legislatures
Assemblies passing statutes
Legislatures is the plural of legislature, an official body with the power to make laws.
Most democracies have legislatures—Congress in the United States, Parliament in the United Kingdom.
The term encompasses national, state, and local lawmaking bodies: Several state legislatures passed similar bills that year.
Members are typically elected representatives.
National legislative assembly
- assemblyConstructing from components
- senateLegislative governing body
- chamberEnclosed room or cavity
- houseResidential building
diet · bicameral · unicameral · capitol · statehouse · Westminster · Capitol Hill · session
- statutesFormally enacted laws
- enactmentPassing into law
- codificationOrganizing rules into system
- amendmentsFormal changes to documents
resolutions · ordinances · ratification · passage · drafting · committee · markup · readings
Those acting for others
- senatorsUpper legislative body members
- delegatesChosen representatives or assigns
- lawmakersElected officials writing statutes
- membersPeople in an organization
backbenchers · frontbenchers · whip · speaker · majority leader · minority leader · caucus · bloc
Careful weighing of choices
- procedurePrescribed sequence of actions
- parliamentaryOf a legislature
- Robert's RulesFormal meeting governance system
- floorIndoor walking surface
gallery · ayes · nays · roll call · voice vote · proxy · abstention · motion
Supervision or inadvertent omission
- impeachmentCharging officials with misconduct
- confirmationEstablishing something as true
- subpoenaWrit requiring testimony
- inquiryRequest for information
investigation · hearing · testimony · appropriation · taxation · declaration · ratification · censure
parliament
National legislative assembly
house · diet · bicameral · unicameral · capitol · statehouse · Westminster · Capitol Hill · session · quorum
bills
- statutesFormally enacted laws
- enactmentPassing into law
- codificationOrganizing rules into system
amendments · resolutions · ordinances · ratification · passage · drafting · committee · markup · readings · debate
representatives
Those acting for others
- senatorsUpper legislative body members
- delegatesChosen representatives or assigns
- lawmakersElected officials writing statutes
members · backbenchers · frontbenchers · whip · speaker · majority leader · minority leader · caucus · bloc · coalition
deliberation
Careful weighing of choices
- procedurePrescribed sequence of actions
- parliamentaryOf a legislature
- Robert's RulesFormal meeting governance system
floor · gallery · ayes · nays · roll call · voice vote · proxy · abstention · motion · amendment
oversight
Supervision or inadvertent omission
- impeachmentCharging officials with misconduct
- confirmationEstablishing something as true
- subpoenaWrit requiring testimony
inquiry · investigation · hearing · testimony · appropriation · taxation · declaration · ratification · censure · contempt
- political sciencepolitical science, political theory, political behavior, political economy, political institutions
- democracyvote, voting, election, elections, ballot
- governancegovernance, government, democracy, vote, parliament
- politicsdemocracy, campaigning, campaigns, democrats, bill
- authoritiesrulers, ruler, leaders, leader, officials
- institutionsacademy, government, public hospitals, museum, public libraries
legislaturesexecutives
Senior corporate officers
courts · executive branch · judicial branch · presidencies · administrations
legislaturesdictatorships
Regimes under absolute rulers
autocracies · one-man rule · rule by decree · absolute monarchies · tyrannies
- state legislatureLawmaking body below Congress
- federal legislatureNational law-making assembly