Now the amount of second review has
been calculated, and the quality of sec-
ond review has been established. A third
parameter is the time which is given to
second review. The normal session is
seventy days in duration. During that
period, legislators are expected to exam-
ine with care, some 1,093 state bills.
Many of these are introduced late in the
session.48 In the last seven days of the
1965 session the House and the Senate
each considered more than 100 state
bills. It is unlikely that most legislators
are able to devote the long hours re-
quired for a full understanding of the
many complicated measures.
46 Cf. Appendix III.
47 Cf. Appendix IV.
48 In the 2134-page House of Delegates
Journal, the last two weeks of the session oc-
cupy 959 pages.
In the 1683-page Senate Journal, the last
two weeks of the session occupy 959 pages.
122
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CONCLUSION
This project was undertaken to pro-
vide contemporary research material on
the question :
To what degree, and with what
effectiveness is second review present
in the Maryland General Assembly?
The results cast a serious doubt upon
the validity of any checks and balances
arising from a bicameral legislature.
The very small percentage of bills which
did receive a worthwhile review does
not seem to justify the tremendous cost
of a bicameral system.49 The issue,
however, is not whether this system has
worked, but whether a more effective
system is possible.
49 For the current costs of maintaining the
Maryland General Assembly see the citi-
zens' commission on the general assem-
bly reports to the legislature and the
people of maryland 49 (1967).
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