governors attempted to consolidate control and prevent the return of any proprietary influence. It was again abolished by Governor Josias Fendall in 1660, who sought to create a colonial government based on an elected unicameral legislature like that of the Virginia colony. The position of Governor was removed from the legislature in 1675, but for the following century, its function and powers largely remained the same.[3]

In 1776, following the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, Maryland threw off proprietary control and established a new constitution. Under this new constitution, the upper house of the General Assembly first became known as the Maryland Senate. The new body consisted of fifteen senators appointed to five-year terms by an electoral college. The college, made up of two electors from each county and one each from the cities of Baltimore and Annapolis, was required to select nine senators from the western shore and six from the eastern shore.[3]

The first election under the 1776 constitution took place in 1781, and the system would not change again until 1838. In the interim, a number of problems had cropped up in the appointment process. Under the 1776 constitution, the electoral college selected all of the State Senators, and faced no restrictions, other than the geographic requirement, in how they were selected. As a result, it was commonplace for the electoral college to select a State Senate entirely composed of one political party.[4] Only in 1826, when National Republicans won a majority on the electoral college with a pledge to elect a balanced Senate, was more than one party represented. That year, the electoral college selected 11 National Republicans and four Federalists.[5] Additionally, all vacancies in the State Senate were filled by the Senate itself, which frequently resulted in a disproportionately high share of the Senate having been appointed to fill vacancies. During one session, fourteen out of fifteen senators had been selected to fill vacancies.[4]

In 1836, tensions rose over the State Senate's composition. That year, the Democratic Party won 53% of the statewide vote for the electoral college, but ended up with only nineteen of forty electors. When the Whig electors planned to elect an all-Whig State Senate, the Democratic electors absconded, denying the electoral college a quorum. The refusal to elect a State Senate also prevented the election of a Governor, as Maryland's governors were elected by the legislature. Ultimately, however, the Democrats' position weakened following the State House elections the following month, when the Whigs won an overwhelming majority. The electors returned, providing a quorum, and an all-Whig Senate was elected.[4]

The controversy ultimately resulted in long-term changes to the body in 1838. The electoral college was abolished, terms were lengthened to six years with rotating elections such that a third of the senate would be elected every two years, a single Senator was chosen by direct election from each county and the City of Baltimore, and vacancies were filled by special elections. The Senate no longer acted as the Governor's Council, although they would continue to confirm the Governor's appointments. Constitutional changes altered this new system slightly in 1851, when terms were shortened to four years, and 1864, when Baltimore City was given three Senate districts rather than one, but substantial change to the structure of the Senate did not come again until 1964.[3]

In 1964, the Supreme Court ruled in Reynolds v. Sims that state legislative seats must be apportioned on the principle of one man, one vote. A number of state legislatures, including Maryland, had systems based on geography rather than population, and the court rules that this violated the 14th Amendment. Disproportionate population growth across Maryland since 1838 meant that the principle of one seat per county gave the voters of some counties, such as those on the eastern shore, disproportionate representation. Other counties, especially those in suburban areas, were underrepresented.[3]

A special session of the legislature in 1965 changed the Senate to represent 16 districts and reapportioned the seats, again by county, but did so in such a way as to make the representation more proportional to population than it had been. Thus, the eastern shore, which had previously elected nine senators, elected only four after 1965. This was done to preserve the ideal of having whole counties represented by a single Senator, rather than breaking counties up into multiple districts. A constitutional amendment in 1972 expanded the Senate to 47 members, elected from districts proportional to the population. These districts are reapportioned every ten years based on the United States Census to ensure they remain proportional.[3]

The Maryland Senate, as the upper house of the bicameral Maryland General Assembly, shares with the Maryland House of Delegates the responsibility for making laws in the state of Maryland. Bills are often developed in the period between sessions of the General Assembly by the Senate's standing committees or by individual senators. They are then submitted by senators to the Maryland Department of Legislative Services for drafting of legislative language. Between 2000 and 2005, an average of 907 bills were introduced in the Senate annually during the three-month legislative session. The bill is submitted, and receives the first of three constitutionally mandated readings on the floor of the Senate, before being assigned to a committee.[6] The decision about whether legislation passes is often made in the committees. Committees can hold legislation and prevent it from reaching the Senate floor. The recommendations of committees on bills carry tremendous weight; it is rare for the Senate as a whole to approve legislation that has received a negative committee report.[2] Once a committee has weighed in on a piece of legislation, the bill returns to the floor for second hearing, called the "consideration of committee" report, and a third hearing, which happens just before the floor vote on it.[6]

Once passed by the Senate, a bill is sent to the House of Delegates for consideration. If the House also approves the bill without amendment, it is sent to the Governor. If there is amendment, however, the Senate may either reconsider the bill with amendments or ask for the establishment of a conference committee to work out differences in the versions of the bill passed by each chamber. Once a piece of legislation approved by both houses is forwarded to the Governor, it may either be signed or vetoed. If it is signed, it takes effect on the effective date of the legislation, usually October 1 of that year. If it is vetoed, both the Senate and the House of Delegates must vote by a three-fifths majority to overturn the veto. They may not, however, overturn a veto in the first year of a new term, since the bill would have been passed during the previous session. Additionally, joint resolutions and the budget bill may not be vetoed, although the General Assembly is constitutionally limited in the extent to which it may influence the latter; it may only decrease the Governor's budget proposal, not increase it.[6]

Unlike the House of Delegates, the Senate has the sole responsibility in the state's legislative branch for confirming gubernatorial appointees to positions that require confirmation. After the Governor forwards his nomination to the Senate, the Executive Nominations Committee reviews the nominee and makes a recommendation for confirmation or rejection to the Senate as a whole.[7] Only one gubernatorial nominee in recent history has been rejected; Lynn Buhl, nominated as Maryland Secretary of the Environment by Governor Robert Ehrlich, was rejected over concerns about her qualifications.[8] The Senate also has sole responsibility for trying any persons that have been impeached by the House of Delegates. They must be sworn in before such a trial takes place, and a two-thirds majority is required for conviction of the impeached person.[9]

Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., President of the Maryland Senate 1987 to 2019

Maryland's Senate consists of senators elected from 47 Senate districts. While each senator has the power to introduce and vote on bills and make motions on the floor, various committees, caucuses, and leadership positions help to organize the work of the Senate. Senators elect a President of the Senate, who serves as the presiding officer of the chamber. They also elect a President Pro Tempore, who presides over the chamber when the President is absent.[12] The President of the Maryland Senate has significant influence over legislation that passes through the body through both formal means, such as his ability to appoint committee chairs and leaders of the majority party, and informal means that are less easily defined.[2][7][13] These powers place the President of the Maryland Senate among the strongest state legislature presiding officers in the country.[2]

Once legislation is introduced, it is passed to one of the standing committees of the Senate. There are six such committees.[7] As a whole, the Maryland General Assembly has fewer standing committees than any other state legislature in the United States. Each committee has between 10 and 15 members.[2] Four of the standing committees deal primarily with legislation; the Budget and Taxation Committee, the Education, Energy, and Environment Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Judicial Proceedings Committee.[7] The Chairs of these legislative committees have the power to determine whether their committees will hear a bill, and they therefore have significant influence over legislation.[2] The Executive Nominations Committee manages the Senate's responsibility to confirm gubernatorial appointments and makes recommendations of approval and disapproval to the body as a whole. Lastly, the Rules Committee sets the rules and procedures of the body. It also has the power to review legislation that has been introduced by a member of the Senate after the deadline for submission, and decide whether to refer it to a standing committee or let it die.[7] Along with serving on the Senate committees, members of the Senate also serve on a number of joint committees with members of the House of Delegates.[12]

While the committees are established by formal Senate rules, there are a number of caucuses that exercise significant influence over the legislative process. The most powerful of these are the Democratic Caucus and the Republican Caucus, each of which has a leader and a whip, referred to as a majority and minority leader and whip.[12] As Democrats currently control a majority of seats in the Senate, their leader is referred to as the Majority Leader, and their caucus is able to influence legislation to a greater extent than the Republican caucus. The Majority Leader and Minority leader are responsible for managing their party's participation in debate on the floor. Party caucuses also raise and distribute campaign money to assist their candidates.[2] The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland and Women Legislators of Maryland, caucuses of African-American and female Senators respectively, also play prominent roles in the Senate.[14]

Professional services for members of the Senate and the House of Delegates are provided by the Department of Legislative Services, which is non-partisan. Individual members are also assisted by partisan staff members, and those in leadership positions have additional partisan staff.[2] These staff members help to manage the offices of the senators. Each senator has one year-round administrative assistant, as well as a secretary who assists them during the legislative session. There is also an allowance given to help pay for district offices.[15]

Many rules and procedures in the Maryland Senate are set by the state constitution.[9] Beyond the constitutional mandates, rules in the Senate are developed by the Rules Committee.[7] The Senate and House of Delegates both meet for ninety days following the second Wednesday in January, although these sessions may be extended for up to thirty days by majority votes in both houses, and special sessions may be called by the Governor.[2] The Senate meets in the Senate Chamber of the Maryland State House, which has both gallery seating and a door open to the State House lobby, the latter being mandated by the state constitution.[9] Seating in the Senate is by party, with the leaders of each party choosing the exact seating assignments.[2] Each Senator has offices in Annapolis, in the Miller or James Senate Office Buildings.

A typical session of the Senate begins with a call to order by the President of the Senate. After the call to order, the previous day's journal is approved, petitions are heard, and orders involving committee and leadership appointments or changes to the rules are presented. First, readings of legislation take place. Senators are then given leeway to introduce any visitors, often people observing its deliberations from the gallery above the Senate chamber. Then the Senators consider legislation. They begin with unfinished business from the previous session, then consider legislation and special orders with accompanying reports from committees. At the discretion of the presiding officer, the Senate may adjourn at any time, unless a majority of members present object to adjournment.[24]

Lobbying is common in Annapolis; there are more than 700 lobbyists registered with the state. While lobbyists may spend freely on advocacy, they are limited in gifts to legislators and in their ability to contribute to campaigns.[2] Ethics issues related to lobbyists and other matters are handled by the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics, a twelve-member committee that includes six senators. Members of the Senate may turn to either this committee or an ethics counsel to help them resolve questions of potential ethical conflict. Members are encouraged to avoid conflicts of interest, and are required to submit public financial disclosures to the state. In addition to employment prohibitions laid out in the state constitution, members are barred from advocating for any paying client before any part of the state government.[24]

• Maryland Legislature
• Maryland House of Delegates
• Maryland state senate delegations
• Government of Maryland
• United States congressional delegations from Maryland#United States Senate

• Maryland General Assembly official government website
• State Senate of Maryland at Project Vote Smart
• Maryland Senate at Ballotpedia