Worldwide, about 41% of governments are bicameral and about 59% are unicameral. Other countries that have a bicameral system include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, the U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and the Czech Republic. The Congress made a similar promise in the 2018 Madhya Pradesh elections. In Andhra Pradesh, the Legislative Council was first set up in 1958, then abolished by the TDP in 1985 and re-established by the Congress in 2007.
Lists of past terms/sessions
The Indian upper house does not have the states represented equally, but on the basis of their population. In 28 states and three union territories, there is a unicameral legislature which is the sole legislative body. In six states, the legislative assembly is the lower house of their bicameral legislature with the upper house being the State Legislative Council.
Two thirds of the Senate is to be elected at the same time as the general election. 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. 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.
Money bills hold special significance in the legislative process and can only be introduced in the Legislative Assembly. These include bills dealing with taxation, government borrowing, and appropriation of funds from the state treasury. The Legislative Council, where it exists, can only make recommendations on money bills, which the Assembly may accept or reject.
Unequal with Assembly
State legislatures operate within India’s federal framework, where powers are divided between the Centre and states. This division sometimes leads to tensions, particularly when state laws conflict with central policies or when the Centre uses its powers under Article 356 to impose President’s Rule. Another significant challenge is the declining number of sittings of state legislatures. Many assemblies meet for fewer than the recommended minimum days, affecting their ability to thoroughly examine government policies and legislation. This has implications for democratic accountability and the quality of governance. State legislatures face several challenges in the contemporary political landscape.
- The Governor also has the power to promulgate ordinances when the legislature is not in session, though these require legislative approval within six weeks of reassembly.
- 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.
- State legislators chose the Senate, and senators had to possess significant property to be deemed worthy and sensible enough for the position.
- States where a legislative council is already present, can be abolished if deemed fit and proper, by a similar manner of voting and special majority.
Qualifications and disqualifications of Members of Legislative Council (MLC)
The members of state legislatures are granted freedom of speech in the house of legislature and immunity against legal proceedings for anything said or a vote given in favour or against a particular bill in the legislature. Unlike the freedom of speech which is granted to Indian citizens under Article 19(1)(a), MLC’s privilege of freedom of speech is absolute in nature, i.e., it is not subject to any reasonable restriction as mentioned under Article 19(2). These privileges are limited to things spoken or votes given within the house of legislature and not beyond. One of the oldest legislative councils of the nation, Bihar Legislative Council has been existing since 1912 and is active till today. Thereafter, it was revived by the President’s assent in 2007 and is then active till today.
State Legislative Council Eligibility and Tenure
Then the Government of India Act of 1935 set up bicameral legislatures in Indian provinces. It was under this law that a Legislative Council first started functioning in Bengal in 1937. How can state legislatures better balance their role as representatives of local interests while contributing to national development? Should more states consider adopting bicameral systems to enhance the quality of legislation and representation?
- Digital systems for voting, online streaming of proceedings, and electronic submission of questions are becoming common.
- Interestingly, members of Legislative Council are not included in electoral college for President’s election i.e. members of Legislative Council do not possess right to vote in President’s elections.
- Bicameral legislature or bicameralism refers to a type of system which practices functioning through two houses of Parliament.
- Privileges are necessary to secure the independence and effectiveness of their actions.
- The Senate was created to be a stabilising force, not elected by mass electors, but selected by the State legislators.
This article also enumerates the number of bicameral and unicameral states of India and explains how many legislative councils in India. Every state except Nebraska has a bicameral legislature, meaning that the legislature consists of two separate legislative chambers or houses. In each case the smaller chamber is called the Senate and is usually referred to as the upper house.
The legislature is a crucial pillar which takes charge upon a host of duties such as making laws, scrutinising the annual budget, power to amend the Constitution if need be, etc. In this article, we will learn about how the Indian government performs its administrative functions with the help of a bicameral parliament at the centre. This article is written by Ms Sushree Surekha Choudhury from KIITT School of law. The article gives a thorough overview of the bicameral legislature in India.
He is elected by members of legislative council from among its members. In addition, council elects Deputy Chairman who discharges the duties of Chairman in his absence. The Presiding officer of the legislative assembly is known as Speaker. The assembly also elects Deputy Speaker, who performs duties of Speaker in his absence.
There are two types of State Legislature in India – Unicameral and Bicameral. Unicameral legislature consists of only one house which is known as Legislative Assembly. Bicameral legislature how many states have bicameral legislature consists of two houses Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council. In Bicameral system Legislative council is called as Vidhan Parishad. The states can also have two houses namely Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council just like Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at Union level.
Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad)
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. Of these 92, one is the Earl Marshal, a hereditary office always held by the Duke of Norfolk, one is the Lord Great Chamberlain, a hereditary office held by turns, currently by Baron Carrington, and the other 90 are elected by all sitting peers. Hereditary peers elected by the House to sit as representative peers sit for life; when a representative peer dies, there is a by-election to fill the vacancy. The power of the House of Lords to block legislation is curtailed by the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949. Peers can introduce bills except Money Bills, and all legislation must be passed by both Houses of Parliament.
Only 6 states in our country have bicameral legislature i.e., two houses namely, Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council, and the rest of the States just have one house which is known as the Legislative Assembly. In the case of the State legislature, there is no uniformity in the organization/structure of the State Legislature. These are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. There is no upper limit or maximum limit when it comes to members of a legislative council. Uttar Pradesh legislative council has a number of members as high as 100 members. Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) is the upper house of a state legislature and the lower house is the Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha).
During the framing of the Constitution, there was disagreement in the Constituent Assembly on having a second chamber in states. The arguments in support of Rajya Sabha — that a second chamber acts as a check on hasty legislation and brings diverse voices into legislatures — did not cut ice with many Constituent Assembly members when it came to the states. Recent developments like the Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation required extensive coordination between Centre and state legislatures, demonstrating both the challenges and possibilities of cooperative federalism. State legislatures had to pass GST-related legislation to participate in the unified tax system, showing how federal governance requires active participation from all levels. Many state legislatures are embracing technology to improve their functioning.
Remaining members are nominated by the Governor from among those who have distinguished themselves in literature, science, art, cooperative movement and social service. Legislative Councils are not subject to dissolution but one-third of their members retire every second year. 6 out of 28 states have bicameral legislatures, namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh, with the remaining states having a unicameral one.
These are the reasons why most of the states don’t prefer legislative councils. The State Legislative Council, also known as the Vidhan Parishad or the Saasana Mandali, is the upper house in those states of India that have a bicameral state legislature; the lower house being the State Legislative Assembly. Its establishment is defined in Article 169 of the Constitution of India.
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