1. State Legislative Branch
Unit 27

2. State Legislative Branch
Legislative branch makes the laws
Legislature of the State of Illinois meets each year, beginning the 2nd Wednesday of January and concluding when the legislative work of the state has been completed
Extra sessions (after Legislature has adjourned) may be called by the governor

3. General Assembly
General Assembly- main body of the legislative branch; it contains the Senate and the House of Representatives. These two bodies are also known as Legislature
General Assembly elected by the people (salary $67,836)
Each member of the General Assembly must be 21 years or older, a resident of the district for at least two years and a United States citizen
Quorum – Each house has a set as a majority of its members.
State constitution requires a majority of members to be present for the House and the Senate to conduct business
Each house may punish individuals for contempt or disorderly behavior (no member may be expelled, except by two-thirds vote)

4. Districts 59 senatorial districts (aka legislative districts)
One senator elected for each of these senatorial districts
Senatorial districts are divided into half to make up the 118 representative districts
One representative is elected from each of the representative districts
59 senators and 118 state representatives

5. Special Duties General Assembly also does the following:
conducts investigations
submits constitutional amendments to the people
Acts on amendments to the federal constitution
Helps plan redistricting every 10 years

6. State Senate Term is 4 years He/she may be reelected
Elections are held in even-numbered years with about half the Senate elected every two years
Presiding officer of the Senate is the president of the Senate (elected by all state senators)

7. Special Duties of the State Senate
Senate tries impeachment cases
Must approve many of the appointments made by the governor

8. State House of Representatives
118 State Representatives
Term is 2 years
Elections are held in even-numbered years
Presiding officer of the House is the speaker of the House (elected by the representatives)

9. Special Duties of the State House
House has the sole power to start impeachment proceedings