The Origins of Legislative Drafting in Maryland
The Maryland Legislature, as an assembly of freemen, first
convened in 1635, less than one year after the landing of the first settlers
from England who had established the Maryland colony at St. Mary’s. With its
nearly immediate claim of the legislative prerogative, the nascent legislature
created a role it has now continued for over 375 years, through both the
colonial period and for three and one-third centuries of statehood.
The privilege, if not right, of a legislative body – that
is, a group of individuals who collectively has the power to legislate – has
been traditionally expressed through the drafting, introduction, consideration,
and passage of legislative bills. A legislative “bill” is a draft of an act of
the Legislature before it becomes a law; [it is] a proposed or projected law”
(Black’s Law Dictionary, 9th edition). But how did the concept of a bill
The device of legislative “bills” originated in the British
Parliament, which has been cited as the “mother of parliaments” with respect to
legislative bodies established in nations that share the English tradition.
The Parliament of England, with over 800 years of history, had evolved long
before the Maryland colony was ever established. Many of the procedures and
processes that were in place in England when the Maryland settlement was
established in 1634 were carried forward in the new colony, including the use
of documents known as “bills” that were intended to become the law.