The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single-member districts, the Senate is responsible, along with the Maryland House of Delegates, for passage of laws in Maryland, and for confirming executive appointments made by the governor of Maryland.
It evolved from the upper house of the colonial assembly created in 1650 when Maryland was a proprietary colony controlled by Cecilius Calvert. It consisted of the Governor and members of the Governor's appointed council. With slight variation, the body to meet in that form until 1776, when Maryland, now a state independent of British rule, passed a new constitution that created an electoral college to appoint members of the Senate. This electoral college was abolished in 1838 and members began to be directly elected from each county and Baltimore City. In 1972, because of a Supreme Court decision, the number of districts was increased to 47, and the districts were balanced by population rather than being geographically determined.
To serve in the Maryland Senate, a person must be a citizen of Maryland 25 years of age or older. Elections for the 47 Senate seats are held every four years coincident with the federal election in which the President of the United States is not elected. Vacancies are filled through appointment by the Governor. The Senate meets for three months every year; the rest of the year the work of the Senate is light and most members hold another job during this time. It has been controlled by Democrats since 1900. In the 2018 election, more than two-thirds of the Senate seats were won by Democrats.
Senators elect a president to serve as presiding officer of the legislative body, as well as a president pro tempore. The president appoints chairs and membership of six standing committees, four legislative committees as well as the Executive Nominations and Rules Committees. Senators are also organized into caucuses, including party- and demographically based caucuses. They are assisted in their work by paid staff of the non-partisan Department of Legislative Services and by partisan office staff.
History
thumb|left|Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, the first President of the Maryland Senate|alt=An eighteenth-century painting shows a middle aged man dressed in red clothing leaning on two books that are resting on a table, with a Roman-style column in the background
The origins of the Maryland Senate lie in the creation of an assembly during the early days of the Maryland colony. This assembly first met in 1637, making it the longest continuously operating legislative body in the United States. Originally, the assembly was unicameral, but in 1650, the Governor and his appointed council began serving as the upper house of a now bicameral legislature. These appointees had close political and economic ties to the proprietors of the Maryland colony, Cecilius Calvert and his descendants. Thus, the upper house in colonial times often disagreed with the lower house, which was elected, tended to be more populist, and pushed for greater legislative power in the colony.
The upper house was briefly abolished during the English Civil War, as Puritan governors attempted to consolidate control and prevent the return of any proprietary influence. It was again abolished by Governor Josias Fendall in 1660, who sought to create a colonial government based on an elected unicameral legislature like that of the Virginia colony. The position of Governor was removed from the legislature in 1675, but for the following century, its function and powers largely remained the same. Only in 1826, when National Republicans won a majority on the electoral college with a pledge to elect a balanced Senate, was more than one party represented. That year, the electoral college selected 11 National Republicans and four Federalists. Additionally, all vacancies in the State Senate were filled by the Senate itself, which frequently resulted in a disproportionately high share of the Senate having been appointed to fill vacancies. During one session, fourteen out of fifteen senators had been selected to fill vacancies. The decision about whether legislation passes is often made in the committees. Committees can hold legislation and prevent it from reaching the Senate floor. The recommendations of committees on bills carry tremendous weight; it is rare for the Senate as a whole to approve legislation that has received a negative committee report. The Senate also has sole responsibility for trying any persons that have been impeached by the House of Delegates. They must be sworn in before such a trial takes place, and a two-thirds majority is required for conviction of the impeached person.
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List of current senators
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!District
!Name
!Party
!Start
!Residence
!Counties
|-
|1
|
||Republican
|2023
|Cumberland
|Allegany, Garrett, Washington
|-
|2
|
||Republican
|2020
|Hagerstown
|Frederick, Washington
|-
|3
|
||Democratic
|2023
|Frederick
|Frederick
|-
|4
|
||Republican
|2023
|Myersville
|Frederick
|-
|5
|
| |Republican
|2015
|Manchester
|Carroll
|-
|6
|
| |Republican
|2015
|Essex
|Baltimore County
|-
|7
|
| |Republican
|2011
|Joppa
|Baltimore County, Harford
|-
|8
|
| |Democratic
|2025
|Rosedale
|Baltimore County
|-
|9
|
| |Democratic
|2019
|Ellicott City
|Howard, Montgomery
|-
|10
|
| |Democratic
|2023
|Milford Mill
|Baltimore County
|-
|11
|
| |Democratic
|2020
|Pikesville
|Baltimore County
|-
|12
|
| |Democratic
|2019
|Columbia
|Anne Arundel County, Howard
|-
|13
|
| |Democratic
|2015
|Columbia
|Howard
|-
|14
|
| |Democratic
|2016
|Brookeville
|Montgomery
|-
|15
|
| |Democratic
|2013
|Potomac
|Montgomery
|-
|16
|
| |Democratic
|2024
|Bethesda
|Montgomery
|-
|17
|
| |Democratic
|2015
|Rockville
|Montgomery
|-
|18
|
| |Democratic
|2019
|Kensington
|Montgomery
|-
|19
|
| |Democratic
|2019
|Derwood
|Montgomery
|-
|20
|
| |Democratic
|2016
|Silver Spring
|Montgomery
|-
|21
|
| |Democratic
|2007
|College Park
|Anne Arundel, Prince George's
|-
|22
|
| |Democratic
|2023
|Greenbelt
|Prince George's
|-
|23
|
| |Democratic
|2021
|Upper Marlboro
|Prince George's
|-
|24
|
| |Democratic
|2011
|Landover
|Prince George's
|-
|25
|
| |Democratic
|2023
|Forestville
|Prince George's
|-
|26
|
| |Democratic
|2023
|Accokeek
|Prince George's
|-
|27
|
| |Democratic
|2025
|Brandywine
|Calvert, Charles, Prince George's
|-
|28
|
| |Democratic
|2019
|Indian Head
|Charles
|-
|29
|
| |Republican
|2019
|Mechanicsville
|Calvert, St. Mary's
|-
|30
|
| |Democratic
|2025
|Annapolis
|Anne Arundel
|-
|31
|
| |Republican
|2007
|Glen Burnie
|Anne Arundel
|-
|32
|
| |Democratic
|2019
|Linthicum
|Anne Arundel
|-
|33
|
| |Democratic
|2023
|Severna Park
|Anne Arundel
|-
|34
|
| |Democratic
|2023
|Havre de Grace
|Harford
|-
|35
|
| |Republican
|2019
|Churchville
|Cecil, Harford
|-
|36
|
| |Republican
|2013
|Queenstown
|Caroline, Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne's
|-
|37
|
| |Republican
|2023
|Saint Michaels
|Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot, Wicomico
|-
|38
|
| |Republican
|2019
|Ocean City
|Somerset, Wicomico, Worcester
|-
|39
|
| |Democratic
|2007
|Montgomery Village
|Montgomery
|-
|40
|
| |Democratic
|2019
|Baltimore
|Baltimore City
|-
|41
|
| |Democratic
|2025
|Baltimore
|Baltimore City
|-
|42
|
| |Republican
|2019
|Towson
|Baltimore County, Carroll County
|-
|43
|
| |Democratic
|2019
|Baltimore
|Baltimore City, Baltimore County
|-
|44
|
| |Democratic
|2020
|Baltimore
|Baltimore County
|-
|45
|
| |Democratic
|2019
|Baltimore
|Baltimore City
|-
|46
|
| |Democratic
|2011
|Baltimore
|Baltimore City
|-
|47
|
| |Democratic
|2019
|Cheverly
|Prince George's
|}
Organization
thumb|left|Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., President of the Maryland Senate 1987 to 2019|alt=A well-dressed man with white hair sitting before a marble-panelled wall
Maryland's Senate consists of senators elected from 47 Senate districts. While each senator has the power to introduce and vote on bills and make motions on the floor, various committees, caucuses, and leadership positions help to organize the work of the Senate. Senators elect a President of the Senate, who serves as the presiding officer of the chamber. They also elect a President Pro Tempore, who presides over the chamber when the President is absent. These powers place the President of the Maryland Senate among the strongest state legislature presiding officers in the country. Along with serving on the Senate committees, members of the Senate also serve on a number of joint committees with members of the House of Delegates.
While the committees are established by formal Senate rules, there are a number of caucuses that exercise significant influence over the legislative process. The most powerful of these are the Democratic Caucus and the Republican Caucus, each of which has a leader and a whip, referred to as a majority and minority leader and whip.
Professional services for members of the Senate and the House of Delegates are provided by the Department of Legislative Services, which is non-partisan. Individual members are also assisted by partisan staff members, and those in leadership positions have additional partisan staff.
Membership
Qualifications
To be eligible to run for the Maryland Senate, a person must be a citizen and be at least 25 years old. They must also have lived in the state for at least one year, and must have lived in the district in which they are to run for at least six months, assuming the district has existed with its current boundaries for at least that long. No elected or appointed official of the United States government, including the military, may serve in the Senate, excluding those serving in the military reserves and National Guard. Similarly, no employees of the state government may serve, except for law enforcement officers, firefighters, and rescue workers.
Elections and vacancies
Members of the Maryland Senate are elected every four years, in off-year elections in the middle of terms for Presidents of the United States. After two terms, 2007-2010 and 2011–2014, during which the salary for members of the General Assembly was $43,500 per year ($56,500 for the Presiding Officers), members began receiving annual raises in 2015 such that, at the start of the 2018 General Assembly Session, they will be earning $50,330 per year, an increase of about 16 percent over four years. The increase is being phased in the amounts of approximately $1,707 per year for rank-and-file legislators and $2,218 per year for the Presiding Officers. This dominance is nothing new, as Democrats have had strong majorities in the chamber for decades. Democrats tend to control seats in the large population centers such as Baltimore City, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County, while Republicans control most seats on the Eastern Shore and in western Maryland. The chamber has also had significant numbers of women and African-Americans serve, with women averaging around 36% of the seats and African-Americans around 31%.
Leadership
On January 8, 2020, Democratic senator Bill Ferguson, from the 46th district, was elected to the position of Senate president following the retirement of the longest-serving Senate president in both Maryland and American history, Thomas V. Mike Miller. Melony G. Griffith, from the 25th District in Prince George's County, is the President Pro Tempore. The Democratic caucus is led by Majority Leader Nancy J. King of the 39th District in Montgomery County. Steve Hershey of the 36th District, which covers Caroline, Cecil, Kent, and Queen Anne's counties, was elected as the minority leader by the Senate's Republican Caucus in 2022.
Rules and procedures
Many rules and procedures in the Maryland Senate are set by the state constitution.
Lobbying is common in Annapolis; there are more than 700 lobbyists registered with the state. While lobbyists may spend freely on advocacy, they are limited in gifts to legislators and in their ability to contribute to campaigns.