State Legislature

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Illinois House of Representatives Chamber
Louisiana Senate Boardroom

As State Legislature in are the United States , the parliaments of the states designated. In some states, terms such as General Assembly or General Court can also be found . Since all US states with the exception of Nebraska have a bicameral parliament - consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives - it is therefore an umbrella term. The members of both chambers of parliament are directly elected by the citizens entitled to vote.

composition

State Legislature is the umbrella term for the legislature , which consists of two chambers in all states except Nebraska . The respective State Senate is the Upper House (also Smaller Chamber or Senate ) and the House of Representatives is the Lower House (also Larger Chamber , State Assembly or House of Representatives ).

The respective lower houses always have more representatives than the upper houses . The majority party selects the lower houses a speaker (Speaker) as chairman of the chamber, while in many state senates automatically the acting lieutenant governor is president of the Senate. It does not matter whether the lieutenant governor is a member of the majority party or not. Despite his position as Senate President, a lieutenant governor only has a vote in the event of a stalemate. In addition, the Senates or their majority parliamentary group elect a Senate President for a time (President pro tempore) . In the five states without a lieutenant governor, a senate president is elected by the chamber who belongs to the majority parliamentary group. However, not all vice governors are also Senate presidents. One example is Illinois . In addition, the respective parliamentary groups elect a parliamentary group chairman in both chambers. These are known as the Majority Leader for the majority party and Minority Leader for the minority party. In some states there is no separate leader of the majority party; here the president is pro tempore also leader of his group. The same applies to the speakers of the lower houses.

Members of the Upper Houses are usually addressed as Senator or, more rarely, State Senator , while Members of the Lower Houses are usually referred to as Assemblyman or Assemblywoman .

tasks

The Iowa Capitol , seat of the state legislature
California State Capitol , seat of the California legislature
The Texas Capitol at night, seat of the Texas legislature
The Arizona Capitol
The Massachusetts State House
New Jersey General Assembly Chamber

The central task of the federal legislature is legislation and decision-making in the state budget . As in every parliament, the two chambers discuss bills in the various specialist committees. This advice is usually given separately. A simple majority in both chambers is usually necessary for normal laws to come into being. However, it is imperative that both chambers agree to a resolution in the same wording. However, some states have special regulations for certain resolutions; in California , for example, the budget had to be passed by a two-thirds majority by 2011. This regulation was repealed by a referendum in 2010. There, however, tax increases must still be resolved with a two-thirds majority.

The federal law includes all competences that were not expressly assigned to the federal government (i.e. the Congress in Washington ) by the American constitution . Further legislative tasks can also result from the constitution of the respective federal state itself. Competencies that are subject to state law include:

Resolved bills require the approval of the governor , who signs and executes resolutions. However, in their function as heads of state, governors also have the right to veto laws . In this case, the state parliaments have the option of rejecting a veto by means of another vote. In most countries, however, a two-thirds majority is required; in only a few a simple or three-fifths majority is sufficient. If the required majority is not achieved after an objection by the governor, the submission is deemed to have failed. In contrast to the US president at the federal level, the governors of many states also have the power to exercise a so-called line item veto . This provides for the deletion of individual passages in a law by the governor. The same rules apply to the rejection of a line item veto as to a veto against an entire law.

In addition to legislation, the state senates usually have other tasks. Since the governor, as head of the executive branch, also appoints high officials in the state apparatus as well as judges at the constitutional courts of the federal states, these appointments usually require the approval of the senates. In some states, there is a special regulation when a vice-governor is appointed, for example if the previous incumbent resigns or becomes governor. The lower houses of the nominated candidate must also agree to this. Some states, however, do not allow for retrospective appointments, which means that vacant lieutenant governor positions remain vacant until the next election. If the respective senates do not meet, the governor can fill positions immediately without consent. However, the necessary confirmations must be made up for at the next meeting or at least rejected with a vote of the plenary.

Since both the MPs and the governor are elected directly and independently of each other, it is possible that the parliamentary majority and the governor belong to different parties (see Divided government ). Different majorities between the two chambers can also result. Because factional discipline is not common in the United States at either the federal or state level , membership in the majority party need not necessarily be an advantage for the governor. For him it is all the more important to secure the approval of the elected representatives in the state legislature, without which it is practically impossible to govern. On the other hand, the state parliaments have no way of simply voting out a governor, for example by means of a vote of no confidence . Governors can be removed from office by the legislature , whereby a two-thirds majority is required in the upper houses. However, the basis for such removal from office is always legal misconduct or illegal actions (e.g. corruption ). Impeachment proceedings for political reasons are not possible. In a few states, however, governors can be voted out prematurely by the people, but there are high hurdles. Impeachment proceedings, which in principle are possible against any elected representative in the state, only ever result in removal from office. A criminal prosecution and / or conviction can only be carried out by a competent court.

The state legislatures also play a central role in changes to the US Constitution. In addition to a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Congress, three quarters of all states must also approve a constitutional amendment. With currently 50 states, 38 parliaments have to ratify a modification of the constitution.

Until the 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed in 1913, the state legislatures also elected US Senators . Since this constitutional amendment, the senators at the federal level, as well as members of the House of Representatives , are directly elected by the citizens.

Elections and terms of office

Swearing-in of state senators in Alaska (2013)

Elections to the members of a state legislature are made directly by the eligible population, i.e. all US citizens who have reached the age of eighteen. All states are divided into districts for the upper house and lower house, which are based on the number of population. This is to ensure that each elected representative represents roughly the same number of citizens. On the basis of the censuses carried out in the USA every ten years , the districts are adapted to the new circumstances every ten years . The US Supreme Court ruled in 1964 that the US Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in some states to elect state senators for the counties . According to the judges, the electoral districts should be based on the number of inhabitants and not on an administrative unit.

The terms of office of the respective chambers differ from state to state. In most states, Senate members are elected for four years and members of the House of Representatives for two years. By means of referendums, some states have introduced restrictions on the term of office for elected officials, the duration of which differs depending on the state. The right to stand as a candidate also varies from state to state.

Elections across the United States always take place on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. With the exception of Virginia , Louisiana , Mississippi and New Jersey , which vote in odd years, elections to the state legislature take place every two years, i.e. parallel to presidential and congressional elections . In the case of two-year terms of office in the House of Representatives, all seats are filled for each election, while the Senates are each half re-elected every two years. Since, with the exception of New Hampshire and Vermont, governors are elected for four years, elections to the state parliaments also take place in the middle of a governor's term of office.

After the legislative elections constitute the parliaments six to ten weeks (that is, in December or January after the election) is usually about after the election. The exact time is determined by the respective constitutions of the states.

The last elections to the state legislatures took place in November 2019.

Meetings

State of the State Address in 2011 by Governor Mark Dayton ( Minnesota )

Federal state parliaments meet in the respective state capitals, which are located in every capital of a state. The two chambers of parliament meet separately, but usually in the same week, so that the state legislature has a quorum. A joint session of both chambers only takes place if the governor gives a speech, who is otherwise excluded from all sessions of the legislature. Addresses by the governors take place at least once a year, namely at the beginning of the year. These government statements , known as the State of the State Address , are required by the state constitutions and are intended to inform Members of Parliament about the state of the state. Governors can also make specific legislative proposals. However, there was no debate, and after the address the governor left the plenary chamber.

There are no standardized intervals for meetings in the USA. In the countries with fewer inhabitants, after-work parliaments are concerned , with the number of meetings being set at a few per year. Here the elected officials usually have another job. Larger states, especially California , New York , Pennsylvania and Michigan , on the other hand, have full-time parliaments that work in a similar way to Congress at the federal level. Accordingly, the MPs here also receive higher salaries and are full-time members of the state parliament.

literature

  • Christoph M. Haas, Wolfgang Jäger: Government system of the USA: teaching and manual , Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2007 ISBN 978-3486584387
  • Karl-Heinz Röder: The political system of the USA. Past and present , Pahl-Rugenstein 1990, ISBN 978-3760911397

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ ocregister.com: Two-Thirds majority rule confounds budget process
  2. ^ Federalism: National vs. State Government
  3. ^ Federalism - US Legal System
  4. ↑ a b c Introduction to Governors. Center on the American Governor, accessed January 8, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Christoph M. Haas, Wolfgang Jäger: Government system of the USA: teaching and manual , Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2007 ISBN 978-3486584387 p. 460 ff.
  6. ↑ Christoph M. Haas, Wolfgang Jäger: Government system of the USA: teaching and manual , Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2007 ISBN 978-3486584387 p. 459 ff.
  7. ↑ PBS article on Reynolds v. Sims
  8. ↑ The deadlines for constituting the newly elected legislature can be found in the constitutions of the federal states
  9. ↑ Full- and Part-Time Legislatures at ncs.org