HOUSE OF DELEGATES

STANDING COMMITTEES

WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE

ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS

[photo, House Office Building, 6 Bladen St., Annapolis, Maryland] A predecessor of the Ways and Means Committee appeared in the House of Delegates in 1791. Named the Committee on Public Revenues, Debts and Expenditures, and Ways and Means, it apparently formed as a special committee for that legislative session only. As a standing committee, the Ways and Means Committee began in 1818.

The Ways and Means Committee is responsible for legislation relating to children, youth, and families; education financing; primary and secondary education; elections; and lotteries and horseracing; State and local taxation matters, including assessments and tax credit programs.

Twenty-two delegates constitute the Committee (House Rules 17, 18; Code State Government Article, secs. 2-1102 through 2-1105).

House Office Building, 6 Bladen St., Annapolis, Maryland, September 2010. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

SUBCOMMITTEES

Under the Ways and Means Committee, three subcommittees functioned by 1976: Assessment Practices; Special Education; and Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid). By 1982, subcommittees had reorganized as Education; Farmland Assessments; and Enterprise Zones. Five subcommittees started in 1994: Education; Finance Resources; Housing and Social Issues; Taxes and Revenues; and Transportation. Effective 1999, five subcommittees reviewed legislation: Children and Youth; Education; Finance Resources; Tax and Revenues; and Transportation. The Election Law Subcommittee was added in 2003. In 2007, the Children and Youth Subcommittee was discontinued, and the Tax and Revenues Subcommittee reorganized as the Revenues Subcommittee.

In 2020, the Early Childhood Subcommittee was added, and the Finance Resources Subcommittee was renamed the Racing and Gaming Subcommittee.

EARLY CHILDHOOD SUBCOMMITTEE
Formed in January 2020, the Early Childhood Subcommittee considers legislation concerned with prekindergarten and special education.

EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE
The Education Subcommittee was functioning by 1982.

ELECTION LAW SUBCOMMITTEE
In 2003, the Election Law Subcommittee began its work.

LOCAL REVENUES SUBCOMMITTEE
In January 2019, the Local Revenues Subcommittee formed.

RACING & GAMING SUBCOMMITTEE
The Racing and Gaming Subcommittee originated as the Finance Resources Subcommittee in 1994, and adopted its present name in January 2020.

This subcommittee reviews bills on casinos, horse racing, local gaming, and the Lottery.

REVENUES SUBCOMMITTEE
The Revenues Subcommittee organized in 1994 as the Tax and Revenues Subcommittee. It was renamed the Revenues Subcommittee in 2007.

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