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The Legislative Branch. Congress is the national legislature. It is bicameral and divided into two parts: The House of Representatives and the Senate. In order to be in the House of Representatives , you have to be: 25 years old a resident of the state you represent
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Congress is the national legislature. It is bicameral and divided into two parts: The House of Representatives and the Senate
In order to be in the House of Representatives, you have to be: • 25 years old • a resident of the state you represent • at least 7 year resident in that state
In order to be in the Senate, you have to be: • 30 years old • a resident of the state you represent • at least 9 year resident of that state
Congress uses its expressedpowers to: • coin money • make laws • declare war • control commerce Remember that Congress also has implied powers that are not stated, but suggested by the Constitution. (Elastic Clause)
Some other non-legislative powers of Congress are: • impeach the president or federal judges • approve the yearly budget • appropriates (distributes) money • Senate ratifies treaties made by the President • Senate approves presidential appointments
II. The General Assembly is the Virginia State legislature. It is also bicameral and divided into two parts: The House of Delegates and The State Senate
The state governments get their power from the 10th Amendment--‘any powers not mentioned are reserved for the states.’ And remember there are also powers that the state and federal governments share--these are concurrent powers (tax, make laws, borrow money, establish courts)
Some responsibilities of the General Assembly are: • Makes all laws for the state of Virginia • Approves a biennial (two-year) budget • Help individuals solve specific problems
III. The City Council is the local Virginia Beach legislature. It gets its power from the state government. Since it has only a few members, it is unicameral.
Some responsibilities of the City Council are: • Make all ordinances (local laws) for the city • Approve an annual city budget • With the mayor and school board, it operates the public schools • Rezones city land for use (decides where the residential, business, and industrial areas will be) • Plans and implements city building projects