Department of Legislative Reference. The Department of Legislative Reference originally was created in 1906 to serve the Baltimore City Council (Chapter 565, Acts of 1906). In 1916, that department also began assisting the General Assembly (Chapter 474, Acts of 1916). The State's portion of the Department was transferred in 1965 to the Legislative Branch (Chapter 453, Acts of 1965). In 1966, the Department severed any affiliation with the City of Baltimore and established permanent offices in Annapolis (Chapter 571, Acts of 1966). The Department of Legislative Reference was abolished in 1997 and its functions assigned to the Department of Legislative Services (Chapters 635 and 636, Acts of 1997).
Department of Fiscal Services. The Department of Fiscal Services originated in 1947 as the Fiscal Research Bureau (Chapter 605, Acts of 1947). By 1965, the Bureau was placed under the General Assembly. The Bureau was reorganized in 1968 as the Department of Fiscal Services (Chapter 456, Acts of 1968). In 1997, the Department of Fiscal Services was abolished and its functions assigned to the Department of Legislative Services (Chapters 635 and 636, Acts of 1997).
Department of Legislative Services.The Department of Legislative Services operates under the policies and directives of the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Delegates, the Legislative Policy Committee, and the Joint Audit Committee. The Department provides staff services to the standing committees of the Legislature and to any commissions or committees that the General Assembly or the Legislative Policy Committee may appoint. The Department also provides accounting, printing, bill distribution, telecommunication, and supply services to the General Assembly. In addition, the Department administers programs for interns, pages, and public affairs. Publications available from the Department include the nine-volume Legislative Handbook series and Your Voice in Annapolis.
Historically, the Department has conducted research and drafted legislation for members of the General Assembly. The Department also has provided legislative bills, enactments, journals, documents, records, and the codifications of State and local laws.
With professional fiscal, legal and research staff, the Department supports legislative committees, subcommittees, task forces, and commissions. For the General Assembly, the Department provides ongoing statutory revision services; conducts legal and legislative research; provides fiscal analyses; and offers specialized information services. The Department also reviews and analyzes regulations proposed by Executive Branch agencies; provides legislative and general library resource materials and information services to the General Assembly and the public; and provides computerized services for legislative purposes, including the preparation of bills, laws, journals, and other documents, as well as automated searches of the law.
The work of the Department is organized into three main areas: Legislative Audits; Legislative Information Systems; and Policy Analysis.
FINANCE & ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
Finance and Administrative Services is organized into seven functional teams: Accounts Payable; Distribution Services; Facilities and Inventory; Payroll and Accounts Receivable; Procurement and Supply; Technical Support; and Telecommunications.
LEGISLATIVE PRINT SHOP
The Legislative Print Shop prints a variety of documents that are part of the legislative process. Included are legislative bills, joint resolutions, amendments, session laws, journals and rules of the Senate and House of Delegates, synopses of legislation, hearing schedules, fiscal notes, committee reports, staff studies, budget analyses, and other reports. The services of the Print Shop are available to legislators, legislative committees, and agencies.
The Office conducts post audits of a compliance or performance nature of all departments, agencies, and institutions of State government, including the offices of clerks of court and registers of wills. Upon direction by the General Assembly or the Joint Audit Committee, the Legislative Auditor may undertake a management audit of a State agency or program or an audit of a private organization that receives State funds. The Office also reviews the audit reports of all county and municipal governments and community colleges (Code State Government Article, secs. 2-1201 through 2-1222).
The Office of Legislative Information Systems develops and supports legislative information systems, operates the General Assembly's data center, and provides coordination and technical assistance to the General Assembly and its staff agencies.
The Director is appointed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates.
MARYLAND LEGISLATIVE INFORMATION SYSTEM
Under the Office of Legislative Information Systems is the Maryland Legislative Information System (MLIS). The System is a tool used by the General Assembly support offices and committees to create and manipulate databases and reports.
As part of the System, the Subscription Program provides the General Assembly and subscribers with legislative histories of bills, bill synopses, bill title text, fiscal notes, hearing schedules, and profile services updated daily. It also sorts bills by sponsor or subject. A subscriber needs access to the World Wide Web through an Internet service provider, and Netscape 2.0 or a later edition is recommended. Available to the public, a subscription for the calendar year is $800.
The Office has a technical support unit and two major components: Fiscal Policy Issues and Legal Policy Issues.
FISCAL POLICY ISSUES
In 1997, Fiscal Policy Issues superseded the Fiscal Services Unit which had replaced the Division of Budget Review and the Division of Fiscal Research in 1992. Fiscal Policy Issues analyzes operating and capital budgets, processes budget bills, prepares fiscal notes, and provides staff support to the fiscal committees and various statutory and special committees of the General Assembly. It also collects and reports local government financial information; prepares forecasts of revenues and expenditures; undertakes management studies and program evaluations; researches and reports on fiscal policy issues, taxation, operation of governmental units and programs, and fiscal relationships of the State and local governments.
LEGAL POLICY ISSUES
In 1997, most functions from the Department of Legislative Reference were reassigned to Legal Policy Issues. These include legislative drafting, statutory revision, legal analysis and review, library and information services, and research.
Legislative Drafting. The Office of Policy Analysis provides nonpartisan professional staff to research, draft, and prepare legislative bills at the request of members of the State Senate and House of Delegates. Each year, more than 3,500 bills and joint resolutions and over 2,000 amendments are drafted by Office staff.
After bills are introduced by members of the General Assembly, the Office prepares, reviews, coordinates, and processes amendments to bills. Amendments are formal changes that can alter significantly the content of a bill.
Statutory Revision. The statutory revision function of the Office of Policy Analysis originated as the Division of Statutory Revision, created in 1972 within the Department of Legislative Reference (Chapter 182, Acts of 1972). That Division, also known as the Code Revision Division, was incorporated into the Legislative Division in 1990 and became a component of the Office of Policy Analysis in 1997. Statutory Revision develops and prepares the comprehensive revision and restatement of the Annotated Code of Maryland, i.e., the statutory body of the laws of Maryland (Code State Government Article, secs. 2-1315 through 2-1319).
The first reorganization and recodification of the Annotated Code since 1888 was begun in 1970 by the Commission to Revise the Annotated Code of Maryland. The Commission was charged to study and revise the Annotated Code in order to improve the organization, accessibility, utility, and clarity of law and to eliminate unconstitutional, obsolete, inconsistent or conflicting statutes. Until 1985, the Division of Statutory Revision worked under Commission supervision.
In 1985, the Legislative Policy Committee began to oversee Code revision under a reorganized system of small committees with continuing review by the General Assembly. This committee system includes the Code Revision Committee and individual article review committees for articles in production. Currently under review are correctional services, public service companies, and a preliminary revision of selected criminal laws.
The General Assembly has enacted into law the following twenty-four articles: Agriculture; Business Occupations and Professions; Business Regulation; Commercial Law; Corporations and Associations; Courts and Judicial Proceedings; Education; Environment; Estates and Trusts; Ethics Law; Family Law; Financial Institutions; Health - General; Health Occupations; Insurance; Labor and Employment; Natural Resources; Real Property; State Finance and Procurement; State Government; State Personnel and Pensions; Tax - General; Tax - Property; and Transportation. To conclude the recodification process, approximately nine Articles remain to be completed or prepared and enacted into law, including alcoholic beverages, economic development, election law, human resources, local government, public safety, and public service companies.
Legal Analysis. For members of the General Assembly, Legal Policy Issues provides legal opinions and advice pertinent to legislation. To inform members of the General Assembly of legal issues that may affect legislation, it periodically analyzes decisions of the Court of Appeals and the Court of Special Appeals and opinions of the Attorney General. On behalf of the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review, Legal Policy Issues also reviews and analyzes regulations proposed by executive branch agencies. This review helps ensure agency compliance with statutory authority, legislative intent, and public notice requirements.
LIBRARY & INFORMATION SERVICES
Library and Information Services provides reference and research services to committees, members, and staff of the General Assembly, and legislative information to the public.
Library. The Library collection of 66,000 volumes consists of Maryland laws and related legislative and legal materials; laws and publications of other states; federal documents; and general reference materials. The Library serves as an official depository for the publications of Maryland State agencies and for all local codes published by county and municipal governments (Code 1957, Art. 25, sec. 32A; Art. 25A, sec. 7; Art. 25B, secs. 7, 12; State Government Article, sec. 2-1312; Education Article, sec. 23-2A-01). Maryland Documents, a list of State agency publications, is issued monthly. Library materials circulate to General Assembly members, their staff, and State agencies.
Information Services. Bill status and other legislative information is provided to the public through information desks in the State House and the Legislative Services Building, and through toll-free telephone numbers. Speakers, tours and materials on the legislative process are available for constituents, visitors, and school groups.
Information Services coordinates the Department's publication program and is responsible for publication of the Committee Meetings and Hearing Schedule; Daily Synopsis; Maryland Clipper; indexes to bills, laws, and journals; as well as various rosters, flyers, videos, and brochures about the General Assembly and the Department.
GENERAL RESEARCH
General Research responds to inquiries or requests from legislators, committees, and their staff on nonlegal issues with information, surveys, research, policy analysis, and problem-solving options.
Research analysts are trained in social sciences disciplines and participate in a nationwide information network of universities, governments, private laboratories, research centers, and professional organizations. Analysts also staff special legislative committees, joint task forces, commissions, and the standing committees on specialized issues.
Although General Research primarily responds to questions raised by legislators, research analysts also initiate independent research on topical issues of potential interest to legislators. This research is published in the Legislative Report Series and Research Notes and may be found in the Department's Library.
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