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2020 Maryland legislative session

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Some states made changes to 2020 state legislative sessions and legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
For a full list of changes, visit: Changes to state legislative session dates in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020.
Maryland: The Maryland State Legislature adjourned its session, effective March 18, 2020.
Maryland General Assembly

Seal of Maryland.jpg
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
Session start:   January 8, 2020
Website:   Official General Assembly Page
Leadership
Senate President:  
William Ferguson IV (D)
House Speaker:  Adrienne Jones (D)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Nancy King (D)
House: Eric Luedtke (D)
Minority Leader:   Senate: J.B. Jennings (R)
House: Nicholaus Kipke (R)
Structure
Members:  47 (Senate), 141 (House)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 4 years (House)
Authority:   Art III, Maryland Constitution
Salary:   $46,061/year + per diem
Elections
Last election:  November 6, 2018
Next election:  November 8, 2022
Redistricting:  Maryland General Assembly has control

In 2020, the Maryland State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 8 and adjourn on March 18.

Several state legislatures suspended their sessions or otherwise limited legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Maryland State Legislature adjourned its session early, effective March 18, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.[1]

Democrats had a veto-proof supermajority this legislative session, just as they did in 2019. Following the 2018 election, Democrats had a 32-15 supermajority in the Senate and a 99-42 supermajority in the House. Republicans controlled the governorship, meaning neither party held a state government trifecta.

At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session:
  • Democrats held a veto-proof supermajority in the Maryland state House and state Senate.
  • Maryland was one of 14 states with a divided government.
  • Maryland’s governor was Republican Larry Hogan.

    • Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2022 state Senate and state House elections.
    Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2018 state Senate and state House elections.

    Partisan control in 2020

    See also: State government trifectas

    Maryland was one of 14 states without a state government trifectas at the start of 2020 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    Maryland was also one of 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Maryland State Legislature in the 2020 legislative session.

    Maryland State Senate

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 32
         Republican Party 15
    Total 47

    From 1990 to 2020, the Maryland State Senate was controlled by the Democratic Party. The table below shows the partisan history of the Maryland State Senate following every general election from 1990 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Maryland State Senate election results: 1990-2018

    Year '90 '94 '98 '02 '06 '10 '14 '18
    Democrats 40 32 32 33 33 35 33 32
    Republicans 7 15 15 14 14 12 14 15

    Democrats maintained control of the Maryland State Senate from 1990 to 2018. Senate Democrats held their largest majority following the 1990 elections when Democrats held a 33-seat advantage. Throughout the period, Democrats usually controlled between 32 and 40 seats, while Republicans controlled between 7 and 15 seats. During the period, Democrats also held more than the 29 seats required to override a gubernatorial veto. Democrats controlled the governor's office from 1992 to 2002 and again from 2007 to 2014. Republicans held the governor's office from 2003 to 2006 and have held it since 2015.

    Despite the national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D), the Maryland State Senate was resistant to that trend. Senate Democrats lost two seats in the 2014 elections, but Democrats never fell below 33 seats during Obama's presidency. From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats all together. While Democrats have kept control of the chamber, Republicans have slowly gained seats since the 1990 elections. Between the 1990 and 2018 elections, Republicans gained eight seats. Republicans went from being at a 33-seat disadvantage after the 1990 elections to being at a 17-seat disadvantage after the 2018 elections.

    Maryland House of Delegates

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 98
         Republican Party 42
         Vacancies 1
    Total 141

    From 1990 to 2020, the Maryland House of Delegates was controlled by the Democratic Party. The table below shows the partisan history of the Maryland House of Delegates following every general election from 1990 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Maryland House of Delegates election results: 1990-2018

    Year '90 '94 '98 '02 '06 '10 '14 '18
    Democrats 116 100 106 98 106 98 91 99
    Republicans 25 41 35 43 35 43 50 42

    Democrats maintained control of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1990 to 2018. House Democrats held their largest majority following the 1990 elections when Democrats held a 91-seat advantage. Throughout the period, Democrats usually controlled between 91 and 116 seats, while Republicans controlled between 25 and 50 seats. During the period, Democrats also held more than the 85 seats required to override a gubernatorial veto. Democrats controlled the governor's office from 1992 to 2002 and again from 2007 to 2014. Republicans held the governor's office from 2003 to 2006 and have held it since 2015.

    Despite the national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D), the Maryland House of Delegates was resistant to that trend. House Democrats lost seven seats in the 2010 elections, but Democrats never fell below 91 seats during Obama's presidency. From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats all together. While Democrats have kept control of the chamber, Republicans have slowly gained seats since the 1990 elections. Between the 1990 and 2018 elections, Republicans gained 17 seats. Republicans went from being at a 91-seat disadvantage after the 1990 elections to being at a 57-seat disadvantage after the 2018 elections.

    Leadership in 2020

    Maryland State Senate

    Maryland House of Delegates

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2020 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2020. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Maryland state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session, there were 32 standing committees in Maryland's state government, including 19 joint legislative committees, six state Senate committees, and seven state House committees.

    Joint legislative committees


    Senate committees


    House committees


    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the Maryland Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Article XIV of the Maryland Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Maryland

    Article XIV of the Maryland Constitution defines two ways to amend the state constitution—through a legislative process and a state constitutional convention.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    A 60% vote is required during one legislative session for the Maryland State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 85 votes in the Maryland House of Delegates and 29 votes in the Maryland State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

    Convention

    See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

    According to Section 2 of Article XIV of the Maryland Constitution, a question about whether to hold a state constitutional convention is to automatically appear on the state's ballot every 20 years starting in 1970. Maryland is one of 14 states that provides for an automatic constitutional convention question.

    The table below shows the last and next constitutional convention question election years:

    State Interval Last question on the ballot Next question on the ballot
    Maryland 20 years 2010 2030


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Maryland.

    Maryland Party Control: 1992-2025
    Twenty-two years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R D D D
    Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
    House D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

    See also

    Elections Maryland State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    Maryland State Flag-Close Up.jpg
    State Houses-Tile image.png
    State Courts-Tile image.png

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Patch, "MD Legislature To Adjourn Early, Create Coronavirus Committees," March 15, 2020
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