Maryland Senate - Powers and Legislative Process

Powers and Legislative Process

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 was 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. 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. 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.

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 it. 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.

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. 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. 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.