The Maryland House of Delegates elected Delegate Adrienne A. Jones as speaker and Delegate Dana Stein as speaker pro tem during its organizational session on Jan. 8, 2025, adopting house rules and announcing a slate of leadership, clerk and committee appointments.

The nominations and voice votes concluded with the presiding clerk declaring, “The ayes have it,” first for Dana Stein as speaker pro tem and then for Adrienne A. Jones as speaker of the House of Delegates. Both took the oath of office before the chamber.

The organizational actions set the chamber’s leadership for the 2025 session and placed committee and clerical assignments that will determine which lawmakers review introduced bills. Speaker Adrienne A. Jones used her opening remarks to emphasize the chamber’s budget priorities. “This year, we’re going to protect the investments we made in education, health care, and transportation,” Speaker Jones said, urging members to focus on protecting those programs amid fiscal constraints.

The clerk read and the House adopted the House rules in effect at the end of the 2024 regular session. The House also approved orders appointing Sylvia Sievert as chief clerk and Colleen Cassidy as general clerk and named desk officers and assistant clerks; those appointments were adopted without recorded objection.

The speaker announced a slate of leadership and whip appointments, which the House adopted by voice vote or by unanimous consent. The read list included nominees for majority leader and deputy and assistant leadership posts, deputy speaker pro tem, assistant speaker pro tem and the Democratic caucus chair and vice chair. The speaker also announced committee chairs and vice chairs for standing committees, and an expanded list of deputy and assistant majority whips; those committee and leadership assignments were accepted by the House.

Procedural business during the session included moving House Bill 1258 to special order for consideration on Tuesday, Jan. 14, and reading introductory bills on the consent calendar. The clerk reported that batches of introductory bills (for example, House bills 1–50, 51–100, and subsequent grouped ranges up through 291) were read for the first time and referred to the appropriate committees. A message from the House to the Senate appointed a joint committee to wait on the governor and inform him that the General Assembly was organized; the Senate responded with its appointments and reported that it had organized as well.

The session included brief remarks from Governor Wes Moore and Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller and a floor recognition for the family of the late former Delegate Jimmy Malone. At adjournment the House recorded 135 members present; the body stood adjourned until Thursday, Jan. 9, at 10 a.m.

Additional details recorded in the proceedings include which office-holders were named to clerical and committee posts and the formal adoption of the standing rules carried over from the end of the 2024 session. Where roll-call tallies were not recorded in the transcript, outcomes are reported as the clerk announced them (voice votes declared by the presiding officer).