legislative branch (congress)
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Legislative Branch (Congress). Organization of Congress. Starter: Vocabulary Quiz. Bicameral Census Constituent Gerrymander Majority Party Minority Party Standing committee Seniority Express powers Implied powers Elastic clause Impeach Writ of habeas corpus Bill of attainder - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Legislative Branch (Congress)
Organization of Congress
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfEwakoSJ68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCB8EOY5d48
House of Representatives
Requirement: 25years old, U.S. citizen for 7 years, resident of state representing
Terms: 2years terms, focus on concerns in their district
Larger Body--Total size: 435, representation based on size of state
Make laws Article I Section 2 Constitution Republican or Democratic Elected by the people Sole Power of Impeachment
House of Representatives Speaker of the House: Most powerful leader in House. He
steers legislation, chooses who belongs to which committees, & other duties. He is always a member of the majority party (political party with the most members in Congress)
Majority Party Floor Leader: person in charge of the majority party (party with the most members in Congress). Tries to sway votes that support the political goals of that party.
Minority Party Floor Leader: person in charge of the minority party (party with the 2nd most members in Congress). Tries to sway votes that support the political goals of that party.
Party Whips: Helps the floor leader. The Democrats have a party whip and the Republicans have a party whip. The Party Whips help keep track of the members of Congress and how they vote on issues.
Senate
Requirements: 30years old, U.S. citizen for 9 years, resident of state representing
Terms: 6 years terms, unlimited amount
Total size: 100, two per state Article I Section 3 Meets in secret sessions Republican or Democratic
Senate
Vice President of the United States: the official leader of Senate. The presiding officer. Rarely attends debates over legislation. Votes in case of a tie only.
President Pro Tempore: acts as chairperson and monitors debates. Member of the majority party. Title means “for the time being”; in charge when vice president is absent.
Majority Party Floor Leader: person in charge of the majority party (party with the most members in Congress). Tries to sway votes that support the political goals of that party.
Minority Party Floor Leader: person in charge of the minority party (party with the 2nd most members in Congress). Tries to sway votes that support the political goals of that party.
Party Whips: Helps the floor leader. The Democrats have a party whip and the Republicans have a party whip. The Party Whips help keep track of the members of Congress and how they vote on issues.
Congressional Leaders House and the Senate Majority party- political party to which
more than half the members belong Minority party- fewer members Speaker of the House-most powerful
with the House of Representatives President pro tempore-chairperson of
the Senate
Congressional Committees
Committees study, revise, and debate bills that could become a law, a budget, resolution, or act.
Their job is to decide if this is good for America and is it possible.
Committee assignments are chosen by the leader of each house of Congress often based on seniority
Congressional Committees
Type of Committee
Purpose of committee
Duration of committee
Examples
Standing Committee
EducationVeterans AffairsCommerce
PermanentSenate 17House 19
Chart 181
Select Committee
Special Jobs Limited Period Assassinations death/ JFK MLK
Joint Committee (4)
Economic conditionsFederal tax policyLibrary of CongressGovernment Printing
Temporary
Conference Committee
Helps the House and Senate
Agree on details of a proposed law
PowersLegislative Powers
Chart 186
Non-Legislative Powers Powers Denied to Congress
Collect taxesApprove bills spend money
Impeach federal officials Can’t favor one state over another
Expressed powers Power of Approval and Removal
Can’t pass laws violate Constitution
Implied powers Oversight and Investigation
Writ of habeas corpus- requires police bring prisoners
Elastic clause Check other government branches
Bills of attainder- laws punish person without a jury trial
Regulate Commerce Ex post facto laws- make an act a crime after the act been committed
Foreign Relations and Treaties
Supreme Court – declare laws unconstitutional
How a Bill Becomes a Law
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyeJ55o3El0
Step 1
Starts with an idea from a citizen, member of Congress, or the president.
idea sponsored by member of Congress, put into draft form, & introduced into Congress
Assigned a number (S.123) (HR 123)
Step 2
Bill assigned to Committee. The committee studies, researches, and revises the bill. They can:
Send the bill to next step
Kill the bill (bill will not become a law) Pigeonhole the bill (set it aside for later)
Step 3
Subcommittee studies bill, gets citizen input, then has the same options as Step 2 (send, kill, or pigeonhole)
Step 4
Full committee: votes to sent to full House or Senate (which ever one it started in)
Step 5
Bill read to full House or Senate Debated vote (voice, standing, or roll-call)-
must have a 2/3 approval to go to next step
Step 6
If passes, must go to other house Bill must pass in the same form (no
changes can be made) If changes are made must call a
Conference committee to work out compromises
If changes are approved by both House and Senate, goes to next step
Step 7
Sent to President for final approval ,he/she can:
*sign bill into law/declare it law
*Pocket veto (put aside, if after 10 days Congress is in session it
becomes a law, if not in session it dies) *Veto (refusal to sign it into law)
Step 8
If vetoed by president, Congress can override the veto but 2/3 vote in each house. Very difficult to achieve.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE GOVERNMENT
Chapter 13 Section 1 Legislative Branch of North Carolina
FEDERALISM
SHARING OF POWER BETWEEN NATIONAL (FEDERAL) AND STATE
GOVERNMENTS
THE TWO GOVERNMENTS
FEDERAL: USA STATE: NORTH CAROLINA
SEPARATION OF POWERS
NC STATE CONSTITUTION “FIRST IN FREEDOM”
NC FREEDOM FOR ENGLAND NC CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES
PREAMBLE: INTRODUCTION: WE THE PEOPLE PG 355
AMENDMENT PROCESS (2 TIERED) 3/5 VOTE OF PROPOSAL IN HOUSE & SENATE MAJORITY VOTE OF THE NC CITIZENS
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS 25 GUARANTEES OF FREEDOM
POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY PEOPLE ULTIMATE SOURCE OF POWER GIVEN TO THE
GOVERNMENT LIMITED GOVERNMENT
SEPARATION OF POWERS CHECKS AND BALANCES
NC LEGISLATIVE
Called General Assembly 2 house legislature (bicameral)-
Senate and House of Representatives
N.C. LEGISLATURE
NC GENERAL ASSEMBLY SERVE 2 YR TERMS
WITHOUT LIMITS HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATE 120 MEMBERS,
SPEAKER SENATE
50 MEMBERS, LT. GOV & PRESIDENT PRO TEMP
POWERS LONG SESSION (JAN-JUN) SHORT SESSION (MAY-
6WK) NEW BUDGET YEAR OR
FISCAL YEAR 6/1
US CONGRESS 2 YR TERMS HOUSE 6 YR TERMS SENATE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATE 435 MEMBERS,
SPEAKER SENATE
100 MEMBERS, V.P. & PRESIDENT PRO TEMP
POWERS SESSION LAST 2 YRS NO LONG OR SHORT NEW BUDGET OR
FISCAL YEAR: 10/1
Requirements
To be a member of the General Assembly, you must be a citizen of the state, live in district they represent and meet an age requirement. (Senator-25 yrs old, Representative- 18 yrs. old)
Elected every two years
Function of General Assembly
Main job is to make laws Each house has a leader; Lieutenant governor resides over Senate and President Pro Tempore is
in charge if Lt. Governor is not there. Introduce, sent to committee, study,
revise, debate and pass or kill bills.
Activity
• Venn Diagram:• Comparison Chart: Legislative
Branches• U.S. Legislative and N.C. Legislative