List of United States state legislatures: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 03:16, 30 November 2008
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| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of the United States |
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Each State in the United States has a legislative branch as part of its form of civil government. Most of the fundamental details of the legislature are specified in the state constitution. 49 state legislatures are bicameral bodies, composed of a lower house (Assembly, House of Delegates or House of Representatives) and an upper house (Senate). The Nebraska Legislature is the lone unicameral body.
The exact names, dates, term limits (if any), term lengths, electoral districts, and other details are at the discretion of the individual states. The following shows the state, names, membership, parties and terms of each state's legislature.
Party summary
As of January 11, 2008, the party composition of the legislatures is[1]:
| 23 | Democratic-controlled Legislatures |
| 13 | Republican-controlled Legislatures |
| 13 | Split Legislatures |
| 1 | Officially nonpartisan (Nebraska) |
| 50 | Total |
"Split" means that either the two chambers have different majority parties (e.g., Democratic Senate v. Republican lower house), that one chamber is evenly split between parties, or that a coalition or "hung" chamber has occurred.
In several states, the party that controls the state legislature may not be the one that usually wins the state in presidential elections. Also note that due to politics, a party with a numerical majority in a chamber may be forced to share power with other parties due to informal coalitions, or outright cede power due to divisions.
Vital statistics
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged with Political party strength in U.S. states. (Discuss) Proposed since November 2008. |
State legislatures
Territorial legislatures
| State | Name | Lower House | Upper House | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Party Strengths |
Term (Years) |
Name | Party Strengths |
Term (Years) | ||
| American Samoa | Fono | House of Representatives | non-partisan (20) | 2 | Senate | non-partisan (18) | 4 |
| District of Columbia | Council | Unicameral | D 11-1 1 Ind. |
2 | |||
| Guam | Legislature | Unicameral | D 8-7 | 2 | |||
| Northern Mariana Islands | Legislature | House of Representatives | R 12-1 Cov. 4-3 Ind. |
2 | Senate | Coal. 6-3 | 4 |
| Puerto Rico | Legislative Assembly | House of Representatives | NPP 32-18 PDP PIP 1 |
4 | Senate | NPP 17-9 PDP PIP 1 |
4 |
| U. S. Virgin Islands | Legislature | Unicameral | D 9-4 ICM 2 Ind. |
2 | |||
Map key
| Color | Name | Abbreviation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | D | Major national party; has state-level parties in each state | |
| Republican Party | R | Major national party; has state-level parties in each state | |
| Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party | DFL | Minnesota affiliate of the Democratic Party | |
| North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party | D-NPL | North Dakota affiliate of the Democratic Party | |
| [None] | Governing Coalition | Coal. | A coalition of the Democratic and Republican Parties in power in the Alaska Senate or a coalition of the Covenant, Democratic, and Independents in power in the Northern Mariana Islands Senate. |
| Constitution Party | C | National third party; has representation in Montana | |
| Vermont Progressive Party | P | State-level third party operating only in Vermont | |
| Covenant Party | Cov. | Territorial-level third party operating only in Northern Mariana Islands | |
| New Progressive Party | NPP | Territorial-level third party operating only in Puerto Rico | |
| Popular Democratic Party | PDP | Territorial-level third party operating only in Puerto Rico | |
| Puerto Rican Independence Party | PIP | Territorial-level third party operating only in Puerto Rico | |
| Independent Citizens Movement | ICM | Territorial-level third party operating only in the U.S. Virgin Islands | |
| [None] | Independent | Ind. | People who were elected without a party backing or people who left their party while in office |
| [None] | Vacant | Vac. | Resignations, disqualifications, impeachments, expulsions and deaths |
Notes
- All 9 of the Democrats and 6 of the Republicans in the Alaska Senate form a governing coalition with the remaining 5 Republicans in opposition.[2][3]
- The two nonvoting members of the Maine House of Representatives, elected by the Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe respectively, are not counted in the above table, as they are not counted in similar tabulations in State Government web sites.
- The Oklahoma Senate is tied between Democrats and Republicans, so the tie-breaking vote belongs to the state's Lieutenant Governor, Jari Askins, a Democrat.
- The Tennessee Senate is tied at 16 Republicans and 16 Democrats after a GOP Senator left the party to become an independent. However, he only left the Republican Party after the election of the Speaker, so the Republicans still have organisational control.
Legislative websites
Below are links and URLs to all 50 state legislature websites as of January 12006. For most states the only place where the full text of the statutes are available online is the state legislature's website.
See also
External links
- National Conference of State Legislatures
- State Legislatures Internet Links
- State Legislatures, State Laws, and State Regulations: Website Links and Telephone Numbers
- Legislative Session Calendars and Bill Introduction Deadlines
Notes
- ^ NCSL. "Chalk one up for the GOP".
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Bipartisan gang takes over Alaska state Senate. Anchorage Daily News. November 29 2006.
- ^ McGuire joins bipartisan coalition. Anchorage Daily News. December 20 2006.