Hawaii Legislature

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Hawaiʻi State Legislature

Type Bicameral
Houses Senate
House of Representatives
President of the Senate Colleen Hanabusa, (D)
since 2007
Speaker of the House Calvin Say, (D)
since 1999
Members 76
Political groups Democratic Party
Republican Party
Last elections November 7, 2006
Meeting place Hawaii State Capitol, Honolulu
Web site http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/

The Hawaiʻi State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi. The state legislature is a bicameral body consisting of the lower Hawaii House of Representatives with 51 respresentatives, and the upper house Hawaii Senate with 25 senators. There are a total of 76 representatives in the legislature, each representing single member constituent districts across the islands. The powers of the legislature are given under Article III of the Hawaii Constitution.

The legislature is a modern descendant of the two houses of parliament for the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi created in the 1840 constitution, consisting of the House of Representatives and the House of Nobles. Following the fall of the kingdom in 1894, the legislature was transformed as the legislative body of the Republic of Hawaiʻi, and shortly afterwards the Territory of Hawaiʻi. The current legislature was created following the passage of the federal Hawaii Admission Act in 1959.

The legislature convenes at the Hawaii State Capitol building in Honolulu on the island of Oahu.

Contents

[edit] Members and terms

The 51 members of the House are elected to two-year tems without term limits. The 25 members of the Senate are elected to four-year terms, also without term limits to their elected offices. Like other state legislatures in the United States, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature is a part-time body and legislators often have active careers outside of government.

[edit] Officers

Members of both houses vote within their ranks to select presiding officers, such as the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate. These high level positions reflect the party majority in both chambers. The Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, who also serves as Secretary of State, is entirely removed from the legislative process.

[edit] Sessions

Hawaii

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Each session of the state legislature lasts for two years, starting in each odd year, called a biennium. Article III, Section 10 of the Hawaii Constitution states that the legislature must convene annually in regular session at 10:00 o'clock a.m. on the third Wednesday in January. Regular sessions are limited to a period of 60 working days, which exclude Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, and designated recess days.

The practical effect of having a two year session is that any bill introduced in the first (odd) year which does not pass may be considered in the second year at the point in the process where its progress stopped. At the end of the biennium period, however, all bills that did not pass the legislature die and to be considered must be reintroduced anew in the following session.

[edit] Qualifications for office

Article III, Section 7 of the Hawaii Constitution state that members of the Hawaii Senate must be a resident of Hawaiʻi for more than three years, has attained the age of majority and is, prior to filing nomination papers and thereafter continues to be, a qualified voter of the senate distric from which the person seeks to be elected. An exception to this rule is that in the year of the first general election following district changes, but prior to the primary election, an incumbent senator may move to a new district without being disqualified from completing the remainder of the incumbent senator's term. Members of the Hawaii House of Representatives must also be residents of Hawaiʻi for more than three years, must also have attained the age of majority, and also live in their representing house district.

[edit] Veto powers

In order to override legislation vetoed by the Governor of Hawaii, both houses of the legislature must have a 2/3 voting majority to overrule the governor.

[edit] Capitol building

The Hawaiʻi State Legislature moved to the Hawaiʻi State Capitol in downtown Honolulu on March 15, 1969. The legislature moved temporarily to adjacent downtown facilities when the Capitol was closed for four years in the 1990s for asbestos removal. The legislature moved back to the Capitol for the 1996 session. Prior to Governor John A. Burns's decision to build the new Capitol building, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature met in ʻIolani Palace.

[edit] External links

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