67-659: The Maryland General Assembly 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
134-506: A Senator leaves office before their eight-year term ends, the first substitute takes their place, and then the second if needed. On the other hand, in political systems with a culture of by-elections, filling vacancies under Block Voting can be harder than in other voting methods. This is because by-elections to fill a single seat in a multi-member district can be expensive. In the Philippine Senate that has staggered elections ,
201-401: A bill from a committee", which led to subsequent reforms. Reports of Committee After a committee has completed work on a bill, it reports the bill to the appropriate house during the "reports of committees" in the daily order of business. Reported bills are immediately given a second reading. The houses do not vote on a bill at the time it is reported; however, reported bills are placed on
268-562: A committee to "kill" a bill, sometimes without even a public vote; in Colorado, the power was notably repealed in a citizen initiative constitutional amendment in 1988 driven by various reform groups. When a committee refuses to vote a bill out of committee, a discharge petition can be passed by the broader membership. The specifics vary from state to state; for example, in 2004, a report found that New York State "places more restrictions than any other state legislature on motions to discharge
335-496: A landslide. While many criticize block voting's tendency to create landslide victories, some cite it as a strength. Since the winners of a block voting election generally represent the same slate or group of voters, there is greater agreement among those elected, potentially leading to a reduction in political gridlock . Block plurality voting, like single-winner plurality voting , is particularly vulnerable to tactical voting . Supporters of relatively unpopular third parties have
402-506: A majority party, this is known as the majority being "rolled". When there are bills which most of the majority oppose, roll rates are a measure of the majority party's avoidance of voting on those bills. Committee review Committees review bill, often holding hearings to gather information and opinions, and can propose amendments to bill similar to legislative bodies throughout the world. Most bills cannot be enacted into law until it has been referred to, acted upon by, and returned from,
469-615: A minor party which has only nominated one candidate. Thus, block voting may look like single non-transferable voting . This system sometimes fosters the creation of an electoral alliance between political parties or groups as opposed to a coalition . This has been the case in the National Assembly of Mauritius ; the New Hampshire House of Representatives , with the election of multiple Free State Project as well as New Hampshire Liberty Alliance members; and in
536-403: A number of features which can make it unrepresentative of the voters' intentions. Block voting regularly produces complete landslide majorities for the group of candidates with the highest level of support. Additionally, like first past the post methods, if there are many parties running and voters do not engage in tactical voting , a small cohesive group of voters, making up only a minority of
603-483: A series of checkboxes, preferential block voting uses a preferential ballot . A slate of clones of the top preferred candidate will win every seat under both systems, however in preferential block voting this is instead the instant-runoff winner. In Brazil, where Senatorial elections alternate between FPTP and block voting, each main candidate is registered along with two substitutes. Votes in either election are cast and counted based on these three-candidate slates; when
670-414: A single round of voting. The party-list version of block voting is party block voting (PBV), also called the general ticket , which also elects members by plurality in multi-member districts. In such a system, each party puts forward a slate of candidates, a voter casts just one vote, and the party winning a plurality of votes sees its whole slate elected, winning all the seats. Plurality block voting
737-542: 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
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#1732766072152804-417: A standing committee in each house. Reference to committee usually follows the first reading of the bill. Each committee is set up to consider bills relating to a particular subject. Standing committees are charged with the important responsibility of examining bills and recommending action to the Senate or House. Often on days when a legislature is not in session, the committees of each house meet and consider
871-528: A substantial incentive to avoid wasted votes by casting all of their votes for a slate of candidates from a major party. Parties in block voting systems can also benefit from strategic nomination . Coalitions are actively hurt when they have more candidates than there are seats to fill, as vote-splitting will occur. Similarly, a coalition has a substantial incentive to nominate a full slate of candidates, as otherwise supporting voters may cast some of their remaining votes for opposing candidates. Bullet voting
938-444: Is a strategy in which a voter only votes for a single candidate in an attempt to stop them being beaten by additional choices. Because the voter is essentially wasting a portion of their vote, bullet voting is only a good strategy when the voter has a strong preference for their favorite and is unsure of, and/or indifferent to, the other candidates' relative chances of winning, for example, if the voter supports an independent candidate or
1005-433: Is a type of block voting method for multi-winner elections . Each voter may cast as many votes as the number of seats to be filled. The candidates with the most votes are elected. The usual result when the candidates divide into parties is that the most-popular party in the district sees its full slate of candidates elected, even if the party does not have support of majority of the voters. The term plurality at-large
1072-399: Is available to ensure that legislation and accompanying discussion proceed as orderly as possible without bias. Bill drafting and submission The lawmaking process begins with the introduction of a bill in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. Bills may be introduced in either house, sometimes with the exception of bills increasing or decreasing revenue, which must originate in
1139-540: Is called the Nebraska Legislature , but its members are called state senators. The first bicameral American legislature was formed in 1619 as the Virginia House of Burgesses . The legislatures of the initial Thirteen Colonies usually consisted of an elected lower house and an appointed upper house , the latter of which also functioned as an advisory council to the colonial governor. After
1206-559: Is distinct from party block voting . In a block voting election, all candidates run against each other for m number of positions, where m is commonly called the district magnitude. Each voter selects up to m candidates on the ballot. Each of the voters have m votes, and are able to cast no more than one per candidate. They cannot vote for the same candidate more than once, as is permitted in cumulative voting . Voters are permitted to cast their votes across candidates of different parties ( ticket splitting ). The m candidates with
1273-488: Is done by committees. The legislature as a whole relies on its committees to report out only those bills deserving the consideration of the entire house. Through standing committees, each bill is addressed by a group of members who have special knowledge of its subject. Some members of the legislature have expert knowledge of particular subjects of legislation, and these members are usually placed on committees to take full advantage of this specialized knowledge. For this reason,
1340-711: Is headquartered in Denver, Colorado and has a lobbying office in Washington, D.C. Additionally, privately funded organizations with ideological leanings have annual meetings attracting many legislators. These include the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative organization, and the State Innovation Exchange (SIX), its progressive counterpart. As of 2017, 24 of 99 chambers have limits on
1407-410: Is in common usage in elections for representative members of a body who are elected or appointed to represent the whole membership of the body (for example, a city, state or province, nation, club or association). Where the system is used in a territory divided into multi-member electoral districts the system is commonly referred to as "block voting" or the "bloc vote". These systems are usually based on
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#17327660721521474-413: Is not considered by the full house, the bill is defeated. The house of origin, upon return of its amended bill, may take any one of several courses of action. It may concur in the amendment by the adoption of a motion to that effect; then the bill, having been passed by both houses in identical form, is ready for enrollment. Another possibility is that the house of origin may adopt a motion to non-concur in
1541-649: 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,
1608-1763: Is the country with the most extensive experience in plurality-at-large voting. Positions where there are multiple winners usually use plurality-at-large voting, the exception is the election for sectoral representatives in the House of Representatives . The members of the Senate and all local legislatures are elected via this method. The members of the Interim Batasang Pambansa (the parliament) were also elected under this method in 1978 . The following countries use block plurality voting (not including party block voting using plurality) in their national electoral systems: Two-round system (TRS) in single-member districts, two-round block voting (BV) in dual-member districts, and List PR (simple quota largest remainder; closed-list) in larger districts + twice 20 nationally List PR (one set of 20 reserved for women) Block plurality voting (BV) in single nationwide constituency for 16 seats; D'Hondt method (8 seats) First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 14 seats + Block plurality voting 6 seats All cantons, except: First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in local constituencies + Block plurality voting (BV) nationwide First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts, Block plurality voting (BV) in multi-member districts seats + Block plurality voting (BV) nationwide First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts + Block plurality voting (BV) nationwide First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts + Block plurality voting (BV) nationwide Other countries using block voting: In France ,
1675-586: The American Revolution and the establishment of the United States, most states wrote new constitutions which had direct elections for both chambers of the legislature. This model helped influence the U.S. Constitution and was then adopted by new states which later joined the union . Members of the smaller chamber represent more citizens and usually serve for longer terms than members of the larger chamber, generally four years. In 41 states,
1742-476: The American Revolution 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
1809-627: The COVID-19 pandemic , 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
1876-437: The U.S. Senate , because that chamber's makeup is prescribed by the U.S. Constitution .) During a legislative session , the legislature considers matters introduced by its members or submitted by the governor. Businesses and other special interest organizations often lobby the legislature to obtain beneficial legislation, defeat unfavorably perceived measures, or influence other legislative action. A legislature also approves
1943-576: The United States , the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states . A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at the national level. Generally, the same system of checks and balances that exists at the federal level also exists between the state legislature, the state executive officer (governor) and
2010-602: The Vermont Senate , with the elections of Vermont Progressive Party members Tim Ashe and Anthony Pollina . Historically, similar situations arose within the multi-member constituencies in the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Block voting, or block plurality voting, is often compared with preferential block voting as both systems tend to produce landslide victories for similar candidates. Instead of
2077-404: The governor and to try articles of impeachment. (In a few states, a separate executive council, composed of members elected from large districts, performs the confirmation function.) Nebraska originally had a bicameral legislature like the other states, but the lower house was abolished following a referendum, effective with the 1936 elections. The remaining unicameral (one-chamber) legislature
Maryland General Assembly - Misplaced Pages Continue
2144-477: The "ward system" which is a municipal adaptation of single member plurality. The sole exception is London, Ontario which has recently changed to the Alternative Vote . When Toronto was amalgamated in 1997, the new entity's first election used a similar rule. From 1871 to 1988, British Columbia had some multi-member ridings using plurality-at-large, and others elected under single member plurality , with
2211-752: 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: State legislature (United States) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] In
2278-418: The House of Representatives. The order of business in each house provides a proper time for the introduction of bills. Bills are usually assigned consecutive numbers, given in the order of their introduction, to facilitate identification. Usually a bill cannot become enacted until it has been read on a certain number of days in each house. Upon introduction, a bill is usually read by its title only, constituting
2345-655: The Maryland General Assembly was the colonial institution, an Assembly of Free Marylanders (and also Council of Maryland). Maryland's foundational charter created 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
2412-847: The National Conference of The Council of State Governments (CSG), headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, with offices in Washington, DC; New York City; Chicago; Atlanta; and Sacramento, and at the annual meetings of CSG's regions, The Southern Legislative Conference, The Midwestern Legislative Conference, the Eastern Regional Conference and CSG West, and at the Legislative Summit of the National Conference of State Legislatures , which
2479-706: The amendment, at which point the bill dies. Finally, the house of origin may refuse to accept the amendment but request that a conference committee be appointed. The other house usually agrees to the request, and the presiding officer of each house appoints members to the conference committee. Conference committees Plurality-at-large voting Condorcet methods Positional voting Cardinal voting Quota-remainder methods Approval-based committees Fractional social choice Semi-proportional representation By ballot type Pathological response Strategic voting Paradoxes of majority rule Positive results Plurality block voting
2546-494: The basis of representation in most state legislatures was modeled on that of the U.S. Congress : the state senators represented geographical units, while members of the larger chamber represented population. In Reynolds v. Sims the Supreme Court decided upon the one man, one vote standard for state legislatures and invalidated representation based on geographical units regardless of population. (The ruling does not affect
2613-428: The bill, the entire legislature gives consideration to its passage. At this time, the bill may be studied in detail, debated, amended, and read at length before final passage. If the majority vote in favor of the bill, it is recorded as passed. Transmission to second house A bill that is passed in one house is transmitted, along with a formal message, to the other house. If the bill is not reported from committee or
2680-413: The bills that have been referred to them to decide if the assigned bills should be reported for further action. For most bills, the recommendations of the committee are followed, although either house is free to accept or reject the action of the committee. Bills reported favorably by a committee may be placed on a regular calendar (the agenda of the deliberative body). Most of the work of the legislature
2747-421: The calendar for the next legislative day. This second reading is made by title only. The regular calendar is a list of bills that have been favorably reported from committee and are ready for consideration by the membership of the entire house. Third reading Regardless of where a bill is placed on the calendar, once the bill is considered and adopted, this is called the third reading. At this third reading of
Maryland General Assembly - Misplaced Pages Continue
2814-589: The colonies, and the Maryland General Assembly fulfilled much the same function as the House of Commons . An act 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
2881-423: The election of municipal councilors takes place by majority vote plurinominal, in two rounds with panachage : In British Columbia , Canada, all local governments are elected using bloc voting for city councils and for other multi-member bodies (there called "at-large" voting). In other Canadian provinces, smaller cities are generally elected under plurality-at-large, while larger cities are generally elected under
2948-424: The first reading of the bill. Because a bill is usually read by title only, it is important that the title give the members notice of the subject matter contained in the bill. A 2013 study of state legislatures found that of the 99 studied, about half, 53, had roll rates below 5% . And most, 83, had roll rates below 10% . When a bill passes where most votes are from the minority party and "moderate" members of
3015-546: The hundred as the said freedmen or 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
3082-567: The larger chamber is called the House of Representatives. Five states designate the larger chamber the assembly, three states call it the House of Delegates, and one has just one chamber. Members of the larger chamber usually serve for terms of two years. The larger chamber customarily has the exclusive power to initiate taxing legislation and articles of impeachment . Prior to the United States Supreme Court decisions Baker v. Carr (1962) and Reynolds v. Sims (1964),
3149-496: 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
3216-608: The legislature is considered full-time, the session may last all year, with periodic breaks for district work. Some states have varying lengths for odd-numbered and even-numbered years, or allow for a fixed number of either legislative or calendar days. Georgia for example, allows only 40 legislative days per year, and Wyoming allows 60 legislative days per term and no more than 40 per one calendar year. Whereas in Michigan , New Jersey , New York (in odd-numbered years), Ohio , Pennsylvania and Wisconsin (in odd-numbered years),
3283-452: The legislature often accepts the final recommendations of its standing committees. As has been noted, however, the legislature does not completely abdicate its responsibility for the consideration of pending bills. If the need arises, the members of either house can force a committee to take action on a bill, or they can ignore the committee's recommendations. Pocket veto and discharge petitions Pocket veto powers are common, which allows
3350-862: The legislature the legislative assembly . The responsibilities of a state legislature vary from state to state, depending on state's constitution . The primary function of any legislature is to create laws. State legislatures also approve budget for state government. They may establish government agencies, set their policies, and approve their budgets. For instance, a state legislature could establish an agency to manage environmental conservation efforts within that state. In some states, state legislators elect other officials, such as governor. State legislatures often have power to regulate businesses operating within their jurisdiction. They also regulate courts within their jurisdiction. This includes determining types of cases that can be heard, setting court fees, and regulating attorney conduct. Other responsibilities Under
3417-399: The manner of appointing the state's presidential electors . Formerly, state legislatures appointed the U.S. Senators from their respective states until the ratification of the 17th Amendment in 1913 required the direct election of senators by the state's voters. Sometimes what the legislature wishes to accomplish cannot be done simply by the passage of a bill, but rather requires amending
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#17327660721523484-414: The most votes (who may or may not obtain a majority of available votes or support from the majority of the voters) are declared elected and will fill the positions. Due to multiple voting, when a party runs more than one candidate, it is impossible to know if the party had support of as many voters as the party tally of votes (up to number of voters participating in the election) or if it had support of just
3551-401: The number of bills that a legislator can introduce per year according to NCSL . Most limits are set by internal legislative rules, while Louisiana's legislature is limited by constitutional amendment. Generally, the legislative bodies and their committees use either Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure or an amended form thereof. During official meetings, a professional parliamentarian
3618-486: The number of each varying from one election to the next. Other Canadian provincial legislatures have in the past used plurality-at-large or single transferable vote , but now all members of provincial legislatures are exclusively elected under single-member plurality. In Hong Kong , block voting is used for a tiny proportion of the territory's population to elect the members of the Election Committee , which
3685-433: The number of voters equivalent to the votes received by the most popular candidate and the other candidates of that party merely received votes from subset of that group. Candidates are running in a three-member district; each of the 10,000 voters may cast three votes (but do not have to). Voters may not cast more than one vote for a single candidate. Party A has about 35% support among the electorate, Party B around 25% and
3752-428: The qualifications and election of its own members, establishes rules for 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
3819-558: The remaining voters primarily support independent candidates. Candidates of Party A won in a landslide, even though they only received a plurality (35–37%) among the voters (10,000). This is because most parties run as many candidates as there are open seats and voters of a party usually do not split their ticket, but vote for all candidates of that party. By contrast, a single transferable vote system would likely elect 1 candidate from party A, 1 candidate from party B and 1 independent candidate in this scenario. The block voting system has
3886-469: The seat is filled up on the next scheduled election, such as in 1951, 1955 and 2001. There are alternative ways of selecting a replacement in such systems: one way is to fill any seat that becomes empty by appointing the most popular unsuccessful candidate in the last election, i.e. a countback . This was used in the City of Edmonton (Canada) following the 1905 Edmonton municipal election . The Philippines
3953-400: The sessions usually last all year. Four state legislatures – Montana , Nevada , North Dakota and Texas – meet only biennially. In the early 1960s, only 19 legislatures met annually, but by the mid-1970s, it had increased to 41. The latest legislature to switch to annual sessions was Oregon in 2011, following a voter-approved ballot measure. Many state legislators meet every year at
4020-447: 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
4087-420: The state judiciary . A state is permitted to use a parliamentary system , or any other system of government, if it so desired. In 27 states, the legislature is called the legislature or the state legislature , while in 19 states the legislature is called the general assembly . In Massachusetts and New Hampshire , the legislature is called the general court , while North Dakota and Oregon designate
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#17327660721524154-414: The state constitution. Each state has specified steps intended to make it difficult to alter the constitution without the sufficient support of either the legislature, or the people, or both. All states except Nebraska have a bicameral legislature. The smaller chamber is called the senate, usually referred to as the upper house. This chamber usually has the exclusive power to confirm appointments made by
4221-488: The state's operating and capital budgets, which may begin as a legislative proposal or a submission by the governor. In most states, a new state legislature convenes in January of the odd-numbered year after the election of members to the larger chamber. The period during which the legislature remains in session varies by state. In states where the legislature is considered part-time, a session may last several months; where
4288-450: The terms of Article V of the U.S. Constitution , state lawmakers retain the power to ratify Constitutional amendments which have been proposed by both houses of Congress and they also retain the ability to call for a national convention to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution. After the convention has concluded its business 75% of the states will ratify what the convention has proposed. Under Article II , state legislatures choose
4355-462: 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
4422-460: 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
4489-399: The voters, can elect all the open seats by merely constituting a plurality . Under block voting, a slate of clones of the top-place candidate may win every available seat. A voter does have the option to vote for candidates of different political parties if they wish, but if the largest group of voters have strong party loyalty, there is nothing the other voters or parties can do to prevent
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