Witness Guidelines and Committee FAQ’s
~UPDATED FOR 2021~
As you are aware that the Maryland General Assembly will be operating under special COVID 19 procedures for the 2021 Legislative Session. At this point citizens are not allowed in the State House or any of the Senate or House Legislative Buildings unless they have an appointment with a Legislator. Floor Sessions will be live streamed but will not be held every day for first 1/3 of the Session. All committee meetings will be live-streamed. Committees must give 48 hours notice of bill hearings.
All (bill) public hearings will be virtual hearings. Oral testimony will be VERY LIMITED. Written testimony will be accepted It must be uploaded using the Legislative web site. Click here for 2021 House and here for 2021 Senate Committee Guidelines.
TO SIGN UP TO TESTIFY VIA WRITTEN OR ORAL TESTIMONY YOU MUST ESTABLISH AN MGA ACCOUNT. To establish an account go to: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov. At the homepage in the upper right-hand corner you will see: MyMGA symbol. Click on this icon and it will take you to the sign up page.
Click here to see Frequently Asked Questions with their answers for help with creating your MyMGA account and for tracking bills.
Once you have set up an account and password you can use it for the following:
1) Sign up to submit testimony.
2) Establish a tracking list (you list the bills you want to track and they will notify you of any progress/changes to them.)
Bill texts are NOT yet available. You can read the titles of proposed legislation by clicking on “Legislation” tab at the GA Homepage and then choose House or Senate. More information when bill texts are available.