The Legislative Branch

I. Congress is the national legislature. It is bicameral and divided into two parts:

The House of Representativesand

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 expressed powers 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 Delegatesand

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