Mississippi Legislature

Mississippi Legislature

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The Great Seal of Mississippi
Type
Type
Houses Senate
House of Representatives
Leadership
Tate Reeves (R)
Since January 5, 2012
Phillip Gunn (R)
Since January 3, 2012
Structure
Seats 174 voting members:
52 Senators
122 Representatives
Senate political groups

     Republican (32)

     Democratic (20)
House political groups

     Republican (74)

     Democratic (48)
Elections
Senate last election
 November 3, 2015
House last election
 November 3, 2015
Meeting place
Mississippi State Capitol, Jackson
Website
www.legislature.ms.gov


This brick church was erected in Washington, Mississippi in 1816. Mississippi's first constitution was written and adopted here, and the state's first legislature convened here in 1817. The preliminary trial of U.S. Vice-President Aaron Burr occurred under some nearby oak trees.[1]

The Mississippi Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and the upper Mississippi State Senate, with 52 members. Both Representatives and Senators serve four-year terms without term limits.

The Legislature convenes at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson.

Powers and process

The Mississippi Constitution gives the state legislature the authority to determine rules of its own proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and expel a member with a two-thirds vote of the membership of his or her chamber.[2] A bill may originate in either house, and be amended or rejected in the other, and must be read by its title on three different days in each house, unless two-thirds of the house dispenses with the rules.[2] The Mississippi Constitution prohibits amending a bill to change its original purpose.[2] Bills amended in the second house, must return for a vote to accept amendments.[2]

The governor has the power to veto legislation, but legislators can override the veto with a two-thirds decision.

Membership

Members of the Mississippi House of Representatives are elected to four-year terms and state senators are also elected for four-year. State legislators earn $10,000 per year.[3]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Mississippi Pictorial History, 1798-1937". Mississippi Historical Research - W.P.A. Project. 1937.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Constitutional Provisions The Legislature And Legislation Rules of Procedure, Mississippi Legislature (accessed May 27, 2013)
  3. ↑ Legislative Salaries by State, Empirecenter.org (accessed May 27, 2013) Archived February 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
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