The Hawaii Territorial Legislature was established on April 30, 1900, by the

Hawaiian Organic Act The Hawaiian Organic Act, , was an organic act enacted by the United States Congress to establish the Territory of Hawaii and to provide a Constitution and government for the territory. The Act was replaced by the Hawaii Admission Act on Aug ...

which established the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...

as part of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was the legislative body of the Territory until Hawaii became a state in 1959.

Establishment

The Hawaii Territorial Legislature was established on April 30, 1900, by the

which annexed the

Republic of Hawaii The Republic of Hawaii ( Hawaiian: ''Lepupalika o Hawaii'') was a short-lived one-party state in Hawaii between July 4, 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii had ended, and August 12, 1898, when it became annexed by the United State ...

into the

and established it as the

. All laws created by the Republic of Hawaii were retained, except for those "inconsistent with the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

or laws of the United States" or with the provisions of the Organic Act; various laws of the Republic of Hawaii were explicitly repealed in the text of the Organic Act.

Makeup and operation

The Hawaii Territorial Legislature was a

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

body comprising a

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and a

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. Positions in both chambers were

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

. Each had the power to select its own officers and design its procedural rules. A

quorum A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

was defined as the majority of the members of a given chamber, and a vote by a quorum was sufficient for "the conduct of ordinary business", but a simple majority was required for the passage of laws. Legislative sessions were required to be held in odd-numbered years, and could be held in even-numbered years at the discretion of the legislature. Those held in even-numbered years, called "budget sessions", were restricted to matters related to the

budget A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environmenta ...

, elections, and impeachment of officials. Sessions began on the third Wednesday in February. The Hawaii Territorial Legislature convened at

ʻIolani Palace The Iolani Palace ( haw, Hale Aliʻi ʻIolani) was the royal residence of the rulers of the Kingdom of Hawaii beginning with Kamehameha III under the Kamehameha Dynasty (1845) and ending with Queen Liliʻuokalani (1893) under the Kalākaua Dyna ...

Senate

The Senate of the Territory of Hawaii had 25 members (15 members until February 18, 1959) , elected for four-year terms. Members, required to be

United States citizens Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

who were older than 30, eligible to vote, and had lived in Hawaii for three years, were initially elected from six senatorial districts: * First district: Puna,

Hilo Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Hawaii (island), Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 United ...

and

Hamakua Hāmākua is a district on the northeast coast of Hawaii (island), Hawaii's Big Island, administered by the Hawaii County, Hawaii, County of Hawaii in the state of Hawaii, Hawaii. It is also the name given for the coastline in the region, the "Hā ...

(5 senators) * Second district: Kau, Kona and Kohala (2 senators) * Third district:

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

Molokai Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length an ...

Lanai Lanai ( haw, Lānai, , , also ,) is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands and the smallest publicly accessible inhabited island in the chain. It is colloquially known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple pl ...

and

Kahoolawe Kahoolawe (Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Kahoolawe (), is the smallest of the eight main volcanic islands in the Hawaiian Islands. Kahoolawe is located about southwest of Maui and also southeast of Lānaʻi, and it is long by wide, with a total ...

(5 senators) * Fourth district: "That portion of the island of

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

lying east and south of Nuuanu Street and

Pali Road ''Pali Road'' is a 2015 romantic mystery thriller film directed by Jonathan Lim, starring Michelle Chen as a young doctor who finds herself in a completely unfamiliar life after waking up from a car accident. The film co-stars Jackson Rathbone, Su ...

and the upper ridge of the Koolau Range from the Nuuanu Pali to Makapuu Point and all other islands not specifically enumerated" (5 senators) * Fifth district: The portion of Oahu lying outside the fourth district (5 senators) * A sixth district consisting of

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

and

Niihau Niihau ( Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Niihau ( ), is the westernmost main and seventh largest inhabited island in Hawaii. It is southwest of Kauaʻi across the Kaulakahi Channel. Its area is . Several intermittent playa lakes provide wetland hab ...

was established in 1956. (3 senators)

House of Representatives

The House of Representatives of the Territory of Hawaii had 51 members (30 members until February 18, 1959), elected to two-year terms. There were eighteen representative districts, which were each entitled to elect somewhere from one to six representatives. Representatives were required to be

who were older than 25, eligible to vote, and had lived in Hawaii for three years.

Disestablishment

The Hawaii Territorial Legislature adjourned for the final time on May 2, 1959, when Hawaii became a state and the

Hawaii State Legislature The Hawaii State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state legislature is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Hawaii State House of Representatives, with 51 representatives, and an upper house, the ...

therefore became its legislative body.

References

Citations

Works cited

* {{Refend 1900 establishments in Hawaii 1959 disestablishments in Hawaii Government of Hawaii Hawaii Legislature Defunct bicameral legislatures Former territorial legislatures of the United States