Powers of the Legislature
The United States government is divided into three branches, which are the Executive, Judicial and Legislative branches. Likewise, each state has a similar model, which includes a Governor at the Executive level, a state Judicial Branch and the state legislature. The federal legislative branch is called Congress and is divided into two houses -- the Senate and House of Representatives. The state legislature may be divided into two houses -- a Senate and an Assembly, which may also be called a House of Representatives in some states. The two houses of a legislature must work together in order to carry out their duties and responsibilities.
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Pass Laws
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The primary responsibility of a legislature is to pass laws. Oftentimes, laws are proposed in response to a problem or need in an elected official's district. In these instances, community members communicate these issues to the official elected to represent them in the legislature. Other times, companies or organizations may employ people called lobbyists to communicate the issues that are affecting them.
If a member of Congress of state legislature decides to carry a bill, it must be heard and passed in the proper committee by other members. If the bill has a cost associated with it, it must be heard and passed by the fiscal committee. Once a bill passes through the necessary committees, it must repeat this process in a second house. If a bill passes both houses, it can be signed or vetoed by the governor.
Give Power to State Agencies
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State agencies and departments oversee all actions related to government action. For example, if the legislature passes a law stating that children must go to school an extra day, a state's Department of Education is responsible for ensuring that all schools in the state are in compliance with this law. As such, a significant power of the legislative branch is to give power to the state agencies that administer the majority of laws passed. The legislature may increase or reduce the amount of power a department has by passing bills that alter their actions.
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Distribute Funding
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Each legislature is responsible for creating and passing a budget that allocates funding to every department, as well as local governments. This money goes toward projects such as health and human services, education, public safety, and state administration. The money a state has to budget comes from sources of revenue like taxes. Additionally, states receive money from the federal government. Thus, if Congress passes a budget that allocates 100 million dollars to each state for road repairs, each state legislature must now decide how they will use those funds in their own budget processes.
Raise Taxes
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Legislatures may also raise taxes to increase revenue to support varying needs and projects. To support the reduction of class sizes, for example, some state legislatures may choose to raise taxes in order to fund such changes. Additionally, some legislatures may choose to tax people or businesses to raise additional funds. Legislatures may also impose fees on certain services to raise funding. For example, to obtain a driver's license, you must pay a fee, which supports various government initiatives and laws.
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References
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