...It is an excellent opportunity for the public to participate in the legislative process, and it doesn’t require a trip to Annapolis to do so.
When it comes to regular sessions and debates in Annapolis, however, things aren’t quite so transparent.
Maryland remains one of just a handful of states that does not offer live streaming video of debates on the floor of its two chambers: the Senate and House of Delegates. It does offer audio of these sessions, but because of a rule that prohibits the use of personal names, it is practically impossible to know who is saying what.
The state does live stream and archive videos of committee hearings, but committee voting sessions where members actually debate the bills are not recorded or archived.
Efforts to change this have stalled in recent years. Republican Gov. Larry Hogan and others have pushed for legislation to outfit the 120-year-old Maryland State House with video cameras in order to live stream these proceedings and have them archived in the name of government openness and accessibility. Last year, Hogan’s Transparency Act of 2018, received an unfavorable report in the House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee and never made it out of a Senate Committee.
The argument, primarily coming from Democratic leaders in Annapolis, against live streaming has been that it costs too much. According to an article from MarylandReporter.com on last year’s Senate committee hearing on the legislation, the $1.1 million price tag was again the concern from committee Democrats. Much of that is one-time costs in the first year to purchase the equipment and have it installed. In out years, the costs ranged from approximately $200,000 to $217,000 for staff to operate and maintain the equipment...
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