On February 27, 2007, the Maryland Association of Financial Aid Administrators sponsored Bill2Law Day in Annapolis. This event was designed to teach financial aid professionals how an idea becomes a law and the intricate process of passing legislation.

The day began at the Maryland Higher Education Commission where Andrea Mansfield from MHEC gave an overview of the legislative process and how the legislature is structured. Karen Price then provided instructions how to find current and past bills, locate them by topic or sponsor, and how to read a fiscal note. Liz Urbanski summarized with an overview of financial aid and scholarship bills currently before Maryland’s General Assembly.

The group had lunch at one of Annapolis’s famous legislative hang-outs, Galway Bay. Delegate David Rudolph from Cecil County joined them and answered many candid questions about life as a delegate. He is a long time educator and was very impressed by how financial aid professionals try to help students afford college.

The culmination of the day was to actually attend a bill hearing in the House by the Ways and Means Committee. Hopefully it all made sense, and the group developed a new awareness for the process “Bill2Law” .