Dictionary
persons who make or amend or repeal laws
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Wikipedia
A legislature is a governmental deliberative assembly with the power to adopt lawlaws. Legislatures are known by many names, including: ''parliament'', ''congress'', ''diet'' and ''national assembly''.In parliamentary systemparliamentary systems of government, the legislature is formally supreme and appoints the executive branchexecutive.In presidential systempresidential systems of government, the legislature is considered a power branch which is equal to, and independent of, the executive.In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise taxes and adopt the budget and other money bills. The consent of the legislature is also often required to ratify treatytreaties and declare war.
Chambers - The primary component of a legislature is one or more ''chambers'' or ''houses'': assemblies that debate and vote upon bill (proposed law)bills. Most legislatures are either ''bicameral'' or ''unicameral'': A unicameral legislature is the simplest kind of law-making body and has only one house. A bicameral legislature possesses two separate chambers, usually described as an upper house and a lower house, which may differ in duties, powers, and methods for the selection of members. In most parliamentary systems, the lower house is the most powerful house while the upper house is merely a chamber of advice or review. However in presidential systems the powers of the two houses are often similar or equal. In federations it is typical for the upper house to represent the component states. For this purpose the upper house may either contain the delegates of state governments, as is the case of Germany and was the case in the pre-19 century United States, or to be elected according to a formula that grants disproportionate representation to smaller states, as is the case today in Australia and the United States. Historically, as well as bicameral and unicameral bodies, there have also been rare instances of tricameral legislatures.Many legislatures are said to include not just one or more houses but also the head of state. This is because in most systems it is necessary that, after being approved by the house or houses of the legislature, a bill receive the assent of the head of state before it can become law. This may be the case even if, as is the case in many parliamentary systems, the assent of the head of state is merely a formality and will not be withheld. It is also common, however, for the head of state not to be considered a formal part of the legislature, even if they have the power to veto laws. The British Parliament formally consists of the British monarchCrown, and two houses; similarly, the Irish ''Oireachtas'' consists officially of the President and two houses. In contrast, the United States Congress consists only of its two houses and does not officially include the US president, despite the fact that he wields a veto.
Competences - The power of legislatures varies widely from country to country. ''Rubber stamp legislature'' is a derogatory name for a legislature that has no real power but simply approves, by unanimous or near unanimous votes, bills put before it by other institutions. For example, the legislatures of many Communist states were often derided as mere 'rubber stamps' for decisions of the ruling party. The term is not usually used to describe legislatures of parliamentary systemparliamentary systems. Although the final draft of legislation introduced by the government almost always passes, these legislatures are generally not labelled "rubber stamps" because legislators are involved in the drafting and amendment of bills.
List of titles of legislatures - NationalParliamentCongressDiet (assembly)DietNational Assembly
Althing — IcelandAssembly of the Republic (Portugal)Assembleia da República — PortugalBundestag — GermanyCortes Generales — SpainEduskunta or Riksdag — FinlandFederal Assembly — Russia, SwitzerlandFolketing — DenmarkKnesset — IsraelLegislative Yuan — Republic of ChinaRepublic of China/TaiwanMajles Al-Ummah — KuwaitOireachtas — Republic of IrelandRiigikogu — EstoniaRiksdag — SwedenRajya Sabha/Lok Sabha — IndiaSabor — CroatiaSaeima — LatviaSeimas — LithuaniaSejm — PolandSkupstinaSkupština — Serbia and MontenegroEstates-General or Staten Generaal — NetherlandsStorting — NorwayTynwald — Isle of ManVerkhovna Rada — UkraineHistoricalStates-GeneralDáil Éireann (1919-1922)Dáil — Irish Republic (1919-1922)Volkskammer — East Germany (1949-1990)StateList of state legislatures of the United States — United StatesLandtag — Germany, Austria
See also - List of democracy and elections-related topicsList of national legislaturesLegislative Assemblies of Canada's provinces and territoriesList of state legislatures of the United !StatesCategory:Legislaturescn: National? People's Congressde:Legislativees:Poder !Legislativoid:Legislatifis:Lö ggjafarvaldit:Potere? !legislativolb:Legislativnl:Wet gevende? machtja:立法府no:Politisk forsamlingpl:Władza ustawodawczapt:Poder !Legislativosr:Законода вна? !властsimple:Legislaturezh :立法
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Websites
NJ Conservative Party
The offical web site of the NJCP,founded in 1992 by Tom Blomquist as a grass-roots activist organization dedicated to represent conservative issues & values on the ballot with citizen-candidates on all levels(federal,state,county & local).
http://www.njcp.org/
Texas Legislature Online
Contains the full searchable text of Texas laws, bills, and Constitution. Schedule of events at the Capitol building, links to the House and Senate calendars, and details of the legislative process.
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us
Washington State Legislature
Provides extensive public access to state senators and state representatives as well as legislation
http://www.leg.wa.gov/
Michigan Legislature
Searchable full text of the Michigan Compiled Laws.
http://www.michiganlegislature.org/
Official California Legislative Information
Welcome to the official site for California legislative information. This WWW site is maintained by the Legislative Counsel of California, pursuant to California law. Contains complete text of all bills, including amendments.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/
Wisconsin State Legislature
Provides a legislator lookup, text and history of legislative activities, committees, and links to legislators' profiles and offices.
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/
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