Legislature

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Legislature
Chambers
Unicameralism Multicameralism Bicameralism
Tricameralism Tetracameralism
Upper house (Senate) Lower house
Parliament
Parliamentary system Parliamentary group
Member of parliament International parliament
Parliamentary procedure
Committee Quorum Motion (no-confidence)
Types
Congress (Member of Congress)
City council (Councillor) The Estates
Legislatures by country
v t e
A legislature is the law-making body of a political unit, usually a national gov
ernment, that has power to amend and repeal public policy. Laws enacted by legis
latures are known as legislation. Legislatures observe and steer governing actio
ns and usually have exclusive authority to amend the budget or budgets involved
in the process. The most common names for national legislatures are "parliament"
and "congress". The members of a legislature are called legislators.
Contents [hide]
1
Terminology
2
Institutional framework
3
Chambers
4
List of Legislatures
4.1
Current
4.1.1 National
4.1.2 Sub-national
4.2
Defunct
4.2.1 National
5
See also
6
References
Terminology[edit]
Because members of legislatures usually sit together in a specific room to delib
erate, seats in that room may be assigned exclusively to members of the legislat
ure. In parliamentary language, the term "seat" is sometimes used to mean that s
omeone is a member of a legislature. For example, to say that a legislature has
100 "seats" means that there are 100 members of the legislature; and saying that
someone is "contesting a seat" means they are trying to be elected as a member
of the legislature. By extension, the term "seat" is often used in less formal c
ontexts to refer to an electoral district itself, as, for example, in the phrase
s "safe seat" and "marginal seat".
In parliamentary systems of government, the executive is responsible to the legi
slature which may remove it with a vote of no confidence. According to the separ
ation of powers doctrine, the legislature in a presidential system is considered
an independent and coequal branch of government along with both the judiciary a
nd the executive.[1]
Institutional framework[edit]
A legislature creates a complex interaction between individual members, politica
l parties, committees, rules of parliamentary procedure, and informal norms.
Chambers[edit]

The Congress of the Republic of Peru, the country's national legislature, meets
in the Legislative Palace in 2010
A legislature is composed of one or more deliberative assemblies that separately
debate and vote upon bills. These assemblies are normally known as chambers or
houses. A legislature with only one house is a unicameral legislature, while a b
icameral legislature possesses two separate chambers, usually described as an "u
pper house" and a "lower house". These usually differ in the duties and powers t
hey exercise the upper house being more revisionary or advisory in parliamentary
systems and the methods used for the selection of members. Tricameral legislatu
res are rare; the Massachusetts Governor's Council still exists, but the most re
cent national example existed in the waning years of Caucasian-minority rule in
South Africa. Tetracameral legislatures no longer exist, but they were previousl
y used in Scandinavia.
In presidential systems, the powers of the two houses are often similar or equal
, while in federations, the upper house typically represents the federation's co
mponent states. This is a case with the supranational legislature of the Europea
n Union. The upper house may either contain the delegates of state governments a
s in the European Union and in Germany and, before 1913, in the United States or
be elected according to a formula that grants equal representation to states wi
th smaller populations, as is the case in Australia and the United States since
1913.
List of Legislatures[edit]
Some legislatures are known simply as the Legislature, including:
Current[edit]
National[edit]
Country Body
Type
Liberia
Legislature of Liberia Bicameral
Marshall Islands
Legislature of the Marshall Islands
Unicameral
South Sudan
National Legislature
Bicameral
Sudan National Legislature
Bicameral
Sub-national[edit]
Country Region Body
Type
India Maharashtra
Maharashtra Legislature Bicameral
India Bihar Bihar Legislature
Bicameral
India Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir Legislature Bicameral
India Karnataka
Karnataka Legislature Bicameral
India Kerala Kerala Legislature
Unicameral
India Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu Legislature Unicameral
India Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh Legislature
Bicameral
South Africa Eastern Cape
Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature
Unicamer
al
South Africa Free State
Free State Legislature Unicameral
South Africa Gauteng Gauteng Provincial Legislature Unicameral
South Africa KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal Legislature
Unicameral
South Africa Limpopo Limpopo Legislature
Unicameral
South Africa Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature
Unicamer
al
South Africa North West
North West Provincial Legislature
Unicamer
al
South Africa Northern Cape Northern Cape Provincial Legislature
Unicamer
al
United States Alabama Alabama Legislature
Bicameral
United States Alaska Alaska Legislature
Bicameral
United States Arizona Arizona State Legislature
Bicameral
United States California
California State Legislature
Bicameral
United States Florida Florida Legislature
Bicameral
United States Hawaii Hawaii State Legislature
Bicameral

United States Idaho Idaho Legislature

Bicameral
United States Kansas Kansas Legislature
Bicameral
United States Louisiana
Louisiana State Legislature
Bicameral
United States Maine Maine Legislature
Bicameral
United States Michigan
Michigan Legislature
Bicameral
United States Minnesota
Minnesota Legislature Bicameral
United States Mississippi
Mississippi Legislature Bicameral
United States Montana Montana Legislature
Bicameral
United States Nebraska
Nebraska Legislature
Unicameral
United States Nevada Nevada Legislature
Bicameral
United States New Jersey
New Jersey Legislature Bicameral
United States New Mexico
New Mexico Legislature Bicameral
United States New York
New York State Legislature
Bicameral
United States Oklahoma
Oklahoma Legislature
Bicameral
United States South Dakota
South Dakota Legislature
Bicameral
United States Texas Texas Legislature
Bicameral
United States Utah
Utah State Legislature Bicameral
United States Washington
Washington State Legislature
Bicameral
United States West Virginia West Virginia Legislature
Bicameral
United States Wisconsin
Wisconsin Legislature Bicameral
United States Wyoming Wyoming Legislature
Bicameral
United States Guam
Legislature of Guam
Unicameral
United States Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands Commonw
ealth Legislature
Bicameral
United States U.S. Virgin Islands
Legislature of the Virgin Islands
Unicameral
Defunct[edit]
National[edit]
Country Body
Type
Burma Legislature
Bicameral
British Guiana Legislature
Bicameral
Kingdom of Hawaii
Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii
Bicameral/unicam
eral
Nepal
Interim legislature of Nepal
Unicameral
Philippines
Philippine Legislature Bicameral
See also[edit]
Portal icon
Law portal
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Politics portal
House of Assembly
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Council
National Assembly
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Governing Systems and Executive-Legislative Relations (Presidential,
Parliamentary and Hybrid Systems)". United Nations Development Programme. Retrie
ved 2008-10-16.
[show] v t e
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