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Maryland House of Delegates
| Maryland House of Representatives | |
 | |
| General Information | |
| Type: | Lower house |
| Term limits: | None |
| 2012 session start: | January 11, 2012 |
| Website: | Official House Page |
| Leadership | |
| House Speaker: | Michael Busch, (D) |
| Majority Leader: | Kumar Barve, (D) |
| Minority leader: | Anthony O'Donnell, (R) |
| Structure | |
| Members: | 141 |
| Democratic Party (98) Republican Party (43) | |
| Length of term: | 4 years |
| Authority: | Art III, Maryland Constitution |
| Salary: | $43,500/year + per diem |
| Elections | |
| Last Election: | November 2, 2010 (141 seats) |
| Next election: | November 4, 2014 (141 seats) |
| Redistricting: | General Assembly has control |
Meeting place: | |
Contents |
Each member represents an average of 40,947 residents, as of the 2010 Census.[2]
Sessions
Article III of the Maryland Constitution establishes when the Maryland General Assembly, of which the House of Delegates is a part, is to be in session. Section 14 of Article III states that the General Assembly is to convene in regular session every year on the second Wednesday of January.
Section 14 also contains the procedures for convening extraordinary sessions of the General Assembly. If a majority of the members of each legislative house petition the Governor of Maryland with a request for an extraordinary session, the Governor is constitutionally required to proclaim an extraordinary session.
Article II of the Maryland Constitution also gives the Governor of Maryland the power to proclaim an extraordinary session without the request of the General Assembly.
2012
- See also: Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions
In 2012, the House will be in session from January 11 through April 19.
Major issues
Governor Martin O'Malley (D) has said 2012 is the year for a massive public works program to create jobs. Legislators are looking to boost revenue through increases in gas and sewer taxes and are considering expanding gambling in the state. Democrats are also looking to legalize same-sex marriage.[3]
2011
In 2011, the House was in session from January 12 through April 11. [4] A special redistricting session is planned for week of October 17, however an exact date is not yet known.[5]
2010
In 2010, the Maryland General Assembly was in session from January 13th to April 12th. [6]
Elections
2010
Elections for the office of Maryland House of Delegates were held in Maryland on November 2, 2010. The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was July 6, 2010 and the primary election day was on September 14, 2010.
In 2010, candidates running for state house raised a total of $14,870,197 in campaign contributions. The top 10 donors were: [7]
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Maryland Realtors Association | $194,083 |
| Service Employees DC & Maryland State Council 54 | $174,800 |
| Kramer, Benjamin F | $139,900 |
| Fisher, Mark & Deena | $128,944 |
| Maryland Education Association | $126,253 |
| Atterbeary, Vanessa E | $108,010 |
| Kelly, Ariana M | $99,454 |
| Beyer, Dana | $99,000 |
| Albin, Laurel | $95,259 |
| MCGEO Food & Commercial Workers Local 1994 | $91,550 |
Qualifications
Section 9 of Article 3 of the Maryland Constitution states, "A person is eligible to serve as a Senator or Delegate, who on the date of his election, (1) is a citizen of the State of Maryland, (2) has resided therein for at least one year next preceding that date, and (3) if the district which he has been chosen to represent has been established for at least six months prior to the date of his election, has resided in that district for six months next preceding that date.
If the district which the person has been chosen to represent has been established less than six months prior to the date of his election, then in addition to (1) and (2) above, he shall have resided in the district for as long as it has been established.
A person is eligible to serve as a Senator, if he has attained the age of twenty-five years, or as a Delegate, if he has attained the age of twenty-one years, on the date of his election."
Vacancies
| How Vacancies are filled in State Legislatures |
 |
The Governor is responsible for filling all vacancies in the House of Representatives[8].
The Governor has 30 days after the vacancy to make an appointment based onthe recommendations of the political party committee that holds the vacant seat. The political party committee has up to 30 days after the vacancy to submit a list of recommended candidates to the Governor. If the party committee fails to act within the 30 day deadline, the Governor has 15 days to appoint a person from the political party that last held the seat[9].
The person appointed to the seat serves for the remainder of the unfilled term[10].
Representatives
Partisan composition
- See also: Partisan composition of state houses
| Party | As of May 2012 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 98 | |
| Republican Party | 43 | |
| Total | 141 | |
Leadership
The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the body and is elected by the membership. The Speaker Pro Tempore is also elected by the House, while the Majority Leader is appointed by the Speaker and the Minority Leader is elected by the minority party.[11]
Current leadership
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
As of 2011, members of the Maryland legislature are paid $43,500/year. Legislators receive $100/day for lodging. Additionally, they receive $42 for meals and $225/day for out-of-state travel (which includes meals/lodging).[12]
The $43,500/year that Maryland legislators are paid as of 2011 is the same as they were paid during legislative sessions in 2007. Per diem has increased from 2010 levels of $96/day for lodging and $36/day for meals, but fallen from 2007 levels of $116/day and $41/day respectively.[13][14]
When sworn in
Maryland legislators assume office the second Wednesday in January after the election.
Current members
Standing committees
Maryland House of Delegates has 7 standing committees:
- Appropriations
- Economic Matters
- Environmental Matters
- Health & Government Operations
- Judiciary
- Rules & Executive Nominations
- Ways & Means
External links
- Official website of the Maryland House of Delegates
- Official list of the current members of the Delaware House of Delegates
- Project Vote Smart on the Maryland House of Delegates
- Maryland House of Delegates on Wikipedia
- Project Vote Smart list of candidates for Maryland House of Delegates in the November 2, 2010 election
References
- ↑ Maryland House of Delegates, Origin & Functions
- ↑ Population in 2010 of the American states
- ↑ Baltimore Sun, "So much to do: Annapolis Democrats push ambitious agenda," January 8, 2012
- ↑ Maryland General Assembly
- ↑ Yahoo Finance, Md. special session anticipated in week of Oct. 17, July 6, 2011
- ↑ 2010 session dates for Maryland legislature
- ↑ Follow the Money: "Maryland House 2010 Campaign Contributions"
- ↑ Maryland General Assembly "Maryland Constitution"(Referenced Section, Article III, Section 13, Subsection (a)(1))
- ↑ Maryland General Assembly "Maryland Constitution"(Referenced Section, Article III, Section 13, Subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2))
- ↑ Maryland General Assembly "Maryland Constitution"(Referenced Section, Article III, Section 13, Subsection (a)(4))
- ↑ Maryland House Leadersship
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2011 Legislator Compensation Data"
- ↑ Empire Center, "Legislative Salaries Per State as of 2007"
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2010 Legislator Compensation Data"
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