Speaker of the House Adrienne Jones released a statement outlining the guidelines and protocols in place for the legislative session that starts on January 12th at noon. Important information included in the letter is as follows:

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS

The House of Delegates Office Building will be open to the public during the 2022 legislative session. Committee meetings will be conducted virtually and livestreamed on the Maryland General Assembly website. Select seats in the gallery above the Speaker will be open to the public on a first come, first serve basis. Masks are required at all times while in the House Chamber and galleries.

HEARINGS

  • Bill hearings will begin on January 13, 2022 on pre-filed bills. Witness sign-up for pre-filed bills that will be heard on January 13th will be open via the MGA website beginning at 10am on Tuesday, January 11, 2022.
  • Every on-time bill will receive a hearing. The standing committee chairs continue to have full discretion over the length of the hearing.
  • The hearing schedule for each committee will be posted at the latest during the week before the hearing is scheduled.

WITNESS SIGN UP

  • Witness sign-up will be opened online through the Maryland General Assembly website 48 hours before the bill hearing beginning at 10am until 3pm. Witnesses can sign up on Thursdays for Monday hearings and Fridays for Tuesday hearings.
  • The specific bill order will be posted on the Maryland General Assembly website the day before the hearing. If a bill hearing is scheduled for a Monday, the hearing order will post on Friday.
  • The House standing committees will cap bill hearings at a maximum of 50 witnesses per bill.
  • The witness sign-up software will not allow witnesses to sign up as a panel. The sponsor may communicate with the committee about other witnesses that the sponsor wants to testify with them and the chairs will make every effort to accommodate those requests

SUBCOMMITTEES

Subcommittee meetings will be livestreamed through the Maryland General Assembly website.

VOTING SESSIONS

All standing committee voting sessions will be livestreamed through the Maryland General Assembly website. The vote lists will be available on the Maryland General Assembly website at least two days prior to the voting session.

For more information, please see the letter from Speaker Jones.