GENERAL ASSEMBLY

DEPARTMENT OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES

ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS

Legislative Services Building, 90 State Circle (from College Ave.), Annapolis, Maryland, April 2005. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

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 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 moved 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.

OFFICE OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Within the Office of Executive Director are the Ethics Counsel, Finance and Administrative Services, Human Resources, and Legislative Document Management.

Legislative Services Building, 90 State Circle (from Bladen St.), Annapolis, Maryland, November 1999. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

LEGISLATIVE DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT
In 1998, all preprinting functions were combined with the Legislative Print Shop into one unit, Legislative Document Management, within the Office of the Executive Director.

For the Department of Legislative Services, the General Assembly, and other State agencies, Legislative Document Management prepares and publishes legislative materials, including bills, joint resolutions, amendments, reports, and books.

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.

OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE AUDITS

Functions of the Office of Legislative Audits began when the office of the State Auditor was established in 1902 within the Treasury Department (Chapter 257, Acts of 1902). In 1929, the office was assigned to the Division of Financial Review and Control, headed by the Comptroller of the Treasury (Chapter 226, sec. 45, Acts of 1929). When the Department of Fiscal Services formed in 1968, the Division of Audits was created within the Department (Chapter 456, Acts of 1968). In 1992, the Division of Audits reformed as the Office of Legislative Audits (Chapter 598, Acts of 1992).

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).

OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE INFORMATION SYSTEMS

The Office of Legislative Information Systems originated as the Office of Legislative Data Processing in 1981. It formed to coordinate computer services for the General Assembly. The Office of Legislative Data Processing was abolished in 1997 and its functions assigned to the Office of Legislative Information Systems of the Department of Legislative Services (Chapters 635 and 636, Acts of 1997).

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.

OFFICE OF POLICY ANALYSIS

The Office of Policy Analysis was created in 1997. It provides professional legal and fiscal staff to the major standing committees of the General Assembly, several joint statutory and special committees, several county delegations in the House of Delegates and, during the interim, several task forces and commissions. During and between sessions of the General Assembly, these staff members work directly for committee chairs while under the general direction of the Office. The legislative analysts assigned by the Office provide advisory, fiscal, legal, research and administrative support to the committees in an objective, nonpartisan manner.

Within the Office are a technical support unit and three major components: Fiscal and Policy Analysis; Legislation and Committee Support; and Library and Information Services.

Legislative Services Building (view from Lawyers Mall), Annapolis, Maryland, January 2001. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

FISCAL & POLICY ANALYSIS
Fiscal and Policy Analysis began as the Division of Budget Review and the Division of Fiscal Research under the Department of Fiscal Services. Both divisions merged in 1992 to form the Fiscal Services Unit. Under the Office of Policy Analysis, the Unit reorganized in 1997, first as Fiscal Policy Issues, and then as Fiscal and Policy Analysis.

This unit 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.

LEGISLATION & COMMITTEE SUPPORT
Legislation and Committee Support formed as Legal Policy Issues in 1997, when most functions from the Department of Legislative Reference were reassigned to it. Duties included legislative drafting, statutory revision, legal analysis and review, library and information services, and research. Legal Policy Issues was renamed Legal Matters in 1997 and adopted its present name in 1999.

For members of the General Assembly, Legislation and Committee Support 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, Legislation and Committee Support 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.

Legislation and Committee Support is responsible for Amendments and Legal Analysis, and Code Revision and Drafting.

AMENDMENTS & LEGAL ANALYSIS
Legislation and Committee Support 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 unit prepares, reviews, coordinates, and processes amendments to bills. Amendments are formal changes that can alter significantly the content of a bill.

CODE REVISION & DRAFTING
The statutory revision function of the Office of Policy Analysis originated as the Division of Statutory Revision 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 part of the Office of Policy Analysis in 1997 as Legal Support and Statutory Revision. It was renamed Bill Drafting and Code Revision in 1999. This unit 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 structure of small committees with continuing review by the General Assembly.

LIBRARY & INFORMATION SERVICES
Within the Office of Policy Analysis, 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 are 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 also 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.

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