This is an annotated listing of resources commonly used for Maryland legislative history research, both physical and online.
Print/Physical Resources
Michie's Annotated Code of Maryland--the more venerable of the two official state codes of Maryland, Michie's is now published by LexisNexis. Current sets are located on the 7th and 12th floors, while superseded volumes are located on the 12th floor.
West's Annotated Code of Maryland--the more recent of the two official state codes, published by West. The current set is located on the 7th floor.
Laws of Maryland--this annual set compiles the session laws of the State of Maryland. Apart from the laws themselves, recent editions of Laws of Maryland also contain lists of roll call votes, compilations of exhibits, and a series of indices to make locating laws in a particular subject area or from a particular sponsor easier. This set resides on the 12th floor.
Senate Journal--this set, issued annually, contains the journal of proceedings of the state Senate. The set provides bill tracking data as well. You'll find it on the 12th floor.
House Journal--this set is analogous to the Senate Journal, but covering bills from the Maryland House of Delegates. This also resides on the 12th floor.
Legislative Bill Files Set--this set consists of images of material contained in the bill files kept by General Assembly staff. Typical contents are annotated copies of the bills, prepared testimony, and correspondence relating to the subject of the bill. This is part of our microform collection on the 8th floor.
Westlaw/Lexis ("Wexis")
Two of the major databases--WestlawNext and LexisAdvance--have legislative history databases. These provide much the same information one can obtain from the print sources (roll call votes, conference committee votes, amendments, etc.). At present, you can locate this feature by following these steps within each database:
WestlawNext: Legislative History--->Maryland
LexisAdvance: Main Search, tab "Legis"; filter for Jurisdiction: Maryland; filter for Source: Legislative Histories
Due to frequent site redesigns, the location information is subject to change without notice. When in doubt, a database search for "Maryland legislative history" or "Maryland bill tracking" should direct you to the correct location.
Online Resources
