|
Clerk (legislature)
The clerk, chief clerk, or secretary of a legislative chamber is the senior administrative officer responsible for ensuring that its business runs smoothly. This may encompass keeping custody of documents lain before the house, received, or produced; making records of proceedings; allocating office space; enrolling of members, and administering an oath of office. During the first sitting of a newly elected legislature, or when the current presiding officer steps down, they may act as the presiding officer in the election of a new presiding officer such as the speaker or president. The clerk in some cases has a ceremonial role. A clerk may also advise the speaker or members on parliamentary procedure, acting in American parlance as a " parliamentarian". In the Westminster system, the clerk is usually an apolitical civil servant, and typically attains the position through promotion and retains it until retirement. In the United States, while clerks are usually nonpartisan, they ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legislative Chamber
A legislative chamber or house is a deliberative assembly within a legislature which generally meets and votes separately from the legislature's other chambers. Legislatures are usually unicameral, consisting of only one chamber, or bicameral, consisting of two, but there are rare examples of tricameral and tetracameral legislatures. The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is the only country documented as having a pentacameral (later hexacameral) legislature. Bicameralism In a ''bicameral'' legislature, the two bodies are often referred to as an ''upper'' and a ''lower'' house, where the latter is often regarded as more particularly the representatives of the people. The lower house is almost always the originator of legislation, and the upper house is the body that offers the "second look" and decides whether to veto or approve the bills. In the United Kingdom legislation can be originated in either house, but the lower house can ultimately prevail if the two ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
