Constitution of Maryland/? S3

SEC. 23. Each House may punish by imprisonment, that the members of each House are afforded reasonable
during the session of the General Assemble any person, not notice of the bills to be placed upon each "consent calen-
a member, for disrespectful, or disorderly behavior in its dar." Upon the objection of any member, any bill in
presence, or for obstructing any of its proceedings, or any question shall be removed from the "consent calendar."
of its officers in the execution of their dunes; provided, such eg , .„ . , ,-,.„ , ,
imprisonment shall not, at any one time, exceed ten days. , SEC. 28. No blU nor single group of bills placed on
the consent calendar, shall become a Law unless it be

SEC. 24. The House of Delegates may inquire, on the passed in each House by a majority of the whole number
oath of witnesses, into all complaints, grievances and often- of members elected, and on its final passage, the yeas and
ces, as the grand inquest of the State, and may commit any nays be recorded, and on final passage of the bills placed
person, for any crime, to the public jail, there to remain, until on the "consent calendar" the yeas and nays on the entire
discharged by due course of Law. They may examine and group of bills be recorded. A resolution requiring the action
pass all accounts of the State, relating either to the collection of both Houses shall he passed in the same manner
or expenditure of the revenue and appoint auditors to state i <• 11 r <• i • c
and adjust the same. They may call for all public, or official „_ ^SEC- ²⁹- ^"estylc ^{of a lLawsof tt}"^{sstate shau bc}.
papers and records, and send for persons, whom they may ^Bc " ^enacted ^^the General Assembly of Maryland: and
judge necessary in the course of their inquiries, concerning ^{a11 Laws shau be} Pas^d .^ ong'nal bill; and every Law
affairs relating to the public interest, and may direct all office ^enacted ^ ^the General Assembly shall embrace but one
bonds which shall be made payable to the State, to be sued ^e", and that shall be described in its uric; and no Law,
for any breach thereof; and with a view to the more certain ^{nor secaon ofLaw}. '"aU.be revived, or amended by refer-
prevcnrion, or correction of the abuses in the expenditures once ^{to lts utle}. ^{or sect}'⁰" "n'Y; nor shall any Law be
ofthe money of the State, the General Assembly shall create, construed by reason of its title, to grant powers, or confer
at every session thereof, a Joint Standing Committee of the "8"" ^whlch are not expressly contained in the body of the
Senate and House of Delegates, who snail have power to ^Act; ^Md 't shaU be the duty of the General Assembly, in
send for persons, and examine them on oath, and call for amending any article, or section of the Code of Laws of
Public, or Official Papers and Rccoids, and whose duty it ^this ^^ ^{to enact the same}' ^{as the} "'d ^artlde' or section
shall be to examine and report upon all contracts made for ^{would rcad wnen} amended. And whenever the General
printing stationery, and purchasesfor the Public offices, and Assembly shall enact any Public General Law, not amen-
thc Library and all expenditures therein, and upon all datory of any section, or article in the said Code, it shaU be
matters of alleged abuse in expenditures, to which their ^the. ^ ^{of the} .General Assembly to enact the same, in
attention may be called by Resolution of either House of ^"es and sections, in the same manner, as the Code is
the General Assembly arranged, and to provide for the publication of all additions
and alterations, which may be made to the said Code.

SEC. 2S. Neither House shall, without the consent of eg _ , .„ , ,, , -,
the other, adjourn for more than three days, at any one , ^SEC- ³⁰- , Every bill, when passed by the General
time, nor adjourn to any other place, than that in which Assembly, and sealed with the Great Seal, shall be
the House shall be sitting, without the concurrent vote of presented by the presiding officer of the House in which it
two-thirds of the members present, originated to the Governor for his approval. All bills passed
during a regular or special session shall be presented to the

SEC. 26. The House of Delegates shall have the sole Governor for his approval no later than 20 days after
power of impeachment in all cases; but a majority of all the adjournment. Within 30 days after presentment, if the
members elected must concur in the impeachment. AH Governor approves the bill, he shall sign the same in the
impeachments shall be tried by the Senate, and when presence of the presiding officers and Chief Clerks ofthe
sitting for that purpose, the Senators shall be on oath, or Senate and House of Delegates. Every Law shall be
affirmation, to do justice according to the law and recorded in the office of the Court of Appeals, and in due
evidence; but no person shall be convicted without the time, be printed, published and certified under the Great
concurrence of two-thirds of all the Senators elected. Seal, to the several Courts, in the same manner as has been

___ _„ 57, , , , .,, . . . ., .. heretofore usual in this State.

SfcC. 27. (a) Any bill may originate in either House
of the General Assembly and be altered, amended or rejected SEC. 31.⁶⁰ A Law passed by the General Assembly
by the other. No bill shall originate in either House during shall take effect the first day of June next after the session
the last thirty-five calendar days of a regular session, unless at which it may be passed, unless it be otherwise expressly
two-thirds of the members elected thereto shall so deter- declared therein or provided for in this Constitution.
mine by yeas and nays, and in addition the two Houses by . ,
joint and similar nue may further regulate the right to . SEC. 32. No moneyshall be drawn from the Treasury
introduce bills during this period. A Biff may not become a ^{of thc} State, by any order or resolution, nor except in
law until it is read on three,different days of- the session in accordance with an appropriation by Law; and every such
each House, unless two-thirds ofthe members elected to the ^Law "nail distinctlyspecify the sum appropriated, and the
House when: such bill is pending determine by yeas and ^cct, to which it shall be apphed; provided, that nothing
nays, and no bill shall be read a third time until it shall have ncrein contained, shaU prevent theGeneral Assembly from
been actually engrossed or printed for a third reading. P'aang a contingent fund at the disposal ofthe Executive,
• - ' who shall report to the General Assembly, at each Session,

(b) Each House may adopt by rule a "consent calendar" the amount expended, and the purposes to which it was
procedure permitting bills to be read and voted upon as a applied. An accurate statement of the receipts and expcn-
single group on first, second and third readings, provided ditures of the public money shall be attached to, and

57 Amended by Chapter 497, Acts of 1912, ratified Nov. 4,1913; Chapter 616, Acts of 1955, ratified Nov. 6,1956; Chapter
161, Acts of 1964, ratified Nov. 3,1964; Chapter 576, Acts of 1970, ratified Nov. 3,1970; Chapter 369, Acts of 1972,
ratified Nov. 7,1972; Chapter 793, Acts of 1988, ratified Nov. 8,1988.

58 Amended by Chapter 369, Acts of 1972, ratified Nov. 7,1972.

59 Amended by Chapter 883, Acts of 1974, ratified Nov. 5,1974.

60 Amended by Chapter 883, Acts of 1974, ratified Nov. 5,1974.