U.S & Nevada Legislature: Structure, Terms & Qualifications - Essay Sample

Introduction

United States government is divided into two; Federal and the local government. Each government has three branches; Executive, Legislature, and Judicial. Every department has its functions and acts to assist one another. In this discussion, we focus on the legislature of both the federal government and the State of Nevada government. In both the National and Nevada State legislature, we look at the structure, term limits of members, its jurisdiction, and the members' qualification.

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Organization

The federal government legislative branch comprises of congress, a bi-cameral body comprising of two chambers; the House and the senate. The House has a total of 435 representatives; each state has a different number of representatives depending on its population. (Dodd & Schott, 1979). The Senate has two senators from each state. Other than the senate and the House of Representatives, the legislative branch has statutory agencies such as the Copyright Office, the library of congress and congressional Budget Office. On the other side, Nevada legislative branch entails a bi-cameral body, the Assembly, and the Senate. Nevada legislature has a total of sixty-three members; forty-two in the Assembly and twenty-one in the Senate. (Bureau, 2000).

Term Limits

In the House of Representatives, members may serve an unlimited number of terms in office. All members in the House are up for reelection at the same time, and voters reelect them after every two years. Senators serve a term of six years, with no limits to the number of runs they can serve. Further, only one-third of the Senate is up for election every two years. On the other hand, Nevada Assembly Members serve for two years, and the Senate members serve for four years. The Senators and Assembly Members are limited to serve for twelve years in each house. (Bureau, 2000).

Powers/Jurisdictions

The Federal government legislative branch, Congress, writes, and passes laws. It also confirms or rejects the president's nominees, such as the Supreme Court, federal judges, and head of federal agencies. Congress can impeach the President in exceptional circumstances (Quirk & Binder, 2005). Further, Congress has the power to declare war and create an annual budget for the government, levies taxes on citizens, and collected taxes and spent appropriately.

In contrast, Nevada Legislature revises and endorses state laws, stipulates the tax rates levied on businesses and individuals (Bureau, 2000). The legislature offers oversight of the executive and judicial government branches through the budget and audit practices, and assessments of conventions recommended by state agencies.

Qualifications of Participants

According to the Constitution, Article 1, Section 2, House of Representatives members elected must be at least 25 years old and have been a citizen of the United States for at least seven years. Also, the Members must live in the states they represent in Congress. To vie for the Senate, a prospective senator must be at least thirty years old, live in the states they represent, and have been a United States citizen for at least nine years. On the other hand, to be elected as a member in either chamber of the Nevada Legislature, an individual must be a United States citizen, a Nevada resident for a year, at least twenty-one years old, and an eligible voter in their district of residence. (Bureau, 2000).

References

Bureau, L. C. (2000). Nevada State Legislature.

Dodd, L. C., & Schott, R. L. (1979). Congress and the administrative state (Vol. 4). New York: Wiley.

Quirk, P. J., & Binder, S. A. (2005). The legislative branch. Institutions of American Democracy.