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33-721: In 1789, the Allegany County Court was created by Act of the Maryland General Assembly . As part of the Act, Washington County had been subdivided and Allegany County, a name derived from the Indian word "Oolikhanna," meaning beautiful stream, was formed. Local historians have reported that the first court cases in Allegany County were held in the home of John Graham and court business was held in

66-470: A Green Street tavern owned by Abraham Faw. This was a temporary measure until a proper courthouse could be built. In 1793, the General Assembly authorized the construction of the county's first courthouse and jail, but it was not until 1799 that the courthouse was ready for use. This first courthouse was built for a sum of $ 3,062.50. In 1806, improvements were made by building records rooms for

99-456: A divorce from Catherine of Aragon and sitting from 1529 to 1536 made laws affecting all aspects of national life, but especially with regard to religious matters previously reserved to the church. Though acting at the behest and under the direction of the King and his leading minister, Thomas Cromwell , Parliament was acquiring universal legal competence and responsibility for all matters affecting

132-543: A standing committee for consideration and a public hearing. The president pro tempore appoints majority and minority whips and leaders. A bill is a proposal to change, repeal, or add to existing state law. A House Bill (HB) is one introduced in the House of Delegates (for example: HB 6); a Senate Bill (SB), in the Senate. Bills are designated by number, in the order of introduction in each house. For example, HB 16 refers to

165-658: A state ruled by the Palatine lord , Lord Baltimore. As ruler, Lord Baltimore owned directly all of the land granted in the charter, and possessed absolute authority over his domain. However, as elsewhere in British North America, British political institutions were re-created in the colonies, and the Maryland General Assembly fulfilled much the same function as the House of Commons . An act

198-649: Is submitted by the State Central Committee of the same political party as the legislator whose seat is to be filled. 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,

231-701: Is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis . It is a bicameral body : the upper chamber , the Maryland Senate , has 47 representatives, and the lower chamber , the Maryland House of Delegates , has 141 representatives. 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

264-587: The Clerk of Court and the Registrar of Wills for a total sum of $ 1200.00. In 1834, the courthouse had become too small for the county's increasing needs and a new courthouse was approved to be built for a sum of $ 5000.00. This new courthouse was completed in 1841. Thirty years later, in the 1860s, $ 75,000 in bonds were issued by the County Commissioners for the purpose of enlarging and remodeling

297-666: The English Civil War , in which the armed forces of Parliament were victorious. In December 1648 the House of Commons was purged by the New Model Army , which was supposed to be subservient to Parliament. Pride's Purge was the only military coup in English history. Subsequently, Charles I was beheaded and the Upper House was abolished. The unicameral Parliament that remained was later referred to by critics as

330-486: The Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style. The massing and detail of the courthouse are typical of this late 19th-century style, developed from the works of architect Henry Hobson Richardson . Characteristic of this style, the courthouse combines the use of brick highlighted with stone belt courses and presents a uniform rock-faced exterior finish. The building's ribbons of windows set deeply into

363-584: The Rump Parliament , as it consisted only of a small selection of Members of Parliament approved by the army – some of whom were soldiers themselves. In 1653, when leading figures in this Parliament began to disagree with the army, it was dissolved by Oliver Cromwell . However, the monarchy and the House of Lords were both restored with the Commons in 1660. The influence of the Crown had been decreased, and

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396-533: The civil wars of the late fifteenth century, which significantly diminished the power of the great noblemen. Both houses of Parliament held little power during the ensuing years, and the absolute supremacy of the Sovereign was restored. The domination of the monarch grew further under the House of Tudor in the early sixteenth century as Henry VII grew fiscally independent. The Reformation Parliament , called by Henry VIII after Cardinal Wolsey failed to secure

429-463: The Crown. In many cases, however, the council demanded the redress of the people's grievances before proceeding to vote on taxation. Thus, it developed legislative powers. The first parliament to invite representatives of the major towns was Montfort's Parliament in 1265. At the " Model Parliament " of 1295, representatives of the boroughs (including towns and cities) were admitted. Thus, it became settled practice that each county send two knights of

462-481: The General Assembly adjourned early on March 18, 2020, for the first time since the Civil War . Each senator or delegate must be a U.S. citizen and a resident of Maryland for at least one year preceding his or her election. A prospective legislator must have resided in the legislative district the candidate seeks to represent for the six months prior to election. A senator must be at least twenty-five years of age at

495-743: The Governor and his agencies and are not proposals of the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate, the Minority Leader, or the respective Committee Chair. They are listed with the official title of a legislator rather than the Governor due to requirements in the Maryland Constitution . The legislative procedure , is divided into distinct stages: House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England

528-531: The colonial Assembly ceased to exist, and was replaced by its modern successor. Starting in 1867, the Assembly became increasingly unrepresentative. As the population of Baltimore increased, it and other urban areas were not granted additional seats. By 1918, the city's population had increased 175% while the entire state gained only 46% with no reallocation of political power. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic ,

561-519: The conduct of its business, and may punish or expel its own members. The General Assembly convenes its legislative session for 90 days each year to act on more than 2,300 bills including the state's annual budget, which it must pass before adjourning sine die . The General Assembly's 446th session convened on January 10, 2024. The forerunner of the Maryland General Assembly was the colonial institution, an Assembly of Free Marylanders (and also Council of Maryland). Maryland's foundational charter created

594-616: The existing courthouse and for building a new jail. The courthouse was improved and used for the next 30 years, until it caught fire and was destroyed on January 5, 1893. Only the vaults of the Clerk of Court and Registrar of Wills were salvaged from the fire. The court has moved to the City Hall and Academy of Music building temporarily. Designed in 1893, the Courthouse was the first major commission of local architect Wright Butler . Butler based his design for this public building on

627-557: The knights and burgesses sitting in the latter. They formed what became known as the House of Commons, while the clergy and nobility became the House of Lords . Although they remained subordinate to both the Crown and the Lords, the Commons did act with increasing boldness. During the Good Parliament of 1376, the Commons appointed Peter de la Mare to convey to the Lords their complaints of heavy taxes, demands for an accounting of

660-496: 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

693-607: The major part of them ... shall think good. In addition, the Lord Proprietor could summon any delegates whom he desired. In 1639, noting that Parliament had not been summoned in England for a decade, the free men of Maryland passed an act to the effect that "assemblies were to be called once in every three years at the least", ensuring that their voices would be regularly heard. During the American Revolution

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726-452: The realm. When the House of Stuart came to the English throne in 1603, the dependence of the Crown on Parliament for sufficient revenue to fund the operations of government returned as an issue and point of leverage. The first two Stuart monarchs, James I and Charles I , provoked conflicts with the Commons over issues such as taxation, religion, and royal powers. The differences between Charles I and Parliament were great, and resulted in

759-444: The royal expenditures, and criticism of the King's management of the military. The Commons even proceeded to impeach some of the King's ministers. Although Mare was imprisoned for his actions, the benefits of having a single voice to represent the Commons were recognized, and the office which became known as Speaker of the House of Commons was thus created. Mare was soon released after the death of King Edward III and in 1377 became

792-409: The second speaker of the Commons. During the reign of the next monarch, Richard II , the Commons once again began to impeach errant ministers of the Crown. They began to insist that they could control both taxation and public expenditures. Despite such gains in authority, however, the Commons still remained much less powerful than the Lords and the Crown . The influence of the Crown was increased by

825-459: The shire were in a better position, although less powerful than their noble and clerical counterparts in what was still a unicameral Parliament. The division of the Parliament of England into two houses occurred during the reign of Edward III : in 1341 the Commons met separately from the nobility and clergy for the first time, creating in effect an Upper Chamber and a Lower Chamber, with

858-399: The shire, and that each borough send two burgesses . At first the burgesses were almost entirely powerless, and while the right to representation of each English county quickly became indisputable, the monarch could enfranchise or disfranchise boroughs at pleasure. Any show of independence by burgesses would thus be likely to lead to the exclusion of their towns from Parliament. The knights of

891-447: The sixteenth bill introduced in the House of Delegates. The numbering starts afresh each session. The names of the sponsor (and co-sponsors, if any), the legislator who introduced the bill, becomes part of the title. Bills listed as "The Speaker (By Request of Administration)", "The President (By Request of Administration)", "Minority Leader (By Request of Administration)", or "Committee Chair (By Request of Department)" are bills proposed by

924-462: 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. The Senate is led by a President and the House by a Speaker whose respective duties and prerogatives enable them to influence

957-460: The time of election and a delegate at least twenty-one. Military officers other than members of the reserves are not eligible for election to the General Assembly. Each term lasts four years. However, members of the General Assembly are not term-limited . If a vacancy occurs in either house through death, resignation, or disqualification, the Governor of Maryland appoints a replacement whose name

990-641: The walls, and large arched entry are also typical Richardsonian features. Less typical is the courthouse's tower buttressed with round columns that rises above the three-story building. Construction of the building was completed for a total cost of $ 97,000. One of the pinnacle examples of Richardson's work is the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , which Cumberland's Courthouse strongly resembles. Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly

1023-537: Was in turn replaced by the House of Commons of the United Kingdom . The Parliament of England developed from the Magnum Concilium that advised the English monarch in medieval times. This royal council, meeting for short periods, included ecclesiastics, noblemen, and representatives of the counties (known as " knights of the shire "). The chief duty of the council was to approve taxes proposed by

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1056-510: Was passed providing that: from henceforth and for ever everyone being of the council of the Province and any other gentleman of able judgement summoned by writ (and the Lord of every Manor within this Province after Manors be erected) shall and may have his voice, seat, and place in every General Assembly ... together with two or more able and sufficient men for the hundred as the said freedmen or

1089-463: Was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which incorporated Wales ) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain after the 1707 Act of Union was passed in both the English and Scottish parliaments at the time. In 1801, with the union of Great Britain and Ireland , that house

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