The legislation of the state of Arizona is bicameral, with a Senate and a House of Representatives. Each Senator and Representative is elected for a two year term. There is a limitation of four consecutive terms. After serving four terms, they must be out of office for one term before they can be reelected to that office. There are certain qualifications to become a legislator. Those seeking office in the state Senate or House of Representatives must be at least 25 years of age, be a United States citizen, reside in the state for three years prior, and live in the county for one year prior to election. The job of a legislator in Arizona is part time, due to the limited time of the regular session. Their salaries, currently at $24,000 per year, are set by public vote. There are several exemptions and special privileges that legislators have when the legislature is in session. The first of these is that they cannot be arrested except if in felony cases, treason, or violation of peace. They are also exempt from being sued on a civil level during the session or fifteen days before the session starts. They also are able to speak freely on the floor of the Senate or House, leaving them free from civil lawsuits involving libel or slander. They are, however, expected to follow the rules of each house, and are subject to punishment for disorderly conduct, or can be removed from chambers if deemed necessary.
How the legislature is organized is very important to the actual processes of making laws. Seniority is not important at the state level, but the division of power between majority and minority parties is. The speaker of the House is the presiding officer, and is chosen by vote of the whole House. In reality, it is the m...
... middle of paper ...
...n is a joint memorial, which is an official statement of the state’s position on a matter not in its jurisdiction, or a request for action to an agency or official of the federal government. The final action is the simple memorial, which is an expression of the position of one house. There are also duties that the legislature has besides passing laws. They are able to create and fund government offices, approve appointments of governor, and to remove someone from office by impeachment. This gives them an advantage on the other branches because, in a system of checks and balances, they have more ability to check. This, along with the ability to appropriate and tax, makes them the most powerful branch of the Arizona state government.
Works Cited
Gawronski, D. (2002). An introduction to Arizona history and government. Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing.
Most individuals with a general background knowledge of the United States Federal Government system are aware that in order for a bill to become a law, it must first pass a majority vote in Congress. There is, however, a very important step in the legislative process that sometimes goes unnoticed. The committee system of the legislation process ensures that the appropriate attention is given to each bill introduced to Congress. Each member of both chambers are assigned to committees and subcommittees, and are expected to become subject matter experts in their respective roles as committee members.
Chief Legislator is supposed to be the highest position in the United States. Otherwise known as the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama currently holds that position; however, there is a lot of conflict between Obama and congress which is putting a damper on future plans to help improve the country. The government is setup so there is equality within the system, Congress and the President go hand and hand even though sometimes it might not work out the way it was planned. Sometimes the outcome can all depend on the views of the President and Congress. Like for instance now, Obama is a democrat and Congress is mainly Republicans so they have trouble meeting eye to eye.
Our Legislative Branch has two chambers or as some will call it bicameral. The chambers consist of the Senate and the House of Representatives just like the National Legislative Branch. In our Senate we currently have a total of 31 members and there are 150 members in the House of Representatives. Senators hold their seat for 4 years and their election years are spread out while the House of Representatives are elected for two-year terms. In our Texas Legislature we have a few authority figures. “The Texas Constitution provides that the lieutenant governor shall serve as president of the senate, the presiding officer of that body. The lieutenant governor is elected statewide by voters of Texas and is the second-highest ranking officer of the executive branch of government”. (Texas Medical Associaton) In the House of Representatives we have a Speaker of the House who is chosen in each time a new legislature starts by its own members. “The speaker maintains order during floor debate, recognizing legislators who wish to speak and ruling on procedural matters.” (Joe Straus Speaker) There are also many committees who act as important gatekeepers and shape the proposed legislation. (University of Texas at Austin). The main pu...
Political gridlock and dysfunction is a central aspect of studying Congress because it determines a huge part about how they function and their general effectiveness. When it comes to the political landscape in the United States, law-making and legislation ultimately comes down to what the Senate and the House of Representatives vote on and how they vote. Gridlock has been studied for years because of how it has changed the political landscape essentially from the beginning. The Jacksonian Era in the mid 1800’s shifted the way that political parties operated and from then on a two party system has been a critical part of American politics. The winner-take-all format of elections in the United States, along with the increasing importance of
Functioning under the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, it works as representative of the people of Texas, and has powers which can only be limited by the Texas and United States constitutions and valid federal laws. The legislative department is also the state 's policing branch, which promotes and safeguards the safety, health, morals, and welfare of the citizens of Texas. In addition, it has the traditional legislative power of the purse (to tax, spend, and borrow money for public purposes), and to organize and confer powers on the executive and the judiciary departments only as much as they are allowed in the Texas Constitution. Legislative powers of the State of Texas are under The House of Representatives and a Senate, which combine to make the Legislature of the State. The head of the House of Representatives is the Speaker of the house and who currently is Honorable Joe Straus. He is selected by the members of the House of Representatives from among their ranks and his main duties include conducting meetings of the House, appointing committees, and enforcing the Rules of the House. The proceedings in the Senate are run by the current Lieutenant Governor, Honorable Dan Patrick, who was elected by a statewide vote. He is the one who controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the Legislative Budget Board. Under the Texas
It is no coincidence that Arizona’s five highest offices are held by women. These women, Governor Jane Hull, Secretary of State Betsey Bayless, Attorney General Janet Napolitano, Treasurer Carol Springer, and Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Keegan, did not simply win these elections because they are women. All of them are experienced, highly educated, intelligent people who worked hard to get to the top. In an interview, Council Member Janet Marcus stated that these women have outstanding experience and background, and though being women may have helped them, it is their credentials that won the elections. The five women elected agree that it was not an issue of gender but rather of who was most qualified for the job. Lisa Graham Keegan was actually pleased at the small attention given to the gender issues. She said, “It really wasn’t about voting for women. It just happened that these women ran for office and won” (Khoury 2). Governor Hull agreed with Keegan, “You see a group of women who have all been in government, are all experienced, who all ran very positive campaigns.
Gibson, Jr, L. T., & Robison, C. Government and politics in the lone star state. (eighth ed.). Pearson.
Today the U.S. government’s legislative branch, Congress, is divided into two independent chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The system is called a bicameral system, which means it is divided into two chambers. The Framers of the Constitution created the system because was it successful in Britain, the two separate chambers could ensure that each side would not abuse their power, and the system created a compromise between the New Jersey and Virginia Plan. Although both chambers can initiate laws, they were created independent of each other and different in authority. In the House, “committees consider bills and issues and oversee agencies, programs, and activities within their jurisdictions” (House of Representatives). The Senate is in charge of giving guidance and approval of treaties or presidential appointments and holding impeachment trials (American Politics).
Our government here in Texas has three major parts that play a significant part in our decision making process. These levels have been deigned to decentralize power and make it more affective for the public's needs. The primary level is the Texas legislature. It is almost a given to say that everyone has at least heard of the legislature. Some variables that the legislature contains are the Lt. Governor, the Speaker of the house of Representatives and Committee Chairs. The Speaker acts as the presiding officer over the house and has two levels of power. These two levels are institutional powers which allow the officer to preside over the Legislative Audit Committee and Sunset Advisory Committee.
of the party which elected the legislature. . . So it comes to pass that
The House and Senate are somewhat different in terms of size, structure and procedure. However, despite their differences, collectively the Congress did make up the “dominant” class of the three branches of government for the 150 years of American government. ...
Arizona is made up of fifteen counties with similar governments required to follow the basic design specified in the state constitution. This presents challenges because of the various sizes and make up of each county. The counties of Arizona follow the oldest pattern of government dividing power between an elected leader and many individually elected officials. The leader of county government is the board of supervisors. They vary in size depending on the size of the county. The rest of the officials include a sheriff, county attorney, recorder, treasurer, assessor, superior court clerk, and a superintendent of schools (McClory, 2001). The traditional form of government has been blamed for many of Arizona’s counties troubles....
Arizona’s Constitution was written sometime in 1910; amended, ratified, and approved by Congress in 1911. Then Arizona became the 48th state and the last adjoining state to be welcomed in the Union; on February 14, 1912. Since then the citizens of Arizona has amended their Constitution many times. The Constitution consists of thirty articles. There were quite a lot of events that impacted the process of Arizona becoming its own state. The first section will examine the events that developed Arizona Constitution. The next section will summarize the powers and functions of Arizona's three branches of government. In the following section will discuss the procedures for amending this Constitution. Finally, a reflection on the amendment process for the Arizona Constitution will close this document.
Eibling, Harold H., et al., eds. History of Our United States. 2nd edition. River Forest, Ill: Laidlaw Brothers, 1968.
For years, countries have had different legislatures bicameral and unicameral. The features of each legislatures are distinct from one another. It even accounts to various vices and virtues. Both legislatures exist in various countries in the world. The reason to which varies in each place. Legislatures are essential for a society to perform politically well. However, the political structure of every nations varies thus, there exist no simple generalization. The structural arrangements of different legislatures are distinct in relation to their number of chambers available. (Danziger, J. N. (1996))