Maryland General Assembly

The Maryland General Assembly is the term used to encompass the entire State Legislature of the State of Maryland. The General Assembly is a bicameral body. The upper body, known as the Maryland State Senate, has 47 representatives, while the lower house, the Maryland House of Delegates, involves 141 representatives. The General Assembly meets for 90 days each year. The Maryland General Assembly acts on more than 2,300 bills, including the State's annual budget.

Members of both houses of the Maryland General Assembly serve four-year terms. Each branch of the Assembly can punish or expel its own members, establish rules for its own business, judge the qualifications and election of its own members, and elect the officers for their own respective house.

According to the Maryland State Constitution, in order to be elected as a senator or delegate the candidate must be a citizen of Maryland. Furthermore, the candidate must be a resident of the district for at least one year prior to their election. Members of the Maryland General Assembly are not term limited. If a vacancy develops, the replacement is appointed by the Governor, who selects the replacement from a list submitted by the State Central Committee of the same party of the legislator who vacated the seat.

The State is divided into 47 districts, each of which involve a senator and three delegates, with most of the delegates to the Maryland General Assembly being elected throughout the entire district via block voting.

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