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2023 Maryland legislative session
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| 2023 Maryland legislative session |
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| General information |
| Session start: January 11, 2023 Session end: April 10, 2023 |
| Leadership |
| Senate President William Ferguson IV House Speaker |
| Elections |
| Next Election: November 3, 2026 Last Election: November 8, 2022 |
| Previous legislative sessions |
| 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 |
| Other 2023 legislative sessions |
In 2023, the Maryland General Assembly was scheduled to convene on January 11 and adjourn on April 10.
The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2022 elections. Democrats won a 32-13 majority in the Senate with two vacancies and a 102-39 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta. At the start of the 2023 session, Maryland was one of nine state legislatures where Democrats had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.
Leadership in 2023
Maryland State Senate
- Senate president: William Ferguson IV (D)
- Majority leader: Nancy King (D)
- Minority leader: Bryan Simonaire (R)
Maryland House of Delegates
- Speaker of the House: Adrienne Jones (D)
- Majority leader: Marc Korman (D)
- Minority leader: Jason Buckel (R)
Partisan control in 2023
- See also: State government trifectas
Maryland was one of 17 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2023 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 27 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 General Assembly in the 2023 legislative session.
Maryland State Senate
| Party | As of January 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 32 | |
| Republican Party | 13 | |
| Vacancies | 2 | |
| Total | 47 | |
Maryland House of Delegates
| Party | As of January 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 102 | |
| Republican Party | 39 | |
| Total | 141 | |
Regular session
The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2023 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 2023. This information is provided by BillTrack50.
Standing legislative committees
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 2023 legislative session, there were 36 standing committees in Maryland's state government, including 21 joint legislative committees, six state Senate committees, and nine state House committees.
Joint legislative committees
- Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review Committee
- Audit Committee
- Audit and Evaluation Committee
- Behavioral Health & Opioid Use Disorders Committee
- Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area Committee
- Children, Youth, and Families Committee
- Cybersecurity, Information Technology, & Biotechnology Committee
- Ending Homelessness Committee
- Fair Practices and State Personnel Oversight Committee
- Federal Relations Committee
- Gaming Oversight Committee
- Investigation Committee
- Legislative Ethics Committee
- Legislative Information Technology and Open Government Committee
- Legislative Policy Committee
- Management of Public Funds Committee
- Organization & Procedure Committee
- Protocol Committee
- Spending Affordability Committee
- Unemployment Insurance Oversight Committee
- Workers' Compensation Benefit and Insurance Oversight Committee
Senate committees
- Budget & Taxation Committee
- Education, Health & Environmental Affairs Committee
- Executive Nominations Committee
- Finance Committee
- Judicial Proceedings Committee
- Rules Committee
House committees
- Appropriations Committee
- Consent Calendars Committee
- Economic Matters Committee
- Environment and Transportation Committee
- Health & Government Operations Committee
- Joint Committee on Federal Relations
- Judiciary Committee
- Rules & Executive Nominations Committee
- Ways & Means Committee
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:
Article XIV of the Maryland Constitution defines two ways to amend the state constitution—through a legislative process and a state constitutional convention.
Legislature
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
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 |
Historical Senate control
From 1990 to 2022, 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 2022. 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: 1990-2022
| Year | '90 | '94 | '98 | '02 | '06 | '10 | '14 | '18 | '22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 40 | 32 | 32 | 33 | 33 | 35 | 33 | 32 | 34 |
| Republicans | 7 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 13 |
Democrats maintained control of the Maryland State Senate from 1990 to 2022. 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 from 2015 to 2022.
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.
Historical House control
From 1990 to 2022, 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 2022. 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: 1990-2022
| Year | '90 | '94 | '98 | '02 | '06 | '10 | '14 | '18 | '22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 116 | 100 | 106 | 98 | 106 | 98 | 91 | 99 | 102 |
| Republicans | 25 | 41 | 35 | 43 | 35 | 43 | 50 | 42 | 39 |
Democrats maintained control of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1990 to 2022. 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 from 2014 to 2022.
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.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job.
Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. But that's just the beginning of what it can do:
- Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments
- We translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language
- And because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan
See also
| Elections | Maryland State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
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External links
Footnotes
