2024 Maryland legislative session
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| 2024 Maryland legislative session |
|---|
 |
| General information |
| Scheduled session start: Jan. 10, 2024 Scheduled session end: April 8, 2024 |
| Leadership |
| Senate President William Ferguson IV (D) House Speaker |
| Elections |
| Next Election: November 3, 2026 Last Election: November 8, 2022 |
| Previous legislative sessions |
| 2023 •2022 •2021 •2020 •2019 •2018 |
| Other 2024 legislative sessions |
In 2024, theMaryland General Assembly was scheduled to convene on January 10 and adjourn on April 8.
The legislators serving in this session took office following the2022 elections. Democrats won a 32-13 majority in theSenate with two vacancies and a 102-39 majority in theHouse. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democraticstate government trifecta. At the start of the 2024 session, Maryland was one of nine state legislatures where Democrats had aveto-proof supermajority in both chambers.
Leadership in 2024
Maryland State Senate
- Senate president:William Ferguson IV (D)
- Majority leader:Nancy King (D)
- Minority leader:Stephen Hershey Jr. (R)
Maryland House of Delegates
- Speaker of the House:Adrienne Jones (D)
- Majority leader:David Moon (D)
- Minority leader:Jason Buckel (R)
Partisan control in 2024
- See also:State government trifectas
Maryland was one of 17 Democraticstate government trifectas at the start of 2024 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 nine state legislatures where Democrats had had aveto-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 aveto-proof majority or, sometimes, asupermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures,click here.
The following tables show the partisan breakdown of theMaryland General Assembly in the 2024 legislative session.
Maryland State Senate
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 34 | |
| Republican Party | 13 | |
| Total | 47 | |
Maryland House of Delegates
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 102 | |
| Republican Party | 39 | |
| Total | 141 | |
Standing legislative committees
Astanding committee of astate 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 2024 legislative session, there were32 standing committees in Maryland's state government, including19 joint legislative committees,six state Senate committees, andseven state House committees.
Joint legislative committees
- Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee
- Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review
- Joint Committee on Children, Youth and Families
- Joint Committee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology and Biotechnology
- Joint Committee on Ending Homelessness
- Joint Committee on Fair Practices and State Personnel Oversight
- Joint Committee on Federal Relations
- Joint Committee on Gaming Oversight
- Joint Committee on Investigation
- Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics
- Joint Committee on Legislative Information Technology and Open Government
- Joint Committee on Pensions
- Joint Committee on Protocol
- Joint Committee on the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area
- Joint Committee on the Management of Public Funds
- Joint Committee on Unemployment Insurance Oversight
- Joint Committee on Workers' Compensation Benefit and Insurance Oversight
- Joint Electric Universal Service Program Workgroup
- Joint Subcommittee on Program Open Space/Agricultural Land Preservation
Senate committees
- Budget and Taxation Committee
- Education, Energy and the Environment Committee
- Executive Nominations Committee
- Finance Committee
- Judicial Proceedings Committee
- Rules Committee
House committees
- Appropriations Committee
- Economic Matters Committee
- Environment and Transportation Committee
- Health and Government Operations Committee
- Rules and Executive Nominations Committee
- Judiciary Committee
- Ways and Means Committee
Legislation
Enacted legislation
The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2024 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 2024. This information is provided by BillTrack50.
Election administration legislation
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. Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments, 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.
The table below lists 2024 election-related legislation in Maryland. The following information is included for each bill:
- Bill number
- Official name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, simply click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.
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 forreferring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states,initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are alsomany other types of statewide measures.
The methods by which the Maryland Constitution can be amended:
Article XIV of theMaryland 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 theMaryland State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 85 votes in theMaryland House of Delegates and 29 votes in theMaryland State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Convention
According toSection 2 of Article XIV of theMaryland Constitution, a question about whether to hold a state constitutional convention is toautomatically 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: 1992-2026
Twenty-three years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
Historical Senate control
Democrats won control of the Maryland State Senate in 1900. In2022, they won a 34-13 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Maryland Senate following every general election from 1990 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin'sParty 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 |
Historical House control
Democrats won control of the Maryland House of Delegates in 1920. In2022, they won a 102-39 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Maryland House following every general election from 1990 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin'sParty 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 |
See also
| Elections | Maryland State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
|---|---|---|---|
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