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28-617: The Australian Capital Territory Electoral Commission , branded Elections ACT , is the agency of the Government of the Australian Capital Territory with responsibility for the conduct of elections and referendums for the unicameral ACT Legislative Assembly ; the determination of electoral boundaries for the ACT; and the provision of electoral advice and services to government and government agencies. The responsibilities and roles of

56-630: A number of Public Authorities and Territory Owned Corporations: The following are officers of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly : Unicameral Sometimes, as in New Zealand and Denmark , unicameralism comes about through the abolition of one of two bicameral chambers, or, as in Sweden , through the merger of the two chambers into a single one, while in others a second chamber has never existed from

84-589: A result, the trend for unicameralism as well as other political system reforms are more contentious in the Philippines. While Congress is bicameral, all local legislatures are unicameral: the Bangsamoro Parliament , the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Boards), Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Councils), Sangguniang Bayan (Municipal Councils), Sangguniang Barangay ( Barangay Councils), and

112-616: A unicameral legislature, but the measure did not pass the Senate. Because of legislative gridlock in 2009, former Congressman Rick Lazio , a prospective candidate for governor, has proposed that New York adopt unicameralism. The United States as a whole was subject to a unicameral Congress during the years 1781–1788, when the Articles of Confederation were in effect. The Confederate States of America , pursuant to its Provisional Constitution, in effect from February 8, 1861, to February 22, 1862,

140-679: Is also notable for being nonpartisan and officially recognizes no party affiliation, making Nebraska unique among US states. With 49 members, it is also the smallest legislature of any US state. A 2018 study found that efforts to adopt unicameralism in Ohio and Missouri failed due to rural opposition. There was a fear in rural communities that unicameralism would diminish their influence in state government. Local government legislatures of counties, cities, or other political subdivisions within states are usually unicameral and have limited lawmaking powers compared to their state and federal counterparts. Some of

168-636: The Australian Capital Territory , a majority of the provinces of Argentina , all of the provinces and territories in Canada , all of the regions of Italy , all of the provinces of Nepal , all of the Spanish autonomous communities , both of the autonomous regions of Portugal , most of the states and union territories of India , and all of the states of Brazil and Germany . In the United Kingdom ,

196-644: The Chief Minister as the head of the government, rather than being appointed by a Governor or Administrator. Since December 2014, the Chief Minister has been Andrew Barr , leader of the Labor Party . Following the 2024 ACT election , Labor formed a minority government of 10 members, after the Greens moved to the crossbench and dissolved the coalition that had been in place since 2012. Ministers are appointed by

224-481: The Minnesota Legislature into a single chamber. Although debated, the idea was never adopted. The US territory of Puerto Rico held a non-binding referendum in 2005 . Voters approved changing its Legislative Assembly to a unicameral body by 456,267 votes in favor (83.7%) versus 88,720 against (16.3%). If both the territory's House of Representatives and Senate had approved by a 2 ⁄ 3 vote

252-732: The National People's Congress , in many respects an advisory "upper house". Many subnational entities have unicameral legislatures. These include the state of Nebraska and territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands in the United States , the Chinese special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao , the Australian state of Queensland as well as the Northern Territory and

280-630: The Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Councils). The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the supreme legislative body of the state of Nebraska and the only unicameral state legislature in the United States. Its members are called "senators", as it was originally the upper house of a bicameral legislature before the Nebraska House of Representatives dissolved in 1937. The legislature

308-421: The majority , though critics note that there are other ways to restrain majorities, such as through non-partisan courts and a robust constitution. Approximately half of the world's sovereign states are currently unicameral. The People's Republic of China is somewhat in-between, with a legislature and a formal advisory body. China has a Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference which meets alongside

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336-469: The 13 colonies which became independent, such as Pennsylvania , New Jersey and New Hampshire had initially introduced strong unicameral legislature and (relatively) less powerful governors with no veto power. Pennsylvania's constitution lasted only 14 years. In 1790, conservatives gained power in the state legislature, called a new constitutional convention, and rewrote the constitution. The new constitution substantially reduced universal male suffrage, gave

364-402: The 1973 Constitution, the legislative body was called Batasang Pambansa , which functioned also a unicameral legislature within a parliamentary system (1973–1981) and a semi-presidential system (1981–1986) form of government. The ongoing process of amending or revising the current Constitution and form of government is popularly known as Charter Change . A shift to a unicameral parliament

392-869: The ACT Public Service and from other Australian electoral authorities and employs casual staff under the Electoral Act 1992. Prior to 1 July 2014, the ACT Electoral Commission was under the Justice and Community Safety portfolio, with the ACT Attorney General , as the responsible Minister for Administrative purposes; the Commission also reports to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. Following

420-561: The Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988. Nonetheless, the ACT is governed according to the principles of the Westminster System , a form of parliamentary government based on the model of the United Kingdom . Legislative power rests with the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly . Executive power rests formally with the Executive, which consists of

448-582: The Australian Capital Territory , also referred to as the Australian Capital Territory Government or ACT Government , is the executive branch of the Australian Capital Territory . The leader of the party or coalition with the confidence of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly forms government. Unlike the Australian states and the Northern Territory , the Legislative Assembly directly elects one of their number to be

476-525: The Australian States and the Northern Territory . In the ACT, government functions that would usually be handled by local government are instead directly handled by the Territory government. The current arrangement of the incumbent ministry ( Fourth Barr Ministry ) of the ACT was appointed on 6 November 2024, comprising eight Labor Party members. The current arrangement of the incumbent shadow ministry

504-663: The Chief Minister and Ministers, and is informally called the Cabinet . Judicial power is exercised by the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory and a system of subordinate courts, but the High Court of Australia and other federal courts have overriding jurisdiction on matters which fall under the ambit of the Australian Constitution. The ACT does not have a separate system of local government such as that seen in

532-489: The Chief Minister. The current ministry of the Australian Capital Territory ( Fourth Barr Ministry ) comprises eight of the 25 members of the Legislative Assembly. The ACT has internal self-government, but Australia's Constitution does not afford the territory government the full legislative independence provided to Australian states. Government for the Australian Capital Territory is outlined in Commonwealth legislation;

560-548: The Commission are set out in the Electoral Act 1992 and subsequent amendments. The ACT Electoral Commission comprises three statutory office holders - a Chairperson (David Kalisch), an Electoral Commissioner (Damian Cantwell) and a member (Ed Killesteyn). The Commissioner has the powers of a Chief Executive under the Public Sector Management Act 1994. At election times the Commissioner may draw additional staff from

588-648: The beginning. The principal advantage of a unicameral system is more efficient lawmaking, as the legislative process is simpler and there is no possibility of deadlock between two chambers. Proponents of unicameralism have also argued that it reduces costs, even if the number of legislators stays the same, since there are fewer institutions to maintain and support financially. More popular among modern-day democratic countries, unicameral, proportional legislatures are widely seen as both more democratic and effective. Proponents of bicameral legislatures say that having two legislative chambers offers an additional restraint on

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616-429: The bulk of Kansas City ) narrowly voted against, and all other counties voted against the change to unicameralism. In 1970, North Dakota voters voted to call a constitutional convention. In 1972, a change to a unicameral legislature was approved by 69.36-30.64, however, since the voters rejected the new constitution at the same referendum, it never took effect. In 1999, Governor Jesse Ventura proposed converting

644-661: The commencement of the Officers of the Assembly Legislation Amendment Act 2013, from 1 July 2014, the members of the Commission became Officers of the Legislative Assembly. This change in the status of the Commission reinforced the Commission's statutory independence from the Executive. AEC NSWEC VEC ECQ WAEC ECSA TEC ACTEC NTEC Government of the Australian Capital Territory The Government of

672-754: The devolved Scottish Parliament , the Welsh Senedd , the Northern Ireland Assembly , and the London Assembly are also unicameral. Though the current Congress of the Philippines is bicameral, the country experienced unicameralism in 1898 and 1899 (during the First Philippine Republic ), from 1935 to 1941 (the Commonwealth era) and from 1943 to 1944 (during the Japanese occupation ). Under

700-572: The governor veto power and patronage appointment authority, and added an upper house with substantial wealth qualifications to the unicameral legislature. Thomas Paine called it a constitution unworthy of America. In 1944, Missouri held a vote on changing the General Assembly to a unicameral one, which was narrowly rejected by the voters 52.42-47.58. Only the city of St. Louis and the St. Louis County voted in favor, whilst Jackson County (containing

728-522: The specific amendments to the Puerto Rico Constitution that are required for the change to a unicameral legislature, another referendum would have been held in the territory to approve such amendments. If those constitutional changes had been approved, Puerto Rico could have switched to a unicameral legislature as early as 2015. On June 9, 2009, the Maine House of Representatives voted to form

756-463: Was announced on 18 November 2024, comprising seven Liberal Party members. The ACT Government is served by a unified ACT Public Service agency , reporting to a single Head of Service. Administrative units, known as Directorates, are grouped under areas of portfolio responsibility. Each Directorate is led by a Director-General who reports to one or more Ministers. As of November 2020 , there are nine Directorates: The ACT Government also has

784-556: Was included in the proposals of the constitutional commission created by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo . Unlike in the United States, senators in the Senate of the Philippines are elected not per district and state but nationally; the Philippines is a unitary state . The Philippine government's decision-making process, relative to the United States, is more rigid, highly centralised, much slower and susceptible to political gridlock . As

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