Monroe Infoblog

State Legislative Research – 50 States in 50 Weeks – Week 20: Maryland

After a brief hiatus, we are back up and running! Luckily, the title of this series in "50 States in 50 Weeks", not "50 States in 50 Consecutive Weeks". Thanks for hanging in there! Here is Maryland.

Maryland

Legislation

• Maryland General Assembly: http://mlis.state.md.us/
• Maryland Bill Lookup: http://mlis.state.md.us/#bill
• List of Links to Maryland House Members: http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/06hse/html/hseal.html
• List of Links to Maryland Senate Members: http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/05sen/html/sen.html
• Hearings Schedule by Committee: http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/hearsch/0127_comm.htm#env
• Videos of past hearings (both Senate and House): http://mlis.state.md.us/asp/listen.asp
• General Assembly Proceedings: http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/proceedings/index_$.htm
• Legislative Process: http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/07leg/html/proc.html

Fast Facts

• Crossover Deadline: 3/26/2012
• Governor Signing Information: The Governor has 6 days (not including Sundays) to sign or veto legislation once it has been transmitted. If legislation is transmitted within 6 days of session adjournment, the Governor has 30 days to sign or veto.
• Effective Dates for Signed Legislation: Effective dates are included in the bill text.

Regulations

• Maryland Register (Published every two weeks. Only the most recent 8 issues are available online. Archived issues are available for purchase.): http://www.dsd.state.md.us/MDRegister/mdregister.aspx
• Code of Maryland Administrative Regulations (COMAR): http://www.dsd.state.md.us/comar/
• Administrative, Executive & Legislative Review (AELR) Committee (see link to Hearings Schedule above for AELR hearings): http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/07leg/html/com/02aelr.html
• Research Guide for Maryland Regulations (1992): http://www.lawlib.state.md.us/researchtools/guides/comarresearch.pdf
• State Agency Directory: http://www.dbm.state.md.us/phonebook/orglisting.asp

State News:

• Baltimore Sun: http://www.baltimoresun.com/
• Annapolis Capital: http://www.hometownannapolis.com/
• Frederick News-Post: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/
• Hagerstown Herald-Mail: http://www.herald-mail.com/

State Legislative Research – 50 States in 50 Weeks – Week 19: Maine

For those of you visiting for the first time, the "50 States in 50 Weeks" project is a series of blog posts in which I am posting state legislative research resources for all 50 states. There resources are ones I have found useful in my own research. As usual, we are open to suggestions and comments. Here is Part Two of our double-header week. By my calculations, we should be all caught up, now. Thanks for reading!

Maine

Legislation

• Maine Legislature: http://maine.gov/legis/
• Maine Bill Lookup: http://www.mainelegislature.org/LawMakerWeb/search.asp
• List of Links to Maine House Members: http://www.maine.gov/legis/house/hbiolist.htm
• List of Links to Maine Senate Members: http://www.maine.gov/legis/senate/Senators-Information.html
• Legislative Process: http://www.state.me.us/legis/path/path.htm

Fast Facts

• Governor Signing Information: Once legislation is transmitted to the Governor, he has 10 days to sign or veto or else it becomes law without signature. If the Governor does not act and the Legislature adjourns, the bill does not become law (a/k/a pocket veto). If the Legislature comes back into special session, the Governor has 4 days to veto or else the bill becomes law.
• Effective Dates for Signed Legislation: Effective dates are usually included in the text of the bill. If no effective date is indicated, the bill becomes effective 90 days after the session ends.

Regulations

• Maine Weekly Rulemaking Notices: Published weekly on Wednesdays at http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/notices.html
• Rulemaking Process: http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/guide.html
• Annual Regulatory Agendas: http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/agendas.html
• Maine Rules by Department: http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/rules.html
• Maine Administrative Procedure Act: http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/5/title5ch375sec0.html
• State Agency Directory: http://www.maine.gov/portal/government/state-agencies

State News:

• Portland Press Herald: http://www.pressherald.com/
• Bangor Daily News: http://bangordailynews.com/
• Lewiston Sun Journal: http://www.sunjournal.com/

State Legislative Research – 50 States in 50 Weeks – Week 18: Louisiana

It is double-header week here at Monroe Information Services and here is the first installment of our double-header blog post. Stay tuned for the posting for Maine later this week!

Louisiana

Legislation

• Louisiana Legislature: http://www.legis.state.la.us/
• Louisiana Bill Lookup: http://www.legis.state.la.us/searchweb.asp
• List of Links to Louisiana House Members: http://house.louisiana.gov/H_Reps/H_Reps_ByName.asp
• List of Links to Louisiana Senate Members: http://senate.legis.state.la.us/Senators/
• Legislative Process: http://www.legis.state.la.us/howdoi.htm

Fast Facts

• Governor Signing Information: Once legislation is transmitted to the Governor, he must sign or veto within 10 days or it becomes law without signature. If the legislation is transmitted with less than 10 days left in the session, the Governor has 20 days to act or it becomes law without signature.
• Effective Dates for Signed Legislation: Bills passed before 2012 become effective on August 15^th of the year they were passed, unless otherwise indicated in the text of the bill. Bills passed in 2012 and going forward become effective on August 1^st of the year they are passed, unless otherwise indicated in the text of the bill. Laws passed during special sessions become effective 60 days after the special session adjourns.

Regulations

• Louisiana Register: Published monthly on the 20^th day at http://doa.louisiana.gov/osr/reg/register.htm
• Louisiana Office of State Register Timetable for Rulemaking: http://www.doa.louisiana.gov/osr/agency/timetable.htm
• Louisiana Administrative Code: http://www.doa.louisiana.gov/osr/lac/lac.htm
• Louisiana Administrative Procedure Act: http://www.doa.louisiana.gov/osr/apa.pdf
• Rulemaking process FAQ: http://www.doa.louisiana.gov/osr/agency/frequently%20asked%20questions.pdf
• State Agency Directory: http://louisiana.gov/Government/Agency_Index/
• State Government Telephone Directory (2011): http://doa.louisiana.gov/otm/listings/sgtd.pdf

State News:

• New Orleans Times-Picayune: http://www.nola.com/
• Baton Rouge Advocate: http://theadvocate.com/
• Shreveport Times: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/

State Legislative Research – 50 States in 50 Weeks – Week 17: Kentucky

After a brief hiatus, I am back with Week 17: Kentucky. Look forward to next week when have a double-header and cover both Louisiana and Maine! As always, thanks for reading and enjoy!

Kentucky

Legislation

• Kentucky Legislature: http://www.lrc.state.ky.us/home.htm
• Kentucky Bill Lookup: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/10RS/prefiled.htm
• List of Links to Kentucky House Members: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/house/hsemembers.htm
• List of Links to Kentucky Senate Members: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/senate/senmembers.htm
• Legislative Process: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/legproc/how_law.htm

Fast Facts

• Governor Signing Information: The Governor has 10 days from transmittal to either sign or veto legislation or it becomes law without signature.
• Effective Dates for Signed Legislation: Unless otherwise noted in the text of the legislation, bills become effective 90 days after the official end of the session.

Regulations

• Kentucky Register: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/kar/contents/2011/10register.htm
• Rulemaking Process: http://water.ky.gov/Documents/Regulations/RegulationPromulgationProcess.pdf
• Kentucky Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Committee/statutory/Admin%20regs/home.htm
• Kentucky Administrative Regulations: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/kar/frntpage.htm
• State Agency Directory: http://kentucky.gov/pages/agency.aspx
• Kentucky State Employee Phonebook: http://kentucky.gov/pages/agency.aspx

State News:

• Louisville Courier-Journal: http://www.courier-journal.com/
• Lexington Herald-Ledger: http://www.kentucky.com/
• Owensboro Messenger Inquirer: http://www.messenger-inquirer.com/

State Legislative Research – 50 States in 50 Weeks – Week 16: Kansas

This is a list of resources for the state of Kansas that I have found useful in my legislative and regulatory research. This marks week 16 of my endeavor. Please tune in next time when we tackle Kentucky! As always, thanks for reading!

Kansas

Legislation

• Kansas Legislature: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/
• Kansas Bill Lookup: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2011_12/year1/measures/
• List of Links to Kansas House Members: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/chamber/house/roster/
• List of Links to Kansas Senate Members: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/chamber/senate/roster/
• Legislative Process: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/m/pdf/how_bill_law.pdf

Fast Facts

• Governor Signing Information: Once the Governor receives legislation, he has ten days to sign or veto. If he does nothing, it becomes law without signature.
• Effective Dates for Signed Legislation: A bill's effective date is usually noted at the end of the bill's text. If not, it becomes effective upon publication in the statute book which happens on July 1 of the year the bill passed.

Regulations

• Kansas Register: http://www.kssos.org/pubs/pubs_kansas_register.asp
• Kansas Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and Regulations: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2011_12/year1/committees/ctte_jt_rules_regs_1/
• Kansas Administrative Regulations: http://www.kssos.org/pubs/pubs_kar.aspx
• Kansas Administrative Procedure Act (Article 5): http://www.kslegislature.org/li/statute/077_000_0000_chapter/
• State Agency Directory and State Employee Phonebook: http://www.da.ks.gov/phonebook/

State News:

• Wichita Eagle: http://www.kansas.com/
• Topeka Capital Journal: http://cjonline.com/
• Hutchinson News: http://www.hutchnews.com/

State Legislative Research – 50 States in 50 Weeks – Week 15: Iowa

For those of you just visiting for the first time, welcome! This 50 States in 50 Weeks endeavor is meant to organize the resources I have found useful in my legislative and regulatory research. I welcome any additions and comments! Here is Iowa.

Iowa

Legislation

• Iowa General Assembly: http://www.legis.iowa.gov/index.aspx
• Iowa Bill Lookup: http://www.legis.iowa.gov/Legislation/BillTracking/billTrackingTools.aspx
• List of Links to Iowa House Members: http://www.legis.iowa.gov/Legislators/house.aspx
• List of Links to Iowa Senate Members: http://www.legis.iowa.gov/Legislators/senate.aspx
• Legislative Process: http://www.legis.state.ia.us/Pubinfo/BillBecomeLaw/

Fast Facts

• Crossover Deadline: 4/8/11
• Governor Signing Information: The Governor has 3 days from transmittal to sign or veto legislation or else it becomes law without signature. Sundays don't count. If the legislation is sent to the Governor during the last 3 days of the session, he has 30 days to sign or veto before it becomes law without signature. Again, Sundays don't count.
• Effective Dates for Signed Legislation: Brace yourself. This is a long one. All legislation enacted during a regular session takes effect on July 1 following their passage. Anything passed prior to July 1 and approved by the Governor on or after July 1 takes effect 45 days after approval. Anything passed during a special session takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the special session. If an effective date is specified in the legislation, that takes precedent over the three previously mentioned situations.

  An Act which is effective upon enactment is effective upon the date of signature by the Governor. Unless:

  • The Governor fails to sign it and returns it with objections. Then it is effective upon the date of passage by the General Assembly after reconsideration.
  • The Governor fails to sign or return an Act submitted during session, but prior to the last 3 days of a session. Then is it effective on the 4^th day after it is presented for the Governor's approval.
    

  A concurrent or joint resolution which is effective upon enactment is effective upon the date of final passage by both chambers. However, if the resolution requires the approval of the Governor, it is effective upon the date of such approval.
  

Regulations

• Iowa Administrative Code (updated bi-weekly): http://www.legis.state.ia.us/aspx/ACODocs/agencyList.aspx
• Iowa Administrative Rules Review Committee: http://www.legis.iowa.gov/Schedules/committee.aspx?GA=84&CID=53
• Iowa Administrative Bulletin (published every two weeks): http://www.legis.state.ia.us/Rules/Current/Bulletin/
• Iowa Rulemaking Process: http://www.adminrules.iowa.gov/how_rules_work/index.html
• State Agency Directory: http://phonebook.iowa.gov/agency.aspx
• State Telephone Directory: http://phonebook.iowa.gov/default.aspx

State News:

• Des Moines Register: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/
• Cedar Rapids Gazette: http://thegazette.com/
• Quad-City Times: http://qctimes.com/

State Legislative Resources – 50 States in 50 Weeks – Week 14: Indiana

Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes…when did New England become so disaster prone? I have gotten behind and am using natural disaster as my excuse. The goal is to post 3 states this week and to get caught up. So, here we go with Indiana. Thanks for sticking with me!

Indiana

Legislation

• Indiana General Assembly: http://www.state.in.us/legislative/index.htm
• Indiana Bill Lookup: http://www.in.gov/apps/lsa/session/billwatch/billinfo
• List of Links to Indiana House Members: http://www.ai.org/cgi-bin/legislative/listing/listing.pl?data=alpha&chamber=House
• List of Links to Indiana Senate Members: http://www.ai.org/cgi-bin/legislative/listing/listing.pl?data=alpha&chamber=Senate
• Legislative Process: http://www.in.gov/legislative/about/bill.html

Fast Facts

• Crossover Deadline: 2/25/2011
• Governor Signing Information: Upon receiving legislation, the Governor has 7 days to sign or veto or else the legislation become law without signature.
• Effective Dates for Signed Legislation: Effective dates are indicated in the text of the bill at the beginning of each affected statutory section.

Regulations

• Indiana Register: I LOVE the search capability provided for the Indiana Register. You can search by LSA document and key terms. Indiana makes it very easy to follow the progression of a rulemaking! http://www.in.gov/legislative/register/irtoc.htm
• Indiana Administrative Procedures Act: http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title4/ar22/index.html
• Indiana Administrative Code: http://www.in.gov/legislative/iac/iac_title
• Indiana Rulemaking Procedure: http://www.in.gov/sos/business/2457.htm
• State Agency Directory: http://www.in.gov/core/find_agency.html
• State Telephone Directory: http://www.in.gov/core/find_person.html

State News:

• Indianapolis Star: http://www.indystar.com/
• Northwest Indiana Times: http://www.nwitimes.com/
• South Bend Tribune: http://www.southbendtribune.com/
• Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: http://www.southbendtribune.com/

State Legislative Resources – 50 States in 50 Weeks – Week 13: Illinois

Thanks to all you bloggers and twitterers (tweeters?) out there who have posted/tweeted about my 50 state challenge. The more widespread the word, the more satisfying the work! Here is Illinois – lucky state number thirteen! Thanks for reading!

Illinois

Legislation

• Illinois General Assembly: http://www.ilga.gov/
• Illinois Bill Lookup: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/default.asp
• List of Links to Illinois House Members: http://www.ilga.gov/house/
• List of Links to Illinois Senate Members: http://www.ilga.gov/senate/
• Legislative Process: http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/lrbres.htm#LEGISLATIVE

Fast Facts

• Crossover Deadline: 4/15/2011
• Governor Signing Information: The Governor has 60 days to return a bill or else it becomes law. If the General Assembly adjourns within those 60 days, the Governor must return the bill to the Secretary of State within the original 60 days.
• Effective Dates for Signed Legislation: If a bill is passed prior to June 1, it takes effect the following January 1. If it is passed after May 31, it takes effect June 1 of the following year. This is true unless the bill has an effective date in the text.

Regulations

• Illinois Administrative Code: Published every Friday at http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/index/register/home.html
• Illinois Joint Committee on Administrative Rules: http://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/default.htm
  • This link also provides access to the committee's annual report which is an overview of the rules review activities for the previous year.
• Illinois Administrative Code: http://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/titles.html
• Illinois Rulemaking Process: http://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/ILRulemakingProcess.pdf
• State Agency Directory: http://www2.illinois.gov/pages/agencies.aspx
• State Telephone Directory: http://www.illinois.gov/teledirectory/

State News:

• Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com/
• Chicago Sun-Times: http://www.suntimes.com/
• Arlington Heights Daily Herald: http://www.dailyherald.com/

State Legislative Resources – 50 States in 50 Weeks – Week 12: Idaho

Margaret Wood recently guest posted on the Library of Congress blog about the history of the 2011 U.S. Debt Ceiling Legislation. Unrelated bill titles of vehicle bills served to confound those hoping to get a look at the legislation. As it can often be so difficult to find a bill by its name, I truly appreciate any state offering an organization of bills by subject. Thank you, Idaho!

Idaho

Legislation

• Idaho Legislature: http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/
• Idaho Bill Lookup: http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2011/legIndex.htm
• List of Links to Idaho House Members: http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/house/membership.cfm
• List of Links to Idaho Senate Members: http://legislature.idaho.gov/senate/membership.cfm
• Legislative Process: http://legislature.idaho.gov/about/howabillbecomesalaw.htm

Fast Facts

• Crossover Deadline: there is no crossover deadline in Idaho
• Governor Signing Information: The Governor has 7 days to sign or veto a piece of legislation once it is transmitted. If no action is taken, the bill becomes law without signature. If the legislation is transmitted less than 7 days before the session adjourns, the Governor has 10 days after adjournment to act.
• Effective Dates for Signed Legislation: Bills take effect 60 days after the session adjourns, unless otherwise noted in the text of the legislation.

Regulations

• Idaho Administrative Code: http://adm.idaho.gov/adminrules/agyindex.htm
• Idaho Administrative Bulletins: http://adm.idaho.gov/adminrules/bulletin/mstrtoc.htm
• Index of Current Proposed Rules: http://adm.idaho.gov/adminrules/11ProposedRules.html
• Idaho Rulemaking Process: http://adm.idaho.gov/adminrules/bulletin/rule_draftmanual.pdf
• State Agency Directory: http://idaho.gov/agency/agency_a.html

State News:

• Idaho Statesman: http://www.idahostatesman.com/
• Times-News: http://magicvalley.com/
• Idaho Falls Post Register: http://www.postregister.com/
• Lewiston Tribune: http://lmtribune.com/
• Idaho Press-Tribune: http://www.idahopress.com/

State Legislative Resources – 50 States in 50 Weeks – Week 11: Hawaii

Aloha! Here is the 11^th installment of my challenge to cover the legislative and regulatory research resources for all 50 states. I hope you are finding the posts useful! I seem to have fallen a week behind. So, next week will have two posts and we can all just ignore that I did not follow my original plan of one post per week. Deal? Be sure to tune in next week for Idaho AND Illinois! Thanks for reading.

Hawaii

Legislation

• Hawaii Legislature: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/
• Hawaii Bill Lookup: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2011/
• List of Links to Hawaii House Membershttp://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2010/members/house/members.asp
• List of Links to Hawaii Senate Members: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2011/members/senate/senatemembers.aspx
• Legislative Process: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/info/2011CitizensGuide.pdf
• Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau: http://hawaii.gov/lrb/

Fast Facts

• Crossover Deadline: 3/16/2011
• Governor Signing Information: The governor has 10 days to sign or veto legislation once it is received. However, if the legislation is received less than 10 days before sine die, the governor has 45 days to act.
• Effective Dates for Signed Legislation: Each bill includes an enactment clause which states the effective date.

Regulations

• Hawaii Administrative Rules: http://hawaii.gov/ltgov/office/adminrules
• Proposed Changes to Administrative Rules: http://hawaii.gov/ltgov/office/adminrules/admin-proposed-changes
• Lt. Governor Office Press Releases (RSS available): http://hawaii.gov/ltgov/newsroom/press-releases
• Hawaii Administrative Procedure Act: Unofficial version: http://hawaii.gov/luc/docs/hrs_91.pdf Official version (parent directory): http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol02_Ch0046-0115/HRS0091/ The official version is a bit more difficult to navigate. So, I find it easiest to locate the section of interest in the unofficial version and then double-check in the official.
• State Agency Directory: http://stayconnected.hawaii.gov/

State News:

• Honolulu Star Advertiser: http://www.staradvertiser.com/
• Hawaii Tribune Herald: http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/
• Maui News: http://www.mauinews.com/
• West Hawaii Today: http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/