Maryland General Assembly - Frequently Asked Questions
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What do the various terms used in Proceedings and Bill Histories mean?
For a complete description of terms refer to the "Legislative
Lingo" document on the Department of Legislative Services website.
The Department of Legislative Services website also contains other publications about the legislature and how it works.
For a list of publications click here.
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Where is the Up-to-the-Minute link on the Bill Page?
Beginning with the 2011 Legislative session, each bill page
contains the most recent information available. Bill
information is updated once nightly and throughout the day
whenever there is new information to display.
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Why is the “Up-to-the-Minute” link still available on each Index Page?
Beginning with the 2011 Legislative session, Sponsor, Subject,
and File Code indexes are now updated several times a day.
In between these updates, all users may use the
“Up-to-the-Minute” link to obtain the most recent information.
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What is a Profile and how do I use one?
A Profile is a list of bills that is used to compile a report
that shows the current status of bills that are of special interest
to you. For more information on how to use the Profile feature,
please click here.
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When I want to view a House Committee meeting, I am first asked to download Microsoft Silverlight, why?
Silverlight is the preferred viewer for House Committee meetings, but you may use
any Standard viewer. Each committee meeting video is listed twice, once with the
"Silverlight Player" option and once with the "Standard Player" option.
If you do not have or do not wish to install Microsoft Silverlight select
the "Standard Player" option from the list.
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What is the difference between a
"legislative day" and a "calendar day"?
The General Assembly is in session for 90 legislative days
each year. Each meeting of the House or the Senate convenes and
adjourns on one day. When a body recesses, the meeting day for that
body does not advance, as it is a continuation of the same meeting.
The day remains the same "legislative day" even though the meeting
may not resume on the same "calendar day". A "legislative day" may
span several "calendar days". Several "legislative days" may occur
in one "calendar day".
At the beginning of the 90 day session, both bodies typically
convene and adjourn on one "calendar day". As the session
progresses, it has become a common parliamentary practice to recess
rather than adjourn in order to save "legislative days". This
allows each body to convene and adjourn several times in one
"calendar day" to meet the constitutionally mandated requirement
that all bills must be read three times on three separate days in
each chamber. A bill may pass from first reading to third reading
on a single "calendar day" by adjourning from one "legislative day"
to the next.
Bill histories record events occurring during a meeting of the
Senate or House using "legislative day". Committee hearings,
committee reports, and governor's actions are shown using "calendar
day". Bill history events are listed chronologically within
chamber, followed by post passage information. Dates may not appear
to be in chronological order as a combination of each chamber's
"legislative day" and various "calendar days" are used.
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Why are most legislative documents
including bills and fiscal notes in PDF file format?
Portable Document Format (PDF) documents are viewable on
any computer (PC, MAC, or UNIX) and maintain the look,
presentation, and integrity of the original document. The free
Adobe PDF viewer is available at www.adobe.com for download.
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Why can't I listen to audio files available on the
MGA website?
To listen to the audio available on the MGA website, you must
have Real Player installed. A free version of Real Player is
available for download.
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I have Real Player installed and still
cannot listen to the audio files on the MGA website?
This problem is often corrected by re-installing the Real Audio
player. Spyware and viruses can also cause problems playing audio
files.
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When are floor votes available on the MGA website?
Totals are available while the
General Assembly is in session through the Proceedings and
the Bill pages (History Section).
Detailed votes are available when
they are journalized, usually within a few days of the session.
Votes are available through individual Bill pages (Documents
Section) and through the Proceedings pages. Veto and override votes
taken in following year's sessions will only appear in the
Proceedings for the following year.
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Why am I getting a Server aspx error?
This is often caused by bad entries in the Internet Explorer
cache. Go into your browser, click Tools,
Internet Options and
click on the Browsing History > Delete Button.
This will give you the option to clear your temporary Internet
files (cache). If
the problem persists contact the Department of Legislative Services,
Office of Information Systems.
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I am unable to access the “Find your
Legislator by address or zip code”. Is this service down?
This service is provided by the Maryland State Archives. The
Maryland General Assembly simply provides a link to this service.
If you are having problems, please contact the Maryland State
Archives at www.mdarchives.state.md.us.
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If the website says “the Senate of
Maryland or the House of Delegates is adjourned
until…” and I know that they are in session, why does
it still say that they are not in session?
If your browser has been open to this page for a while, you may
need to refresh your display. In Internet Explorer, go to View and
click on Refresh. Sessions frequently start late so there may be a
delay in listening to proceedings.
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Do you have the Annotated Code online?
No -- we don't maintain the Annotated Code. The State does not own the copyright to the
Michie/Lexis publication "The Annotated Code of Maryland", so we
are not permitted to distribute it electronically. Instead, we make
available our searchable "Statutes database" and we provide a link to
Maryland Code Online on the Michie/Lexis website.
It is worth noting that Maryland is not alone in this; a
number of states are in the same situation with respect
to their code publishers.
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Then, what is the "Statutes database"?
It is the actual words of the codified law as enacted by the
Maryland General Assembly. It does NOT include any of Michie's
copyrighted material such as their index, catchlines, history,
titles, and annotations.
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Do you have a searchable version of the "Statutes database"?
Yes -- Two ways:
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The "Statute Text"
link on the MGA Home page allows you to browse
through the code by article and section number, giving you quick
code access when you already have a citation.
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The "Search" link on the
MGA Home page allows a full text search of the code.
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Is the full "Annotated Code of Maryland"
available online or in electronic form?
Yes -- The Annotated Code is available (for a fee) on
Lexis/Nexis and in CD-ROM form from Michie. There is also an online
version, minus the annotations (but with catchlines, history,
titles, and index) available on the Michie web site.
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What are Committee Votes?
The final recorded committee roll call vote on a bill serves as
a recommendation on the bill to the full house and becomes part of
the committee report to be considered on the floor at the bill's
second reading. To understand a committee vote tally, one must
determine the motion that was proposed. Was the motion favorable,
unfavorable, etc.
The final action recorded by the committee may be:
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FAV (Favorable) - A bill reported to the floor of the chamber
by a committee with a "favorable" recommendation carries no
committee amendments with it. The report may be adopted or rejected
on the floor.
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FWA (Favorable with Amendment(s)) - A bill reported to the
floor of the chamber by a committee with a "favorable with
amendment(s)" recommendation carries committee amendments. The
report may be adopted or rejected.
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UNF (Unfavorable) - A bill reported to the floor with an
unfavorable recommendation does not progress further in the
process.
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REI (Referred to Interim Study) - A committee takes this action
to refer a bill for committee study during the nine-month
interim.
