In Maryland, a bill passed by the General Assembly becomes law when the governor signs it, when the governor lets it become law without a signature, or when lawmakers override a veto by a three-fifths vote in both chambers. The rules are set out in the state Constitution, and they differ for ordinary bills and for the state budget.
This guide walks through those rules as written in the Maryland Constitution, as published by the General Assembly. It is a civics explainer, not a report on any particular bill.
What happens after the General Assembly passes a bill?
Under Article II, Section 17 of the Constitution, every bill passed by the House of Delegates and the Senate must be presented to the governor before it can become law. The provision says its purpose is to guard against “hasty or partial legislation” and against encroachment by the legislative branch on the executive and judicial branches.
From there, the governor has three basic choices:
- Sign the bill. If the governor approves it, the governor signs it.
- Veto the bill. If the governor disapproves, the bill is returned with objections to the chamber where it started.
- Do nothing. In some circumstances a bill becomes law without a signature, as described below.
For a closer look at how bills reach this point, see how the Maryland General Assembly works.
How long does the governor have to act?
The Constitution sets different clocks depending on timing.
| Situation | Rule |
|---|---|
| Bill presented while the legislature is in session | Becomes law as if signed unless the governor returns it with objections within six days, Sundays excepted |
| Bill presented within six days (Sundays excepted) before adjournment, or after adjournment | Becomes law without the governor’s signature unless vetoed within 30 days after it is presented |
| Bill that the legislature’s adjournment prevents the governor from returning | Does not become law |
The practical result is that a governor who wants to stop a bill must act on the record within those windows. Silence is not a veto in Maryland. For most bills it works the opposite way: a bill the governor never vetoes becomes law.
What does a veto do?
A veto returns the bill to the chamber in which it originated. That chamber must enter the governor’s objections in full in its Journal and then reconsider the bill.
Vetoed bills do not have to be taken up right away. The Constitution says a vetoed bill, other than the budget bill, is returned to its originating chamber immediately after that chamber has organized at the next regular or special session of the General Assembly. The exception is an extraordinary session called for the budget-veto purpose described in the same section.
Each chamber may also adopt a “veto calendar” procedure, under which bills to be reconsidered can be read and voted on as a single group. Two safeguards come with it. Members must get reasonable notice of the bills on a veto calendar, and if any member objects, a bill must be removed from the calendar.
What does it take to override a veto?
Overriding a veto requires a three-fifths vote of the members elected to each chamber, not three-fifths of those present. The vetoed bill first goes through reconsideration in the chamber where it started. If three-fifths of the members elected to that chamber pass it, it goes with the governor’s objections to the other chamber. If that chamber also passes it by three-fifths of its elected members, the bill becomes law.
The votes of both chambers must be taken by yeas and nays, and the names of members voting for and against are entered in each chamber’s Journal. That makes an override a matter of public record for every legislator.
When does an overridden bill take effect?
According to the Constitution, a bill enacted over a veto takes effect 30 days after the veto is overridden, or on the date specified in the bill, whichever is later. If the bill is an emergency measure, it takes effect when enacted. The same 30-day rule applies to a bill that becomes law because the governor failed to act in time.
Is there a time limit on an override?
Yes, and it is one of the less familiar features of the Maryland system. The Constitution says no vetoed bill may be returned to the legislature once a new General Assembly has been elected and sworn in since the bill was passed. In plain terms, once a new General Assembly has taken office, a bill vetoed from the earlier one can no longer be brought back for an override vote.
The practical effect is that an override vote has to come from the same legislators who passed the bill. A veto issued after the legislature adjourns near the end of a term may therefore be final.
How is the state budget different?
The budget follows its own track under Article III, Section 52. A summary of the main points, as written in the Constitution:
| Budget step | What the Constitution says |
|---|---|
| Submission | The governor submits a budget for the next fiscal year on the third Wednesday in January, except for a newly elected governor, who has until no later than ten days after the General Assembly convenes |
| Balance | Total proposed appropriations may not exceed total estimated revenues, and the enacted budget must keep revenues equal to or above appropriations |
| Protected items | The legislature may not amend the budget bill in ways that affect state debt obligations, the public school system provisions in law, or salaries the Constitution requires |
| Deadline | If the budget bill has not been finally acted on seven days before the regular session ends, the governor issues a proclamation extending the session, and only the budget (and its cost) can be considered |
Several of these rules say a good deal about how power is shared. The governor proposes the budget, but the legislature must pass it, and the two sides are bound to the same balanced-budget requirement.
Can lawmakers add to the governor’s budget?
Within limits, yes. For fiscal year 2024 and each year after, the Constitution allows the General Assembly to increase, diminish or add items relating to the legislature, the judiciary and the executive branch. The condition is that the total appropriation for the executive branch approved by the General Assembly may not exceed the total the governor proposed.
Before that change, the legislature could generally only strike or reduce items in the executive part of the budget, apart from its own and the judiciary’s items. The shift gave lawmakers more say over how a fixed total is divided.
The same section adds that when the budget bill passes both chambers, it “shall be a law immediately without further action by the Governor.” Under that wording, the budget bill itself is not subject to the veto process described earlier. Readers who want the current language, including how it interacts with the older budget-veto text in Article II, can consult the Constitution on the General Assembly’s website.
Other appropriations travel separately. A supplementary appropriation bill must cover a single purpose, must provide the revenue to pay for it, and must pass each chamber by a majority of the whole number of elected members. It then goes to the governor under the ordinary Section 17 process.
How do these rules shape what gets passed?
The three-fifths threshold is higher than a simple majority, which gives a governor real leverage. A bill that passed narrowly is unlikely to survive a veto, while a bill that passed with broad support in both chambers is a different matter. The rule against returning vetoed bills after a new General Assembly is sworn in adds a timing element, since lawmakers know that late-term vetoes may leave no chance for a vote.
Readers following this fall’s votes can see what voters will see on the 2026 ballot, and how legislative districts and representation work explains who the lawmakers casting these votes represent.
For residents, vetoes and overrides can feel like inside baseball, but they decide whether proposals debated in Annapolis end up as law. Knowing the deadlines helps explain why a bill passed in the spring may not be signed until later, and why a veto announcement is not always the last word. The Maryland State House is where those override votes would take place.
Conclusion: a system built on checks
Maryland’s Constitution gives the governor a firm check on the legislature, and gives the legislature a three-fifths path around that check, with a built-in clock that ends when a new General Assembly is sworn in. The budget has its own rules, balancing the governor’s proposal against the legislature’s power to reshape spending within the governor’s total. Anyone tracking a bill can use the deadlines above to see where it stands.
This article is general information about the Maryland Constitution, not legal advice. Check the current text on the General Assembly’s website for the latest language.
Sources: Maryland General Assembly
