By Howard King
We are fortunate to be part of a form of government where the source of
all power and authority lies with its citizens. The Maryland Constitution's
Declaration of Rights guarantees this democratic freedom to govern for the
good of the people. The Maryland form of government assigns roles to three
complementary branches of Executive, Legislative and Judicial. The three branches
of State government act together to preserve, protect, and extend the privileges
and obligations provided to the citizens of Maryland by the State Constitution.
THE THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT
The Executive branch is the Governor and the executive State agencies
of which the Department of Natural Resources is an example. The Legislative
branch is the General Assembly made up of a House of Delegates and a Senate
where together they propose bills, debate issues and pass bills that the Governor
may sign into law. The Judicial branch is the Attorney General, Assistant
Attorneys General and the courts system. Executive branch agencies each have
assigned assistant attorneys general to ensure that the operations of the
agency are conducted in full accordance with Maryland and federal law. One
of the most important functions of the General Assembly is to work with the
Executive branch to adopt a budget submitted by the Governor each year to
keep the government operating efficiently and to implement new programs proposed
by the Governor or Assembly and included in the Governor's budget.
LAWS
The members of the General Assembly represent the 47 legislative districts
of Maryland. Members are elected by registered voters in the district. Each
district has one Senator and three Delegates. The Senate has 47members and
the House has 141 members. The Assembly meets each year for a 90-day session
beginning on the second Wednesday in January. Legislation may be of an emergency
nature that is enacted into law immediately upon approval by both houses and
signed by the Governor. However, most legislation moves through the Assembly
at a more measured, although sometimes hectic, pace for passage or rejection
by the end of the session in April. Legislation passed by both houses must
be signed by the Governor by May 31 of each year to become law. Otherwise
the legislation does not become law. The legislature is the principal policy
making body in Maryland reflected through the intent and application of laws
resulting from each legislative session. Legislative issues deal with the
broad spectrum of the well being of the State and include many elements to
protect, conserve, and manage fish resources under the aegis of the Department
of Natural Resources. Licensing and licensing fees for commercial and recreational
fishing and crabbing are set by law, as are prohibitions for the use of certain
fishing gear and methods Statewide. There are certain county restrictions
that are set out in law. All of the law pertaining to fish resources specifically
are found in the Natural Resources Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland
and can be accessed
on the Maryland Law Library Website or current legislative activity can be
accessed on the General Assembly Website at http://mlis.state.md.us
at any time.
REGULATIONS
The General Assembly has granted management authority for most major species
of fish and crabs, oysters and clams, to the Department of Natural Resources
through a specific law set out as Section 4-215, of the Annotated Code, entitled
Fishery Management Plans. This law permits the Department to set rules and
regulations that have the force of law. The Department must adhere to a prescribed
series of steps in order to adopt regulations. We must use the best scientific
information available, propose regulations that are fair and equitable with
reasonable assurance that the rule will have the desired effect, and conduct
a thorough public involvement process to inform the public and receive comments
of the effected parties and the general public before adopting any regulation.
Regulations are proposed as either emergency or permanent. An emergency regulation
is usually in effect for 180 days, and must first be approved by a review
committee of the General Assembly titled the Administrative, Executive, and
Legislative Review Committee (AELR). It will then expire or can be extended
or replaced by a permanent regulation that has moved through the prescribed
order of steps during the period of the emergency regulation. A permanent
regulation requires up to 6 months from proposal to implementation. The length
of time is necessary for the review of any proposal by departmental interagency
teams, advisory committees of the Department, meetings with constituent groups
directly effected by the proposal, a review period of the AELR Committee,
publication of the proposal and dissemination of information, public meetings
or hearings and publication of notice of adoption of the regulation with an
effective date. A permanent regulation can be modified at any time by proposing
a new regulation to make the change. Regulations for the management of Maryland
Fish resources may be found in the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR). Subscriptions
are available or you may access regulations at the Division of State Documents
Website
or view essential regulatory seasons, size limits and gear restrictions at
this Fisheries Service website under the sidebar title Fishing Regulations.
For more information on this article or on laws or regulations pertaining
to fisheries management you may contact customer service at customerservice.dnr@maryland.gov.