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Legislature

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Features of State Legislatures
Length of terms: Representatives • Senators
How vacancies are filled in state legislatures
States with a full-time legislature
Legislatures with multi-member districts
State legislatures with term limits
Comparison of state legislative salaries
When legislators assume office?
State constitutions
State legislative sessions
State legislative walkouts
Candidate requirements by state
Resign-to-run laws
Minority and coalition control of state legislative chambers, 1994-Present
Veto overrides in state legislatures
Elected officials expelled from state legislatures
Primary runoffs

A legislature is a type of representative deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws.

Legislatures are known by many names. The most common are parliament and congress, although these terms also have more specific meanings. In parliamentary systems of government, the legislature is formally supreme and appoints the executive. In presidential systems of government, like the United States, the legislature is considered a branch of government which is equal to, and independent of, the executive. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority in certain states to raise taxes and adopt the budget. Initiative and referendum are the methods available to citizens seeking to affect taxes and budgets in the states where that is permitted.

Chambers

The primary components of a legislature are one or more chambers or houses: assemblies that debate and vote upon proposed bills. A legislature with only one house is called unicameral. A bicameral legislature possesses two separate chambers, usually described as an upper house and a lower house, which may differ in duties, powers, and the methods used for the selection of members.


Footnotes

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State legislatures
Legislatures
Alabama (H, S) · Alaska (H, S) · Arizona (H, S) · Arkansas (H, S) · California (A, S) · Colorado (H, S) · Connecticut (H, S) · Delaware (H, S) · Florida (H, S) · Georgia (H, S) · Hawaii (H, S) · Idaho (H, S) · Illinois (H, S) · Indiana (H, S) · Iowa (H, S) · Kansas (H, S) · Kentucky (H, S) · Louisiana (H, S) · Maine (H, S) · Maryland (H, S) · Massachusetts (H, S) · Michigan (H, S) · Minnesota (H, S) · Mississippi (H, S) · Missouri (H, S) · Montana (H, S) · Nebraska · Nevada (A, S) · New Hampshire (H, S) · New Jersey (GA, S) · New Mexico (H, S) · New York (A, S) · North Carolina (H, S) · North Dakota (H, S) · Ohio (H, S) · Oklahoma (H, S) · Oregon (H, S) · Pennsylvania (H, S) · Rhode Island (H, S) · South Carolina (H, S) · South Dakota (H, S) · Tennessee (H, S) · Texas (H, S) · Utah (H, S) · Vermont (H, S) · Virginia (H, S) · Washington (H, S) · West Virginia (H, S) · Wisconsin (A, S) · Wyoming (H, S)
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Historical elections
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Features of
state legislatures
State senates
State houses
Leadership positions
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