State Versus Federal Government

The Maryland Legislature
The Maryland General Assembly meets in Annapolis each year for 90 days to act on more than 2300 bills including the State's annual budget. The General Assembly has 47 Senators and 141 Delegates elected from 47 districts.The Maryland legislature is made up of a Senate, and a House of Delegates; and, as a whole is called the General Assembly.The State is divided into legislative districts; each district contains one (1) Senator and three (3) Delegates. The election for Senators and Delegates takes place every four years on the first Tuesday of November.

A person is eligible to serve as a Senator or Delegate if they are a citizen of Maryland, have lived in Maryland for at least one year, and has resided in the district they represent for six months. A person must be twenty-five (25) years old to serve as a Senator, or twenty-one (21) years old to serve as a Delegate. People who can’t be elected to serve as Maryland Senators or Delegates include anyone who is a member of the United States Congress, or holds any civil, or military office under the United States.  If an individual, after his/her election as Maryland Senator, or Delegate, is elected to the US Congress, or is appointed to any office, civil, or military, for the United States government, he/she must vacate his/her seat.  One exception to this is that a Maryland Senator or Delegate may be a member of a reserve component of the armed forces.

The United States Congress
According to the Constitution of the United States, the Congress of the United States will consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

The Senate
The Senate is composed of 100 Members, two from each state, regardless of population or area.  A Senator must be at least 30 years of age, have been a citizen of the United States for nine years, and, when elected, be a resident of the state for which the Senator is chosen.  The term of office is six years and one-third of the total membership of the Senate is elected every second year.  The terms of both Senators from a particular state are arranged so that they do not terminate at the same time.  Of the two Senators from a state serving at the same time the one who was elected first-or if both were elected at the same time, the one elected for a full term-is referred to as the "senior" Senator from that state.  The other is referred to as the "junior" Senator.   Each Senator has one vote.

The House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is composed of 435 Members elected every two years from among the 50 states, based on the population of the states. The permanent number of 435 was established by federal law. A Representative must be at least 25 years of age, have been a citizen of the United States for seven years, and, when elected, be a resident of the state in which the Representative is chosen.  Each Representative has one vote.