The Maryland Senate voted to adopt an amendment to Rule 26(a) that limits the number of bills a senator may request the Department of Legislative Services to draft and the number of bills a senator may introduce; the clerk recorded 43 votes in the affirmative on the motion to adopt the rule change.

The change, presented by the chair of the Rules Committee, is meant to reduce committee workload and shorten late-night hearings by capping the number of requests for bill drafts and the number of introductions per senator, while preserving narrowly defined exceptions for delegation bills, task-force or commission recommendations, and bills introduced “by request” of an executive department. Debate focused on how strictly the cap will be enforced this session and how the rules office will handle exceptions.

Chair of the Rules Committee said the committee met over the interim and "came up with a recommendation ... that we limit the number of bills, we change it from 30 to 25 that people can request from the Department of Legislative Services, and we similarly limit to 25 the number of bills that folks can introduce as well." The chair also described exceptions for delegation bills, task-force or commission bills, and bills introduced "by request" of an executive branch entity, and noted a prefiled-bill adjustment intended to allow a modest additional number of prefiled measures.

Supporters, including the majority leader and chairs of several standing committees, said the cap was intended to improve the quality of committee work and reduce the late-night hearing burden on staff and legislators. The majority leader said the change was "not to be punitive in any way" but to reduce the workload that has lengthened committee sessions. The chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee told colleagues that long, open-ended hearings degrade the quality of debate and said adherence to the rule should "enhance" committee work.

Lawmakers who had already committed to bill requests and drafting urged a measured implementation this session. Several senators asked how the office would treat bills already drafted or in progress and whether the body could suspend the rule to allow previously committed bills to be introduced. The chair and secretary of the Senate described an oversight approach: the secretary's office will track counts, inform senators when a cap is reached, and senators may request an exception or suspension on the floor at the time of introduction.

The body adopted the change after floor debate and a roll call. The clerk announced 43 affirmative votes and the chair declared Rule 26(a) adopted.