Legislative Vacancies: Annapolis Update

Last Friday, the Senate Education Health and Environmental Affairs Committee held a hearing on a bill to reform how legislative vacancies are filled in the General Assembly.

It got a cool reception.

The current system to fill state legislative vacancies is … well, it has problems. For some background, check out this December 13 post of mine, or this dramatic tale of Adam’s, based on a true story.

Sen. Rich Madaleno is sponsoring a constitutional amendment to reform the system, with the wise counsel of people like our resident blogger and political scientist David Lublin. The proposed amendment wouldn’t overhaul the current system; party central committees would still make legislative replacements. But under the amendment, if the vacancy occurs during the first two years of the four-year term, then the committee-selected replacements would be temporary. Voters would elect a permanent replacement during the midterm election (which, in Maryland, is the same as presidential election years) to serve until the end of the term.

So when Madaleno offered his testimony in support of the bill last Friday, did anyone speak out against it? Nope.

But the committee’s reaction was cool at best. It would seem unlikely that the bill will be going anywhere this session. It may be for the same reasons that Madaleno had predicted back in December. Legislators just don't see this as a problem. The rapid loss of so many Montgomery County state legislators within a year of the 2006 election is not the norm, and many delegates and senators may see it as "just" a Montgomery County problem.

I also suspect that few, if any, constituents or lobbyists talk to delegates and senators about this issue. So the only thing that many legislators would get for supporting this bill would be a group of angry Central Committee members.

Interestingly enough, and previously unbeknownst to me, a similar bill was introduced back in 2003 by Del. Elizabeth Bobo (D - Howard County). It got a committee hearing and was never heard from again. My guess is that we'll see a replay of that fizzle this year.

But that's okay. Even if the amendment were passed tomorrow and approved by the voters in November, the first midterm where it could come into play would not be until 2012. So there is no rush: We’ll get the same result even if the amendment doesn’t pass until 2010.

So Madaleno will have to talk it up among his colleagues in the Senate over the next couple of years. Perhaps he’ll have a House ally in Bobo. Whatever he does, certain bloggers certainly won't be quiet about this issue until it is resolved.

For those of you who keep track of these things, here's a transcript of Madaleno's committee testimony:

SB693 is a constitutional amendment that would require vacancies in the General Assembly that occur during the first half of the four-year term to be filled by a special election to coincide with the presidential election. The relevant party central committee would still nominate a replacement to serve until the results of the special election are certified.

Unfortunately, both chambers of our General Assembly have lost members this past year due to a variety of circumstances. We have had three vacancies in the Senate and five in the House of Delegates. The remainder of these terms will be filled by a person who was appointed, not elected. Current law provides that the county central committee of the vacating member’s party to nominate someone to the Governor to fill the remainder of the term. This system has served us well for many years, but the recent spate of reshuffling in our legislature so early after an election has left many of us reviewing this process. Our constituents are troubled by the idea that a person could be appointed to a position so early in a term without any input or say from the majority of the people they represent.

In Montgomery County, the overwhelming majority of those on the parties’ central committees do not live in the district whose Delegate or Senator they are choosing. Although central committee members are elected, most voters are unfamiliar as to what a party central committee does and who the candidates are when they see them on an election ballot. In addition, citizens who are not registered to the same party as the legislator being replaced have no voice at all in electing the body that is making the selection for them.

While these flaws might be acceptable for someone filling a vacancy on a short-term basis - and even that is a debatable proposition - they are not acceptable for selecting a replacement who could serve out the remaining three or even four years of a term, not when there is an opportunity for the voters to cast a ballot in the midterm elections. To deny voters this opportunity is inconsistent with the basic principles of electoral democracy. I urge you to give SB693 a favorable report.