There is growing consensus in Annapolis that the General Assembly is getting snowed in by an avalanche of legislation.
“We have to do something,” said Sen. Paul G. Pinsky (D-Prince George’s), the chairman of the Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, in an interview. “Quantity has gotten in the way of quality, and that’s a problem.”
The regular deadline for filing a bill this session was Monday in the Senate and Friday in the House. As of midday on Thursday, senators had filed 999 bills, delegates 1,150...
Bills can still be introduced later in the session but they must go through extra hurdles before being considered by committees.
Pinsky said the panel he leads has had several meetings this year during which 20 or more bills were heard. Some sessions ran past 9 p.m. “That’s just impossible,” he told his colleagues on Thursday.
A perennial,impossible feat:
ReplyDeleteTen gallons of bills in a five gallon hat.