State and Local Government

A bicameral system can be contrasted with a unicameral system, in which all members of the legislature deliberate and vote as a single group. The legislative branch of the U.S. federal government uses a bicameral system, in addition to all of the U.S. states, with the exception of Nebraska. The small-state delegates continued to protest proportional representation in the Senate with increasingly heated language, threatening to unravel the proceedings.

In theory, bicameral legislatures are desirable because they avoid hasty and extreme legislation by ensuring more thoughtful deliberation. Because of their requirement for mutual agreement of both chambers, bicameral legislatures are considered to be more likely than unicameral legislatures to result in a measured compromise between different political and social ideals. Bicameral legislatures are intended to provide representation at the central or federal level of government for both the individual citizens of the country, as well as the legislative bodies of country’s states or other political subdivisions.

In response, William Paterson proposed what became known as the New Jersey Plan, presenting it to the Convention on June 15. The centerpiece of Paterson’s plan was a unicameral (one-house) legislature in which each state had a single vote. The Convention voted down Paterson’s proposal on June 19 and affirmed its commitment to a bicameral legislature on June 21. During the summer of 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia established equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House of Representatives.

The Commons is democratically elected every four years (constitutionally up to five years). In contrast, in Canada’s upper house, Senators are appointed to serve until age 75 by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister through an Independent Advisory Board as of 2016. The term “bicameral legislature” refers to any lawmaking body of government that consists of two separate houses or chambers, such as the House of Representatives and the Senate that make up the United States Congress. The Constitutional Convention4 FootnoteFor discussion of the Constitutional Convention, see Intro.6.1 Continental Congress and Adoption of the Articles of Confederation.

Representatives Always Seem to Be Running for Election

A referendum on introducing a unicameral Parliament instead of the current bicameral Parliament was held in Romania on 22 November 2009. The turnout rate was 50.95%, with 77.78% of “Yes” votes for a unicameral Parliament.38 This referendum had a consultative role, thus requiring a parliamentary initiative and another referendum to ratify the new proposed changes. After the adoption of the 1993 Russian Constitution, bicameralism was introduced in some regions. Bicameral regional legislatures are still technically allowed by federal law but this clause is dormant now. The last region to switch from bicameralism to unicameralism was Sverdlovsk Oblast in 2012.

Comparison of state lower houses

1. Bicameral system, a system of government in which the legislature comprises two houses.
2. Congress enacts laws that influence the daily lives of all Americans and is intended to serve as the voice of the people.
3. The bicameral plan is usually found in federal governments, such as those of the United States, Australia, Brazil, and Canada, and in quasi-federal governments, such as those of Germany and India.
4. This system can be contrasted with the unicameral system, in which all members of a legislature deliberate and vote as a single group.
5. The smaller chamber usually, but not always, has the exclusive power to confirm appointments made by the governor and to try articles of impeachment.

By dividing power within the legislative branch, bicameralism helps prevent the legislative branch from having too much power—a kind of intrabranch check. Within the legislative body, bicameralism has historically functioned to balance the power of different social classes or groups within a society. In a bicameral legislature, the two chambers of the legislative body can have how many states have bicameral legislature different organizations, rules, methods of selecting members, and designated powers regarding the legislation and oversight of the other branches of the government.

Bicameralism vs. Unicameralism

Its responsibilities include funding government functions and programs, holding hearings to inform the legislative process, and oversight of the executive branch. Four Brazilian states (Bahia, Ceará, Pernambuco, and São Paulo) had bicameral legislatures that were abolished when Getúlio Vargas came to power after the Revolution of 1930. In Hong Kong, members of the unicameral Legislative Council returned from the democratically elected geographical constituencies and partially democratic functional constituencies are required to vote separately since 1998 on motions, bills or amendments to government bills not introduced by the government. The passage of these motions, bills or amendments to government motions or bills requires double majority in both groups simultaneously. (Before 2004, when elections to the Legislative Council from the Election Committee was abolished, members returned through the Election Committee vote with members returned from geographical constituencies.) The double majority requirement does not apply to motions, bills and amendments introduced by the government.

In the U.S., the other branches of the government are the executive branch and the judiciary branch. The best known example is the British House of Lords, which includes a number of hereditary peers. The House of Lords is a vestige of the aristocratic system that once predominated in British politics, while the other house, the House of Commons, is entirely elected. Over the years, some have proposed reforms to the House of Lords, some of which have been at least partly successful. The House of Lords Act 1999 limited the number of hereditary peers (as opposed to life peers, appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister) to 92, down from around 700.

Federal

A famous (though perhaps fictional) quip often quoted to point out the differences between the House and Senate involves an argument between George Washington, who favored having two chambers of Congress, and Thomas Jefferson, who believed a second legislative chamber unnecessary. The story goes that the two Founding Fathers were arguing the issue while drinking coffee. Suddenly, Washington asked Jefferson, “Why did you pour that coffee into your saucer?” “To cool it,” replied Jefferson. “Even so,” said Washington, “we pour legislation into the senatorial saucer to cool it.”

In the modern U.K., the House of Lords is still considered a more elite body, while the House of Commons represents a larger, more common class. A state legislature is a generic term referring to the legislative body of any of the country’s 50 states. During the 1930s, the legislature of the State of Nebraska was reduced from bicameral to unicameral with the 43 members that once comprised that state’s Senate. One of the arguments used to sell the idea at the time to Nebraska voters was that by adopting a unicameral system, the perceived evils of the “conference committee” process would be eliminated. Some countries, such as Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Switzerland, and the United States, link their bicameral systems to their federal political structure. As part of the Great Compromise, the Founding Fathers invented a new rationale for bicameralism in which the Senate had an equal number of delegates per state, and the House had representatives by relative populations.

1. Indeed, the word “bicameral” comes from the Latin word “camera,” which translates to “chamber” in English.
2. Much of the debate focused on two proposals—the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan.14 FootnoteNew York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144, 164 (1992).
3. And any bill that increases taxes originates in the House, which is why the House of Representatives is said to have the “power of the purse.” The Senate votes to confirm the appointment of more than 1,000 executive officers, and it can ratify treaties with a two-thirds vote.
4. Under this proposed system, Congress would require the “consent” of the state legislatures before exercising legislative authority directly upon individuals.22 Footnote1 The Records of The Federal Convention of 1787, supra note 2, at 243–244.

The bicameral legislature in the U.S. consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate—collectively known as the U.S. The trifecta analysis over this period shows a notable trend toward one-party control of state governments. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 states had trifectas while 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states had divided governments, while single-party trifectas hold sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years we studied. In the United States, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, and Nepal for example, each state or province is given the same number of seats in one of the houses of the legislature, despite variance between the populations of the states or provinces. Municipal governments—those defined as cities, towns, boroughs (except in Alaska), villages, and townships—are generally organized around a population center and in most cases correspond to the geographical designations used by the United States Census Bureau for reporting of housing and population statistics.