Legislative Process Guide
Make-Up of The Legislatures
All state legislatures, excepting Nebraska's, are bicameral. This means they are composed of two chambers. Traditionally there is an “upper” and “lower" chamber, with the upper chamber assuming the name of “Senate” and the lower “House of Representatives.” The members of these chambers are referred to as Senators and Representatives, respectively. The unicameral Nebraska legislature is referred to as the Senate and its members assume the title Senator. Some states refer to the lower chamber as the "Assembly" or the "House of Delegates," with members assuming the title of "Assembly Member" or "Delegate." For our purposes, we use only the traditional terminology.
The principles behind the design of the U.S. Congress involve an immense amount of history and political theory, and manifest themselves in many ways among the states. The U.S. House serves as the larger, more representative branch, with members representing roughly the same number of constituents within one of the 435 congressional districts. The U.S. Senate is the smaller, more deliberative branch that distributes its 100 members equally among the states regardless of population, thereby giving each state two votes. Among the state legislatures, the manner by which legislative representation is allocated differs greatly but tends to follow the same general principles that we find in the Congress. For example, in Arizona members of the House and Senate rely upon the same legislative districts that contain roughly the same number of constituents. There are 30 districts altogether, and each district is represented by two members of the House and one member of the Senate. This is the same form of districting that you will find in Idaho, Maryland, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington. Other legislatures have separate districts for the House and Senate. For example, in New Hampshire there are 400 members of the House representing 103 districts, resulting in a legislator-constituent ratio of 1:3,000. If the U.S. House were to provide for that kind of representation, there would be approximately 99,000 members. Meanwhile, the New Hampshire Senate has only 24 members, each representing roughly the same number of constituents within their respective districts. While this comparison suggests that there is a wide discrepancy between states in how they dole out Senators and Representatives, they all assume the standard adopted by the U.S. Congress: the House serves as the larger, more representative body, while the Senate serves as the smaller, more deliberative body with a wider constituency.
State legislatures also utilize a similar power sharing and organizational structure to that of the U.S. Congress. Although the House is frequently referred to as the "lower chamber" on both a federal and state level, the case can be made that such a label is widely misleading, in that it suggests that the Senate is considerably more powerful than the House. While the Senate may assume certain powers and responsibilities which the House does not (executive nominations and filibusters, for example), the House is by no means less powerful. The general rule is that both chambers play an equally important role, regardless of the differences in how legislation passes through the chamber. After all, even if one chamber of the legislature, the Governor, and the general public all vastly support a specific bill, it will not be enacted into law if the other chamber does not vote to endorse the legislation.
Like the U.S. Congress, the two-party system dominates the state legislatures. A very small number of Independents and members of third parties hold seats throughout the country. The party that holds a majority in the Senate or House will have much greater sway in setting the agenda and passing legislation favorable to that party's platform. Once again, Nebraska is the only exception to this, as they are a "non-partisan" legislature, meaning that their party affiliation is not listed on the ballot or the legislature's official documents, and there are no caucuses, coalitions, or groups that are aligned according to political party within the legislature. A Speaker of the House, typically elected by members of the majority party, oversees the House. The duties and responsibilities that are assigned to that position vary by state, but they tend to play a significant role in setting the agenda as a very important member of their party's caucus who is frequently in communication with the executive branch. The Senate could be presided over by the Lieutenant Governor or a member elected as the Senate President. Like the Speaker of the House, their duties and responsibilities vary by state, but they also tend to play a more significant role in setting that chamber's agenda. It should be noted that the official role of the Speaker of the House and Senate President is to enforce the official rules of that chamber, but in today's political environment, their roles tend to take on a more partisan tenor. Parties will also elect majority and minority leaders to oversee their respective party caucuses who, in turn, will play a significant role in assigning positions to members of their caucus, including committee assignments.
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