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Maryland Department of Legislative Services
The Maryland Department of Legislative Services is a nonpartisan, all-purpose legislative service agency dedicated to serving the members and staff of the Maryland General Assembly.
Governance
The Department of Legislative Services is led by an executive director who oversees day-to-day operations and is responsible for hiring divisional directors.[1]
Services offered
Budget and fiscal review
The Department of Legislative Services is required under Maryland law to provide analysis, reports, studies, and research involving the Maryland state budget. Also, OLS issues all fiscal impact statements and performance audits of state government agencies.[2]
Legislative and legal research
OLS provides all general legislative research requests for members along with legal research of legislative proposals in the General Assembly. Also, bill drafting is handled by the DLS as staff attorneys prepare the bill drafts.[2] Also, DLS provides all publications to all municipal charters in the state of Maryland.[3]
Legislative library
The Department of Legislative Services provides a full-scale legislative library. This includes all past session journals, bills that have passed and failed, legislative publications, and other related materials.[4]
Information technology
The Office of Legislative Services provides all information technology services and support to members and staff of the Maryland General Assembly. This includes all development and support of the General Assembly's computer networks and applications.[2]
History
The Department of Legislative Services was first formed in 1906 as a bill drafting and reference service for the City of Baltimore. The DLS became a statewide agency in 1916 dealing with bill drafting and reference until other related service agencies merged with the DLS in 1966.[5]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Maryland Department of Legislative Services, "Staff Listing" (dead link)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Maryland Department of Legislative Services, "Front Page"(See Statutory Responsibilities)
- ↑ Maryland Department of Legislative Services, "Legal Analysis"
- ↑ Maryland Department of Legislative Services, "Library and Information Services" (dead link)
- ↑ Maryland Department of Legislative Services, "Front Page"(See First Two Paragraphs)
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