Maryland’s 2021 General Assembly session is going to look very different than most years. Senate President Bill Ferguson  and House Speaker Adrienne Jones have announced new COVID-19 protocols for the legislative body when the session begins January 4.

Ferguson released a 21-page plan Friday that details how the legislature will operate, conduct voting sessions, and allow public attendance. Ferguson said after consulting with Jones, Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration, and officials from the City of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, he designed a plan that drastically changes the legislative process.

“In the midst of a global pandemic, convening is certainly not a recommended strategy to employ,” Ferguson told reporters during a virtual press conference. “We had to rethink top to bottom each process, each protocol. How we could reduce risk as much as humanly possible while also making sure that the work product itself the laws that we pass incorporate the vast input we need to be effective.”

Both Jones and Ferguson have said there will be limited floor meetings during the first third of the session. House delegates will be divided into two groups: One group will convene in the House chamber, and the other will convene in the House office building and tune into the session virtually. The Senate will also make floor session debate and voting available virtually with some senators in the chamber and others tuning in from Senate committee rooms.

The House is making accommodations to seat delegates who are immuno-compromised in the gallery and the Senate is operating under a loosened absentee policy for Senators who may be sick.

“It’s really important that when we’re doing the people’s business that we are in the place that the constitution outlines, in Annapolis,” Ferguson said.

All meeting areas in the Statehouse and office buildings are being equipped with plexiglass barriers and air purifiers. Desks will be socially distanced, lawmakers will be required to wear masks, and regular cleaning and sanitizing will occur between meetings. Jones told delegates in a letter on Thursday that lawmakers will break every two hours to allow for cleaning in the chamber.

While public access to government buildings will be prohibited, the press will still have access to the buildings and are asked to follow the COVID-19 protocols in place. The public will be able to live stream all floor sessions, committee hearings, and voting via the general assembly’s website.

This is the first year that the Senate will have video cameras installed to be able to view the sessions. The House installed cameras last year, but only live streamed sessions that Jones thought were pertinent to the public. There were a few glitches with the House chamber’s cameras last year, but Jones writes that technicians have “worked throughout the interim with our vendors to ensure that these problems do not persist in 2021.”

Committee hearings will be limited to the committee members, bill sponsors, four favorable witnesses, two favorable witnesses with amendments to bills, and four unfavorable witnesses. All witnesses will be given 2.5 minutes to speak instead of the regular 2 minutes. Members of the public that want to testify virtually at a hearing will have to sign up in advance.

In a typical year, written testimony would be provided on paper, scanned, and then made available to the public. Now all testimony has to be submitted electronically and will be made public after the committee votes on the bill.

“The Department of Legislative Services has had to rebuild a cybersecurity network to allow for electronic submission,” Ferguson said. “Members of the public will be able to submit [testimony] to the committees of jurisdiction where that particular bill is [being heard].”

Ferguson says the legislature’s information technology office has created a mobile app for legislators, their staff, and anyone else entering government buildings with government identification to do daily health checks. The app will ask users if they’ve been around someone with COVID-19 and if they’ve had any COVID-19 related symptoms.

Delegates, senators, and select members of their staffs will be required to get COVID-19 tests twice a week and on-demand rapid testing will also be made available. The general assembly will also have a contact tracing response team which will train over the next two months to have specific knowledge of the House and Senate facilities and operations should there be a positive test or exposed individual.

The legislature adjourned last session 19 days early in March because of the pandemic.