Legislative assembly

Legislative assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its houses. The name is used by a number of countries, including member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations and other countries. It is also used by their sub-national divisions, such as the Indian states and union territories, Australian states and Canadian provinces. Legislative assemblies in modern-day Commonwealth countries, either as national or sub-national parliaments, are in most cases an evolution of one of the legislative chambers of the previous colonial parliaments, whether the full legislature or a lower house. In a number of jurisdictions, the name House of Assembly is used instead. It is one of the main names used in everyday speech for parliament in many countries. The lower houses of the parliaments of the Australian states are called Legislative Assemblies. In South Australia and Tasmania, they are referred to as the House of Assembly. The only state with a sole chamber is the state of Queensland as it has abolished the former Legislative Council (upper house) of its parliament, leaving the Legislative Assembly as the sole chamber. There has been a push to reinstate the Legislative Council (upper house) in Queensland to be in line with other states. The parliaments of the Australian territories only have a sole chamber like Queensland, which is the Legislative Assembly. The unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory is the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. Members of the Legislative Assembly/House of Assembly are referred to as MLAs (NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, ACT, NT) or MHAs (SA, TAS). Legislative assemblies of Canadian provinces and territories In Canada, seven of the ten provinces and all three of the territories style their legislatures as legislative assemblies. All are unicameral. Manitoba was the first to abolish its Legislative Council in 1876. British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador abolished their Councils before becoming provinces.

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Related concepts (9)

Lower house

A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise exert significant political influence. The lower house, typically, is the larger of the two chambers, meaning its members are more numerous. In comparison with the upper house, lower houses frequently display certain characteristics (though they vary per jurisdiction).

Legislative council

A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the British (former) colonies. However, it has also been used as designation in other (non-Commonwealth) nations. A member of a legislative council is commonly referred to as an MLC. In the United States, a legislative council has a different connotation, and means a council within a legislature which supervises nonpartisan support staff.

House of Assembly

House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible government, the House of Assembly superseded the (usually unelected) Legislative Council as the colonial legislature, often becoming the lower house.