Legislatures Both the federal government and state governments have legislatures as provided by the US Constitution

Primary lawmaking body at both levels Federal legislature consists of two house: *the Senate (100 members- 2 from each state) *the House of Representatives (435 members- state population represented by size) Federal laws are binding on all US citizens State laws are binding only within the boundaries of that state

Federal Laws Affects ALL people in the US deal with issues of national impact, such as environmental quality, national defense, labor relations, veterans’ affairs, public health, civil rights, economic development, postal services, federal taxes, homeland security

Laws limited to those specified within the Constitution

State Laws called state statutes Except for Nebraska, every state has a bicameral legislature States have power to legislate in all areas not granted to the Federal Government by the Constitution

States pass laws with statewide impact such as education, traffic, state taxes, marriage and divorce, duties of state government officials Most state legislatures meet on an annual basis, including Louisiana

Supremacy Clause The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the land No state law can overrule the US Constitution Article VI of the Constitution

Tribal Laws Legislative authority (and sometimes executive) placed with the tribal council

Local Laws Cities, town, parishes (counties) pass laws known as ordinances or regulations Deal with concerns such as land use, parking, schools, regulation of business Has been given the power to enact ordinances by the power of the state Laws passed only apply to the place of origin

Legislation Bills respond to the needs of citizens -ideas can come from just about anybody (legislators, citizens, lobbyists, etc.) Bill becomes a law if passed by the legislature and not vetoed -most bills do not become laws Legislative intent is where a judge interprets what the legislature meant when passing the law if the language is unclear