be appointed to resolve the differences between the
two chambers.

Conference Committee: Appointed by the Senate
President and the House Speaker, a conference
committee consists of three members of each
house. The committee reports back to both cham-
bers where its recommendations are adopted or
rejected without amendment. If the report is
adopted, the bill is voted upon for final passage in
each house. If the report is rejected by either
house, the bill fails.

Presentation of Bills to the Governor: All bills,
except the budget bill and constitutional amend-
ments, must be presented to the Governor within
twenty days following adjournment of a session.
The Governor may veto such bills within thirty
days after presentation to him. If he does not veto a
bill, it becomes law. The budget bill, however,
becomes law upon its final passage and cannot be
vetoed. Constitutional amendments become law
only upon their ratification by the voters at the
next general election.

Vetoed Bills: The power to override a veto rests
with the General Assembly. If the Governor vetoes
a bill during a regular session, the General Assem-
bly immediately considers the Governor's veto
message. If the Governor vetoes a bill presented
after the session, the veto message must be consid-
ered immediately at the next regular or special
session of the Legislature. The General Assembly
may not override a veto during the first year of a
new term. A three-fifths vote of the elected mem-
bership of both chambers is necessary to override a
veto.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION ON
THE STATUS OF BILLS

Elected Officials. The most effective source of
information on the status of a bill is often a
constituent's State Senator or Delegate, who usual-
ly has information resources not available to the
general public.

Department of Legislative Reference. The Library
of the Department of Legislative Reference an-
swers any request for information about the status
of a bill.

Library (year-round) 841-3810
D.C. area: 858-3810

Information Desk, State House Ground Floor
841-3886
(during session only) D.C. Area: 858-3886

Legislature/3 3

The Department of Legislative Reference offers
a subscription service known as the Bin Service to
persons or organizations with a broad continuing
need for bill information. Subscriptions are filed in
Room G-17 of the Legislative Services Building
(Phone: 841-3883; or from D.C. area: 858-3883).

Bin Service Subscription Rates:

Picked up in Annapolis —$20 for bills (first reader,
third reader, enrolled); $5 for synopses,
proceedings, hearing schedules.

Mailed Out —$500 for bills; $200 for synopses;
$100 for proceedings; $50 for hearing schedules.

Newspapers. Newspapers often publish public
hearing schedules of General Assembly commit-
tees and sometimes publish articles about bills
introduced.

Bibliography: Legislator's Handbook, Depart-
ment of Fiscal Services, Annapolis, 1982, 115 pp.
Student Legislative Handbook, Cornelia Connelly,
Maryland General Assembly, Annapolis, n.d., 31
pp. Your Voice in Annapolis, Maryland General
Assembly, Annapolis, n.d., 16 pp. Rules of the
House of Delegates of Maryland, Maryland Gener-
al Assembly, 1982, 100 pp. Rules of the Senate of
Maryland, Maryland General Assembly, 1983, 100
pp.

1983 SESSION

The General Assembly convened on January 12,
1983, for the 386th session of the legislative branch
of Maryland Government. The Legislature ad-
journed 90 days later on April 11.

In all, 2,456 bills were introduced (900 in the
Senate and 1,556 in the House). Of the Senate bills,
295 were passed by both houses, 262 signed into
law, and 33 vetoed. Of the House bills, 456 were
passed by both houses, 425 signed by the Gover-
nor, and 31 vetoed.

The Governor introduced two Executive Orders
pursuant to his authority under Article II, sec. 24
of the Constitution. One of these was withdrawn,
and the other took effect as provided under the
Constitution.

The General Assembly introduced 93 joint reso-
lutions: 36 in the Senate and 57 in the House. Of
these, 13 Senate joint resolutions and 16 House
joint resolutions were passed by both houses.

The State operating budget passed for the 1984
fiscal year was $6.4 billion, a 5.7 percent increase
over the previous year's appropriation. The capital