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51-562: The Los Angeles City Council is the lawmaking body for the city government of Los Angeles , California, the second largest city in the United States. It has 15 members who each represent the 15 city council districts that are spread throughout the city's 501 square miles of land. The head of the city council is the president , who presides over meetings of the council, gives assignments to city council committees, handles parliamentary duties, and serves as acting mayor of Los Angeles when

102-450: A highly publicized scandal involving three City Council members (including Council President Nury Martinez ) and the redistricting process, Acting President Mitch O'Farrell introduced a motion that would create a ballot measure in 2024 to expand the Council. In 2023, the first all-female council committee was formed, with the six women on the council forming the committee. In November 2022,

153-418: A quorum . Some of the responsibilities of a legislature, such as giving first consideration to newly proposed legislation, are usually delegated to committees made up of a few of the members of the chamber(s). The members of a legislature usually represent different political parties ; the members from each party generally meet as a caucus to organize their internal affairs. Legislatures vary widely in

204-460: A ballot measure that changed the term limits from eight years to twelve years. In 2015, voters in Los Angeles approved a charter amendment to move the election dates from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years, in line with other national elections, in an effort to boost political engagement. Because of the change in dates, officials elected in 2015 or 2017 had their terms extended. In 2022, after

255-641: A legislature: One of the major functions of a legislature is to discuss and debate issues of major importance to society. This activity can take place in two forms. In debating legislatures, such as the Parliament of the United Kingdom , the floor of the legislature frequently sees lively debate. In contrast, in committee-based legislatures like the United States Congress , deliberation takes place in closed committees. While legislatures have nominally

306-566: A school district in the mid-1920s, but the first two formal referendums on secession, on April 11, 1932 and March 16, 1937, respectively, failed on 1,346-572 and 932-378 bases. However on August 20, 1946, Torrance voters did approve a new city charter, 1,371-761, which allowed for a new district to be created. Torrance seceded in 1947 and created a new school district, which in 1948 became the Torrance Unified School District (TUSD). The Los Angeles City School District removed all of

357-526: A single unit is unicameral , one divided into two chambers is bicameral , and one divided into three chambers is tricameral . In bicameral legislatures, one chamber is usually considered the upper house , while the other is considered the lower house . The two types are not rigidly different, but members of upper houses tend to be indirectly elected or appointed rather than directly elected, tend to be allocated by administrative divisions rather than by population, and tend to have longer terms than members of

408-435: Is indirectly elected within the context of a one-party state . Legislature size is a trade off between efficiency and representation; the smaller the legislature, the more efficiently it can operate, but the larger the legislature, the better it can represent the political diversity of its constituents. Comparative analysis of national legislatures has found that size of a country's lower house tends to be proportional to

459-545: Is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country , nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government . Legislatures can exist at different levels of government–national, state/provincial/regional, local, even supranational (such as the European Parliament ). Countries differ as to what extent they grant deliberative assemblies at

510-654: The Americas have more independence in drafting and amending bills. The origins of the power of the purse which legislatures typically have in passing or denying government budgets goes back to the European assemblies of nobility which the monarchs would have to consult before raising taxes. For this power to be actually effective, the legislature should be able to amend the budget, have an effective committee system, enough time for consideration, as well as access to relevant background information. There are several ways in which

561-627: The European Union . The upper house may either contain the delegates of state governments – as in the European Union and in Germany and, before 1913, in the United States  – or be elected according to a formula that grants equal representation to states with smaller populations, as is the case in Australia and the United States since 1913. Tricameral legislatures are rare;

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612-489: The Federal Parliament of Somalia ) tied for least powerful. Some political systems follows the principle of legislative supremacy , which holds that the legislature is the supreme branch of government and cannot be bound by other institutions, such as the judicial branch or a written constitution . Such a system renders the legislature more powerful. In parliamentary and semi-presidential systems of government ,

663-643: The Massachusetts Governor's Council still exists, but the most recent national example existed in the waning years of White-minority rule in South Africa . Tetracameral legislatures no longer exist, but they were previously used in Scandinavia. The only legislature with a number of chambers bigger than four was the Federal Assembly of Yugoslavia ; initially established as a Pentacameral body in 1963, it

714-745: The cube root of its population ; that is, the size of the lower house tends to increase along with population, but much more slowly. Los Angeles City School District The district was formed on May 2, 1870, with the same boundaries as the city of Los Angeles. In 1890 the Los Angeles City High School District was formed to serve high school students. The Los Angeles City School District and various other feeder elementary school districts served elementary and junior high students. The elementary school district annexed various elementary school districts during its existence. The annexations include: The Palos Verdes Peninsula region

765-401: The executive is responsible to the legislature, which may remove it with a vote of no confidence . On the other hand, according to the separation of powers doctrine, the legislature in a presidential system is considered an independent and coequal branch of government along with both the judiciary and the executive. Nevertheless, many presidential systems provide for the impeachment of

816-465: The 99 local Neighborhood Councils, which serve as advisory groups for the officials. Before the incorporation of Los Angeles in 1850, members ( regidores ) of a municipal council ( ayuntamiento ) were chosen by the residents of each pueblo since 1812, with the number of regidores being based on the population. By 1835, the new city had four regidores , alongside two Alcaldes (Mayor) and one Síndico Procurador (City Attorney). On April 4, 1850,

867-817: The Ad Hoc Committee on City Governance Reform was formed, chaired by the next President Paul Krekorian , to reform the redistricting process. District 1 Eunisses Hernandez District 9 Curren Price District 2 Paul Krekorian District 10 Heather Hutt District 3 Bob Blumenfield District 11 Traci Park District 4 Nithya Raman District 12 John Lee District 5 Katy Young Yaroslavsky District 13 Hugo Soto-Martinez District 6 Imelda Padilla District 14 Kevin de León District 7 Monica Rodriguez District 15 Tim McOsker District 8 Marqueece Harris- Dawson Legislature A legislature

918-610: The City Council districts began with the 1st district in the San Fernando Valley and ended with the 15th district in the Los Angeles Harbor Region . In 1928, the new Los Angeles City Hall was completed, and the City Council moved to a room there from the previous Romanesque Revival building used. By 1986, the City Council was under a court ruling to redistrict itself to provide more representation for Latinos in

969-419: The Council, being appointed to serve out Roybal's term after the latter was elected to Congress . On April 16, 1963, the first elected African-American on the Council, Tom Bradley , was sworn in, which also gave the Council a Democratic majority for the first time in recent history. On July 1, 1985, Michael Woo was sworn in, the first Asian American to serve on the Council. On February 3, 1987, Gloria Molina

1020-546: The Direct Municipal Primary law. They also voted to adjust the party system to have all offices become nonpartisan . In the first election, candidates were labeled as part of the Good Government Organization, created by political boss Meyer Lissner, or part of the "political machine" with S. P. Yoke, as the city had installed a new nonpartisan election system. In 1923, candidates were either a part of

1071-583: The Los Angeles Common Council was established alongside the office of Mayor under The Act of Incorporation as the city grew from a remote town of 5,000 residents to a city of 15,000 residents. At its creation, the council had seven seats elected at-large with the members being elected by drawn lots. In 1857, the officials that were elected on May 6 were deposed and the officials from the previous year were reinstated, though they never took office. The council added three seats in 1868. On July 14, 1870,

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1122-487: The Mayor, amends or approves the Mayor's annual budget, and approve the Mayor's local emergencies to which it reviews afterwards. The Charter also gives powers for redistricting, as the City Council picks some of the members on the charter commission to advise the council on redistricting but with the City Council having the ability to overrule the commission. The City Council also has a direct line of communication between it and

1173-596: The Municipal Conference, also organized by Lissner, the People's Campaign Committee, the Socialist Party of America , or independent . In 1915, journalist Estelle Lawton Lindsey was elected to the City Council, being the first female City Councilmember in the City Council just four years after women had voted in municipal elections for the first time. She would be the only woman to serve during this system as well as

1224-474: The University area , Colegrove , the shoestring area , Wilmington , and San Pedro . By 1909, the ward system was leading to corruption within the city council and its elections, and various newspapers suggested that the City Council have ten seats and five at-large seats, resulting in fifteen seats total, or moving to an at-large system. That year, voters replaced the ward system with an at-large system through

1275-417: The adoption of term limits for the City Council, with the new limits being eight years of elected service. After the creation of the fifteen-member council, politicians who were not white men increasingly were elected to it. On July 1, 1949, Edward R. Roybal became the first Latino American elected to the City Council. On January 28, 1963, Gilbert W. Lindsay became the first African-American to serve on

1326-682: The amount of political power they wield, compared to other political players such as judiciaries , militaries , and executives . In 2009, political scientists M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig constructed a Parliamentary powers index in an attempt to quantify the different degrees of power among national legislatures. The German Bundestag , the Italian Parliament , and the Mongolian State Great Khural tied for most powerful, while Myanmar's House of Representatives and Somalia's Transitional Federal Assembly (since replaced by

1377-471: The city. On August 12, 1986, Councilman Howard Finn died, leaving the 1st district vacant, and the City Council and residents debated how the districts would be redrawn. The City Council voted to have the 1st district drawn to be northwest and north of Downtown Los Angeles while the 2nd district, represented by Joel Wachs , was placed in the Sunland-Tujunga and Van Nuys areas. In 1993, voters approved

1428-498: The council switched to a ward system with three new wards with three seats. The Third ward added a fourth seat in 1871, three years before the First and Second wards added a fourth seat. In 1878, the First and Second wards removed the fourth seat while the third ward removed it in 1881. In 1878, the council created two new wards, the Fourth and Fifth wards, each with three new seats. By the end of

1479-808: The country. Among the earliest recognised formal legislatures was the Athenian Ecclesia . In the Middle Ages , European monarchs would host assemblies of the nobility, which would later develop into predecessors of modern legislatures. These were often named the Estates . The oldest surviving legislature is the Icelandic Althing , founded in 930 CE. Democratic legislatures have six major functions: representation, deliberation, legislation, authorizing expenditure, making governments, and oversight. There exist five ways that representation can be achieved in

1530-403: The duration of their entire term, or for just those related to their legislative duties. A legislature may debate and vote upon bills as a single unit, or it may be composed of multiple separate assemblies , called by various names including legislative chambers , debate chambers , and houses , which debate and vote separately and have distinct powers. A legislature which operates as

1581-421: The executive are also used, particularly for bicameral legislatures featuring an upper house . The name used to refer to a legislative body varies by country. Common names include: By names: By languages: Though the specific roles for each legislature differ by location, they all aim to serve the same purpose of appointing officials to represent their citizens to determine appropriate legislation for

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1632-406: The executive for criminal or unconstitutional behaviour. Legislatures will sometimes delegate their legislative power to administrative or executive agencies . Legislatures are made up of individual members, known as legislators , who vote on proposed laws. A legislature usually contains a fixed number of legislators; because legislatures usually meet in a specific room filled with seats for

1683-722: The first ward system, the council had fifteen seats. The councilmembers had various responsibilities for governing the city which included being appointed to committees, which included a school committee which later became the Board of Education for the Los Angeles City School District and later the Los Angeles Unified School District . The office of the President of the Los Angeles City Council

1734-603: The furniture from the Torrance elementary and middle schools; Gnerre wrote that "LAUSD [ sic ] was not pleased with the outcome of the election." The elementary school district disappeared on July 1, 1961, when it became a unified school district, the Los Angeles Unified School District . The change of the Los Angeles City and the Palos Verdes School District into being unified school districts left

1785-446: The legislators, this is often described as the number of "seats" it contains. For example, a legislature that has 100 "seats" has 100 members. By extension, an electoral district that elects a single legislator can also be described as a "seat", as, for example, in the phrases " safe seat " and " marginal seat ". After election, the members may be protected by parliamentary immunity or parliamentary privilege , either for all actions

1836-436: The legislature can hold the executive branch (the administration or government) accountable. This can be done through hearings, questioning , interpellations , votes of confidence , the formation of committees. Parliaments are usually ensured with upholding the rule of law, verifying that public funds are used accountably and efficiently as well as make government processes transparent and actions so that they can be debated by

1887-406: The lower house. In some systems, particularly parliamentary systems , the upper house has less power and tends to have a more advisory role, but in others, particularly federal presidential systems , the upper house has equal or even greater power. In federations , the upper house typically represents the federation's component states. This is also the case with the supranational legislature of

1938-481: The mayor is unable to perform their duties. The current President is Marqueece Harris-Dawson from the 8th district . The current president pro tempore is Bob Blumenfield from the 3rd district . The assistant president pro tempore position is vacant. As a nonpartisan council , the city council does not have a majority or minority leader, but the council is currently controlled by a Democratic majority with one Independent . The city council has been nonpartisan since

1989-466: The only woman to serve in the City Council until the election of Rosalind Wiener Wyman in 1953. On July 1, 1925, Los Angeles voters passed a new city charter and replaced the at-large system with a district system with fifteen new single-member districts. Each district was to be approximately equal in population, based upon the voting in the 1922 California gubernatorial election , and would redistrict every four years. The numbering system established for

2040-426: The passage of the 1909 city charter. Council members are elected every four years, with the city council redistricting every ten years based on the previous United States census . Elections happen concurrently with other local and national elections, doing so since 2020. Members of the City Council earn $ 218,000 per year, the highest salary in the nation, due to a decision to make elected officials' salary equal with

2091-488: The public and its representatives. Agora notes that parliamentary systems or political parties in which political leaders can influence or decide which members receive top jobs can lead to passivity amongst members of the party and less challenging of leadership. Agora notes that this phenomenon is acute if the election of a member is dependant on the support of political leadership. In contrast to democratic systems, legislatures under authoritarianism are used to ensure

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2142-401: The salary of municipal judges. City councilmembers can have their salary rescinded if they are suspended from the City Council. The Council can also control who can get pay if a member is suspended; when Mark Ridley-Thomas 's pay was suspended by City Controller Ron Galperin after his suspension from the Council, his pay was reinstated after a council vote as he was not indicted. The decision

2193-411: The sole power to create laws, the substantive extent of this power depends on details of the political system. In Westminster-style legislatures the executive (composed of the cabinet) can essentially pass any laws it wants, as it usually has a majority of legislators behind it, kept in check by the party whip, while committee-based legislatures in continental Europe and those in presidential systems of

2244-400: The stability of the power structure by co-opting potential competing interests within the elites, which they achieve by: Each chamber of the legislature consists of a number of legislators who use some form of parliamentary procedure to debate political issues and vote on proposed legislation. There must be a certain number of legislators present to carry out these activities; this is called

2295-442: The subnational law-making power, as opposed to purely administrative responsibilities. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as primary legislation. In addition, legislatures may observe and steer governing actions, with authority to amend the budget involved. The members of a legislature are called legislators. In a democracy, legislators are most commonly popularly elected , although indirect election and appointment by

2346-416: Was also part of the Council's creation, with the first President being David W. Alexander . In 1888, voters in Los Angeles passed a new charter that changed the government. The Common Council was now called the City Council and had nine seats for nine new wards. Members were elected to two year terms beginning in 1890, with one member being elected from each of the nine wards by a plurality vote . The change

2397-413: Was formerly in the Los Angeles city district. However that area seceded effective January 26, 1925, when the Palos Verdes School District was established. Torrance was originally in the district; Sam Gnerre of The Daily Breeze wrote that "As early as the 1920s, the city had expressed unhappiness over being allied with LAUSD." [ sic ] Dr. J.S. Lancaster created a campaign to establish

2448-573: Was granted by the California State Legislature , with the first election being in August 1889. The first election under that charter was held on February 21, 1889, and the last on December 4, 1906. Only Austin Conrad Shafer of the 5th ward was re-elected to the new City Council. During the ward system, the City Council requested the annexation of six parts of the adjacent area: Garvanza ,

2499-455: Was sworn in as the first Latina elected to the Council. In 1999, voters approved a new city charter that would go into effect on July 1, 2000. The new charter helped create the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment and helped strengthen the office of Mayor in relation to the City Council. Voters also voted against expanding the city council, remaining with fifteen seats. In 2006, voters approved

2550-584: Was then reversed by Galperin's successor, Kenneth Mejia . The Los Angeles City Council is guided by the Los Angeles City Charter. The Charter defines the City Council as the city's legislature, with the Mayor of Los Angeles serving as the executive branch of the city's government creating a strong mayor–council government , though the mayor is weaker than in cities such as New York City . The City Council approves department heads and commissioners picked by

2601-508: Was turned into a hexacameral body in 1967. Legislatures vary widely in their size. Among national legislatures , China's National People's Congress is the largest with 2,980 members, while Vatican City 's Pontifical Commission is the smallest with 7. Neither legislature is democratically elected: The Pontifical Commission members are appointed by the Pope and the National People's Congress

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