GENERAL ASSEMBLY

DEPARTMENT OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES

ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS

Legislative Services Building (from College Ave.), 90 State Circle, Annapolis, Maryland, January 2018. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

Department of Fiscal Services. As the Fiscal Research Bureau, the Department of Fiscal Services (the other predecessor to Department of Legislative Services) originated in 1947 just before the General Assembly transitioned from biennial sessions to annual sessions in 1949 (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 & 636, Acts of 1997).

Thurgood Marshall statue at Legislative Services Building entrance, Lawyers' Mall, Annapolis, Maryland, August 2010. Photo by Diane F. Evartt

The Department also provides accounting, printing, bill distribution, information technology and 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 Legislative Handbook series (9 vols.), and Your Voice in Annapolis.

OFFICE OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Executive Director directs the Department's four main offices: Legislative Audits, Operations and Support Services, Policy Analysis, and Program Education and Government Accountability. In addition, the Executive Director is assisted by the Ethics Counsel.

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

ETHICS COUNSEL
In 1999, the Ethics Counsel office was authorized (Chapters 129 & 130, Acts of 1999).

The Ethics Counsel serves as a confidential ethics advisor to the General Assembly, drafts opinions for the Joint Ethics Committee, and conducts education programs and seminars. At least once a year, each member of the General Assembly must meet individually with the Ethics Counsel.

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, which became part of the Department of Legislative Services in 1997 (Chapter 598, Acts of 1992).

At least once every three to four years, the Office of Legislative Audits conducts fiscal and compliance audits of each unit of State government unless the Legislative Auditor determines, on a case-by-case basis, that more frequent audits are required (Chapter 49, Acts of 2016). These audits include the offices of clerks of court and registers of wills, but do not cover units of the Legislative Branch. Upon direction by the General Assembly or the Joint Audit Committee, the Legislative Auditor may undertake performance or financial audits, reviews, and investigations of a State agency or program, or of a private organization that receives State funds.

At least once every six years, the Office conducts financial management audits of local school systems, and reviews the audit reports of all county and municipal governments and community colleges (Code State Government Article, secs. 2-1217 through 2-1222).

Formerly at 301 West Preston St., the Office relocated to The Warehouse at Camden Yards, 351 West Camden Street, Baltimore, in December 2021.

Work of the Office is organized into three units: Compliance and Performance Audits, Information System Audits, and Quality Assurance and Professional Development.

OFFICE OF OPERATIONS & SUPPORT SERVICES

The Office oversees Administration, Finance, Human Resources, and the Office of Information Systems.

ADMINISTRATION
Formerly part of Finance and Administrative Services under the Office of Executive Director, Administration was formed in July 2018 under the Office of Operations and Support Services.

Administration provides graphics, printing and recycling services, as well as mail pick up and delivery to the General Assembly and the Department. It distributes bills, hearing schedules and other legislative documents and manages a subscriptions mailing service and customer pick-up service for State agencies and the general public. Administration also oversees the maintenance and daily operation of facilities in the Annapolis legislative complex and related building service systems.

Administration functions through three units: Distribution Services; Facilities; and Graphics and Printing Services.

GRAPHICS & PRINTING SERVICES
Within the Office of Executive Director, all preprinting functions in 1998 were combined with the Legislative Print Shop into one unit, Legislative Document Management. In September 2015, Legislative Document Management was placed under Administration. In July 2018, it reformed as Graphics and Printing Services under Administration in the Office of Operations and Support Services.

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

Within Graphics and Printing Services are the Print Shop, Production Coordination, and Technical Coordination.

PRINT SHOP
In 1998, the Print Shop formed under Legislative Document Management, which reorganized as Graphics and Printing Serivces in July 2018.

The Print Shop reproduces 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 State agencies.

FINANCE
Finance formerly was named Finance and Administrative Services under the Office of Executive Director, and transferred to Administration in September 2015. Renamed Finance in July 2018, it moved under the Office of Operations and Support Services.

This office manages financial services in the Department and the General Assembly. It is organized into three functional teams: Budget and Financial Analysis; Fiscal Operations; and Procurement and Supply.

OFFICE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Legislative Services Building, 90 State Circle, Annapolis, MD 21401

The Office develops and supports computer services, data processing, and information systems; operates the General Assembly's data center; and provides coordination and technical assistance to the General Assembly and the Department. The Office also provides custom legislative systems, including legislative bill drafting, bill status reports, and chamber automation for voting. Laptop computers and an integrated legislative office computing package are made available for use by members of the General Assembly in their Annapolis and district offices.

Legislative Services Building, 90 State Circle (from Lawyers Mall), Annapolis, Maryland, August 2010. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

ADMINISTRATIVE (SAP) TECHNICAL SERVICES
Formerly under the Office of Executive Director, Administrative Technical Services transferred to Administration in September 2015. It became part of the Office of Legislative Information Systems in September 2016.

Administrative Technical Services provides design, development, maintenence, training, and support of the SAP (systems applications & products) software system. SAP is an interactive software system for managing financial operations, human resources, and administrative operations.

MARYLAND LEGISLATIVE INFORMATION SYSTEM
Under the Office of Legislative Information Systems is the Maryland Legislative Information System (MLIS). The System constitutes the General Assembly's website. Updated daily, the System provides information about past and present legislative actions, including status of legislation, text of bills and amendments, legislative histories of bills, bill synopses, fiscal notes, and hearing schedules.

Since the 2011 Legislative Session, users of the Maryland Legislative Information System (MLIS) have been able to access more frequent updates and maintain profiles of bills of particular interest to them. The System also sorts bills by sponsor or subject. This service is available to the public free of charge on the General Assembly's website.

OFFICE OF POLICY ANALYSIS

In 1997, the Office of Policy Analysis was created. 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 general direction of the Office.

The legislative budget 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 four major components: Editing and Bill Processing, Fiscal and Policy Analysis, Legislation and Committee Support, and Library and Information Services (Code State Government Article, secs. 2-1234, 2-1242).

Legislative Services Building, 90 State Circle (from State Circle), Annapolis, Maryland, December 2016. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

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.

CAPITAL BUDGET


FISCAL & POLICY NOTES


LOCAL GOVERNMENT RESEARCH & ANALYSIS


OPERATING BUDGET

Legislative Services Building, 1st floor stairwell, 90 State Circle, Annapolis, Maryland, January 2018. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

Legislation and Committee Support is responsible for Committee Staffing, and Legislative Drafting.

COMMITTEE STAFFING
Under Legislation and Committee Support, Committee Staffing provides staff support for Senate Standing Committees, House Standing Committees, Joint Standing Committees, Joint Statutory Committees, as well as Special Joint Committees, Commissions, Task Forces, and Work Groups.

LEGISLATIVE DRAFTING


• Origins of Legislative Drafting in Maryland

Under Legislation and Committee Support, Legislative Drafting originated as Amendments and Legal Analysis, and reformed as Amendments and Regulatory Review in 2007. It reorganized as Bill Drafting and Amendments in 2010, and as Legislative Drafting in July 2018.

Legislative Drafting 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 policy analysts who follow guidelines set forth in the Legislative Drafting Manual published by the Department.

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.

LIBRARY & INFORMATION SERVICES
Within the Office of Policy Analysis, Library and Information Services provides legislative information to the public; and reference and research services to General Assembly committees, members, and staff.

Library. The Library collection of over 125,000 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 governments (Code Education Article, sec. 23-301; Code Local Government Article, secs. 9-102, 9-203, 9-206, 9-207, 9-307, 9-314, 9-315; Code State Government Article, sec. 2-1241); as well as by municipal governments (Code Local Government Article, secs. 4-109, 4-311, 4-312). 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 the General Assembly website, toll-free telephone numbers, and information desks in the State House and the Legislative Services Building. Speakers, tours, and materials on the legislative process are available for constituents, visitors, and school groups.

Information Services coordinates the publication program of the Department of Legislative Services. The unit is responsible for publication of 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 of Legislative Services.

RECORDS MANAGEMENT
Under Library and Information Services, since October 1, 2017, the Department of Legislative Services has had a program for the continual, economical and efficient management of its records. The Department's Records Officer develops and oversees the program, and serves as liaison to the Records Management Division of the Department of General Services, and to the State Archives (Chapter 539, Acts of 2017; Code State Government Article, secs. 10-608 through 10-611).

OFFICE OF PROGRAM EVALUATION & GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY

At the direction of the Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee, performance evaluations of State government agencies and units are conducted by the Office, which also may evaluate local school systems. in addition, acts or allegations of fraud, waste, or abuse of State resources may be investigated by the Office.

For each agency, the Office evaluates the efficiency, effectiveness, and economy with which resources are used; determines whether program goals are met; and ascertains whether a program aligns with the agency’s mission. Moreover, the Office considers any duplication in programs or activities; evaluates whether an agency operates in an open, accountable, fair and nondiscriminatory manner; and determines the reliability of performance measures.

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