MML Legislative Process

How MML Legislative Priority Issues Are Selected

  1. The committee shall as soon as practicable after the close of each legislative session inform all member municipalities, chapters, and departments that they may submit up to three legislative requests each for consideration as MML initiatives before the Maryland General Assembly. Legislative requests must be received at the League office by a date to be determined.
  2. Legislative action requests are received by a specified published date. The staff reviews these requests and prepares background information for the Legislative Committee (July / August).
  3. The Legislative Committee meets to discuss these requests as well as to consider MML priority issues not resolved during the previous session (August / September).
  4. A legislative request that is the same or as substantially similar to a request that has previously been considered and rejected by the committee twice within a four-year period coinciding with the current term of the General Assembly shall be excluded from consideration by the committee.
  5. The committee shall adopt a request form upon which each proposal shall be submitted. The form shall include a provision to require verification that the elected body of a municipality or the membership of a chapter or department has endorsed a legislative request prior to its submission to the committee.
  6. Finally, the Committee passes on their priority recommendations to the Board for consideration. 

How Positions on Legislation Are Determined

The MML staff reviews every piece of legislation introduced during the session to determine if there is potential municipal government impact. All bills with any impact are then placed in one of four categories, which will be presented to the Legislative Committee on a prepared list. The four categories are listed below

  • “High” probability of passage; historically, these bills have had about 90% chance of passing
  • “Even” bills have a 35% chance of passing
  • “Low” probability bills have less than 10% chance of passage
  • “FYI” (For Your Information) is used to denote that a particular bill has no significant municipal impact, but may be of general interest to municipal officials

Each bill that has a "high" or "even" probability of passage is researched further and presented by the staff to the Legislative Committee. This presentation includes a short summary of the intent of the legislation and why it has been introduced (if known). After a bill is presented, the Legislative Committee votes to support, support with amendment, oppose, or take no position.

Positions taken by the Legislative Committee are listed on the Bill Position Summary section of the MML website.

Do You Have a Relationship with a Legislator in Annapolis?

MML is continuously updating our legislator contacts database. We routinely ask our members to share any personal, business, or political connections you may have with new (and returning) legislators in Annapolis.

Often during session, we ask that municipal officials come to Annapolis to testify at bill hearings or meet with Senators and Delegates on issues affecting local municipal government. Knowing the connections our members have with their counterparts at the state level will go a long way in helping the League maintain an active and effective presence in the General Assembly and with the new administration.

If you have a connection to share, please fill out the form (PDF) or simply email the relevant information to Bill Jorch. Thank you!