Juvenile Services Initiative; Maryland Legislative
Information System (MLIS) Steering Committee;
Special Joint Committee on the MED-EVAC
Program; Special Joint Committee on Pensions;
Special Joint Committee on Forts; Savings and
Loan Oversight Committee; Special Joint
Committee on Tax Reform; Vehicle Emission
Inspection Program (VEIP) Task Force.

LEGISLATIVE AGENCIES

DEPARTMENT OF LEGISLATIVE
REFERENCE

F. Carvel Payne, Director

90 State Circle
Annapolis 21401 Telephone: 841-3865

The Department of Legislative Reference was
originally created in 1906 to serve the City of Bal-
timore (Chapter 565, Acts of 1906). In 1916, the
Department also began to serve the State (Chap-
ter 474, Acts of 1916). The State's portion of the
Department was transferred in 1965 to the Legis-
lative Branch (Chapter 453, Acts of 1965). The
present Department dates its current organization
from 1966, when it separated from the depart-
ment of the same name in Baltimore City (Chap-
ter 571, Acts of 1966).

The Department collects, compiles, and indexes
information on all questions of proposed legisla-
tion. It investigates and reports on the laws of
Maryland and other states at the request of the
Governor, any committee or member of the Gen-
eral Assembly, or any State agency. At the re-
quest of a member of the General Assembly, the
Department prepares or aids in the drafting of
any law or resolution.

The Department keeps a complete index and a
complete file on all bills introduced in the General
Assembly from 1918 to the present. It also keeps
copies of the codes and laws of other states, and it
maintains a library of books, pamphlets, reports,
periodicals, and clippings on matters of current
public and political interest (Code State Govern-
ment Article, sees. 2-1301 through 2-1309). Each
department of State government must transmit to
the Department of Legislative Reference at least
two copies of each of its reports, which are used
for exchange and reference purposes.

The Department operates through the Office of
the Director and five divisions that provide: legis-
lative drafting and staffing services, statutory revi-
sion, research, library and information services,
and computer and proofreading services.

LEGISLATIVE SERVICES DIVISION

Michael I. Volk, Director Telephone: 841-3849

William G. Somerville, Principal Analyst
Telephone: 841-3870

The Legislative Services Division provides sev-
eral specific staff services to the General Assem-
bly. The Division drafts or reviews nearly all bills
and amendments introduced or considered by the
General Assembly. In a typical year, the Division
writes over 3,500 bills and joint resolutions and
prepares over 2,000 amendments to them.

The Division also provides professional staff
services to six of the ten major committees of the
General Assembly (4 House committees and 2
Senate committees). During the annual legislative
session, these members of the Division work
under the specific direction of committee chairper-
sons, and under the general direction of the Divi-
sion. During the interim between sessions, the Di-
vision provides staff support for several legislative
statutory and special joint committees, task forces,
and commissions. The Division staff also helps
prepare informational materials and reports dis-
tributed by the Department to the General As-
sembly.

DIVISION OF STATUTORY REVISION

Elizabeth Buckler Veronis, Director and Revisor
of Statutes
Telephone: 841-3771

The Division of Statutory Revision was created
in 1972 within the Department of Legislative Ref-
erence (Chapter 182, Acts of 1972). The Division,
also known as the Code Revision Division, is ad-
ministered by the Revisor of Statutes, appointed
jointly by the President of the Senate and Speaker
of the House of Delegates. With Division staff, the
Revisor of Statutes directs the ongoing prepara-
tion of comprehensive revision and restatement of
the Annotated Code of Maryland, i.e. the statutory
body of the laws of Maryland (Code State Gov-
ernment Article, sees. 2-1315 through 2-1319).

Until 1985, the Revisor and the Division
worked under the supervision of the Commission
to Revise the Annotated Code. The Commission,