1384                            JOINT RESOLUTIONS

The members of the General Assembly of Maryland are request-
ing the assistance and cooperation of all officials and employees of
the several agencies and departments of State government and also
of all local governments in Maryland for an orderly and timely
presentation of proposals for legislation.

At every session of the General Assembly of Maryland, the mem-
bers of this body are criticized in the public press and by the
citizens of the State for introducing their bills and making their
proposals for legislation too late in the session for adequate con-
sideration. The members of this body also are criticized for a com-
panion situation concerning the heavy program of action on bills
during the final days of the General Assembly, much of which is a
direct result of the late introduction of bills.

While uninformed editorial writers and members of the general
public who are not familiar with procedures in the State House in
Annapolis, blame legislators for these perennial conditions, those
who have some familiarity with the General Assembly of Maryland
know that in many many instances, the fault lies elsewhere. To be
specific, the late introduction of bills and the consequent log jam at
the end are in considerable part the fault of the officials and em-
ployees of public and semi-public agencies throughout the State,
whether on a state or local level.

All this is completely unnecessary. The full time officials and em-
ployees of the public and semi-public governmental agencies know
or should know long in advance of a session of the General Assembly
what their legislative needs may be. These officials and employees,
with a reasonable degree of diligence, could and should make known
to members of the General Assembly at an early time, their needs
and requests for legislative action.

If the officials and employees of the agencies and departments of
the State government and of the several local governments brought
their proposals to members of the legislature prior to, or at least
in the very early weeks of a legislative session, the entire tempo
of the procedures in this General Assembly could be radically altered
and improved. Bills could be prepared and introduced early, the
committees could schedule their hearings and discussions on an
orderly and leisurely basis, and the public would have an oppor-
tunity to learn about and consider proposals for legislative action.
A vast improvement thus could be made in the procedures and in the
effectiveness of this General Assembly.

Accordingly, the members of the General Assembly of Maryland
are requesting the cooperation and assistance of all state and local
officials and employees in the State to the end that their requests
and proposals for legislation be sent to a member or members of the
General Assembly by as early a date as possible, now therefore be it

Resolved by the General Assembly of Maryland, That all officials
and employees of the several departments and agencies of the state
government and of the units of local government in this state, are
respectively urged and requested to formulate their legislative pro-
posals during the weeks and months prior to the convening of the