Jennings (R-Baltimore and Harford Counties) and Sen. King (D-Montgomery), Minority Leader J.B. Griffith (D-Prince George’s), Majority Leader Nancy J. So it’s long overdue.”įerguson’s proposal was produced by a group of Senate leaders that included President Pro Tem Melony G. “As a legislator, I don’t think you can do justice to 20, 30 or 40 bills,” he said. “I don’t think you can do the homework, the time, trying to shepherd them through committees. Since becoming chairman of EHE, Pinsky has urged the Senate to limit the number of bills that get introduced and take other steps to allow more time for lawmakers to deliberate on the most important measures. “But sometimes you know it has no future, it won’t have legs.” Pinsky (D-Prince George’s), the chairman of the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee. “A lot of legislators get approached with bill requests, and if you’re a senator, you want to please and placate the person who asked for it,” said Sen. Many committees routinely meet until well into the evening taking public testimony on dozens of bills at a time. Last session several lawmakers submitted more than 40 bills for the Senate to consider. It could also lead to difficult discussions with advocates with whom they are allied, as lawmakers near their bill limit. If the 25-bill limit is adopted, lawmakers will be forced to prioritize which proposals they wish to offer for consideration - and could lead them to scotch measures whose prospects of passage are slim. He said it is “possible… that the Chamber will discuss lower limits exclusively for the 2021 session, depending on the particulars of this Session.” In his letter, Ferguson noted that discussions about limiting the number of a bills each senator can introduce preceded the COVID-19 pandemic. “The proposed rule balances the need for Senators to zealously advocate for their constituents, and the need to allow committees to focus on key legislation before them to ultimately create the best work product for the people of Maryland.”īills introduced on behalf of a Senate committee, a local delegation or a task force would not count against a legislator’s cap. “As you are all aware, during the last legislative session, the Senate had several frank and productive conversations concerning the need for bill limits to allow the Senate to be more productive and focused during the legislative session, and provide the ability for legislative counsel and Department of Legislative Services to keep up with their work,” Ferguson said in a letter to his colleagues on Friday morning. (D-Calvert), who continues to represent the 27th District as President Emeritus. The proposal is the first big change in Senate procedure that Ferguson has attempted to install since becoming the chamber’s leader a year ago, following the 33-year tenure of Sen. To encourage lawmakers to get their requests in early - before the legislature convenes - senators would be allowed to pre-file up to five bills without it counting against their cap. They could then submit 25 of the 30 for formal consideration by the body. Under the proposal, each senator would be allowed to request that 30 bills or resolutions be drafted in a legislative session. The change would also likely lead to shorter committee hearings. The move is intended to reduce the workload on legislative bill-drafters, who are deluged with requests from legislators, particularly in December and January. Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), and other senior lawmakers. Members of the Maryland Senate would face a limit on the number of bills they can introduce under a proposal crafted by the chamber’s presiding officer, Sen. Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City).
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