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23-451: A senate is a deliberative assembly , often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature . The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: Senatus ), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: senex meaning "the elder" or "old man") and therefore considered wiser and more experienced members of the society or ruling class . However the Roman Senate was not
46-401: A lower house , whose members are usually elected. Most senates have asymmetrical duties and powers compared with their respective lower house meaning they have special duties, for example to fill important political positions or to pass special laws. Conversely many senates have limited powers in changing or stopping bills under consideration and efforts to stall or veto a bill may be bypassed by
69-546: A majoritarian or plurality basis, and an electoral basis or collegium . Typically, the senate is referred to as the upper house and has a smaller membership than the lower house. In some federal states senates also exist at the subnational level. In the United States , most states and territories have senates, with the exception of Nebraska , Guam , and the U.S. Virgin Islands (whose legislatures are unicameral bodies called
92-448: A Senate. Córdoba and Tucumán changed to unicameral systems in 2001 and 2003 respectively. In Australia and Canada , only the upper house of the federal parliament is known as the Senate. All Australian states other than Queensland have an upper house known as a Legislative council . Several Canadian provinces also once had a Legislative Council, but these have all been abolished,
115-426: A deliberative assembly: Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised identifies several types of deliberative assemblies. A mass meeting , which is an unorganized group meeting open to all individuals in a sector of the population who are interested in deliberating about a subject proposed by the meeting's sponsors. Examples include meetings to discuss common political concerns or community interests, or meetings to form
138-701: A long period of time. The original senate was the Roman Senate , which lasted until at least CE 603, although various efforts to revive it were made in Medieval Rome. In the Eastern Roman Empire , the Byzantine Senate continued until the Fourth Crusade , circa 1202–1204. The female form senatrix also existed. Modern democratic states with bicameral parliamentary systems are sometimes equipped with
161-568: A new society. A local assembly of an organized society , which is a membership meeting of a local chapter or branch of a membership organization . Examples include local chapter meetings of organizations like the Sierra Club . A convention , which is a meeting of delegates who represent constituent units of a population. Conventions are not permanently established bodies, and delegates are normally elected for only one term. A convention may be held by an organized society, where each local assembly
184-410: A senate, often distinguished from an ordinary parallel lower house , known variously as the " House of Representatives ", " House of Commons ", " Chamber of Deputies ", " National Assembly ", " Legislative Assembly ", or " House of Assembly ", by electoral rules. This may include minimum age required for voters and candidates, one house employing a proportional voting system and the other being elected on
207-462: A speech to the electorate at Bristol in 1774, Edmund Burke described the British Parliament as a "deliberative assembly", and the expression became the basic term for a body of persons meeting to discuss and determine common action. Merriam-Webster's definition excludes legislatures. Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised by Henry Martyn Robert describes the following characteristics of
230-473: Is represented by a delegate. A legislative body , which is a legally established public lawmaking body. It consists of representatives chosen by the electorate. Examples include national legislatures such as parliaments , and local government councils such as state legislatures , regional assemblies and city councils . A board , which is an administrative, managerial, or quasi-judicial body. A board derives its power from an outside authority that defines
253-586: Is the upper house of the National Congress of Argentina . The National Senate was established by the Argentine Confederation on 29 July 1854, pursuant to Articles 46 to 54 of the 1853 Constitution. There are 72 members: three for each province and three for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires . The number of senators per province was raised from two to three following the 1994 amendment of
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#1733085418489276-615: The Canadian Senate are appointed by the Governor General upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Canada , holding the office until they resign, are removed, or retire at the mandatory age of 75. The terms senate and senator , however, do not necessarily refer to a second chamber of a legislature: Deliberative assembly A deliberative assembly is a meeting of members who use parliamentary procedure . In
299-716: The "Legislature" but whose members refer to themselves as "senators") and the District of Columbia (whose unicameral legislature is called the Council). There is also the US Senate at the federal level. Similarly in Argentina , in addition to the Senate at federal level, eight of the country's provinces , Buenos Aires , Catamarca , Corrientes , Entre Ríos , Mendoza , Salta , San Luis (since 1987) and Santa Fe , have bicameral legislatures with
322-489: The 1994 constitutional amendment, and the first direct elections to the Senate took effect in 2001. Currently one-third of the members are elected every two years; there are no term limits. The vice president of the republic is ex officio president of the Senate, with a casting vote in the event of a tie. In practice, the provisional president presides over the chamber most of the time. The Senate must obtain quorum to deliberate, this being an absolute majority. It has
345-653: The Argentine Constitution as well as the addition of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires' senators. Those changes took effect following the 14 May 1995, general elections . Senators are elected to six-year terms by direct election on a provincial basis, with the party with the most votes being awarded two of the province's senate seats and the second-place party receiving the third seat. Historically, senators were indirectly elected to nine-year terms by each provincial legislature. These provisions were abolished in
368-493: The ancestor or predecessor of modern parliamentarism in any sense, because the Roman senate was not a de jure legislative body. Many countries have an assembly named a senate , composed of senators who may be elected , appointed, have inherited the title, or gained membership by other methods, depending on the country. Modern senates typically serve to provide a chamber of "sober second thought" to consider legislation passed by
391-530: The cabinet, the judiciary, the armed forces, and the diplomatic corps, among other federal posts. There are twenty-four standing committees made up of fifteen members each, namely: According to Section 55 of the Argentine Constitution , candidates for the Argentine Senate must: The titular president of the Senate is the vice president of Argentina . However, day-to-day leadership of the Senate
414-415: The eldest men. For the same reason, the word senate is correctly used when referring to any powerful authority characteristically composed by the eldest members of a community, as a deliberative body of a faculty in an institution of higher learning is often called a senate. This form of adaptation was used to show the power of those in body and for the decision-making process to be thorough, which could take
437-523: The last being Quebec 's Legislative council in 1968. In Germany , the last senate of a state parliament, the Bavarian Senate , was abolished in 2000. Senate membership can be determined either through elections or appointments. For example, elections are held every three years for half the membership of the Senate of the Philippines , the term of a senator being six years. In contrast, members of
460-483: The lower house or another branch of government. The modern word senate is derived from the Latin word senātus (senate), which comes from senex , 'elder man'. A member or legislator of a senate is called senator . The Latin word senator was adopted into English with no change in spelling . Its meaning is derived from a very ancient form of social organization, in which advisory or decision-making powers are reserved for
483-659: The power to approve bills passed by the Chamber of Deputies , call for joint sessions with the lower house or special sessions with experts and interested parties, and submit bills for the president's signature; bills introduced in the Senate must, in turn, be approved by the Chamber of Deputies for their submission to the president. The Senate must introduce any changes to federal revenue sharing policies, ratify international treaties, approve changes to constitutional or federal criminal laws, as well as confirm or impeach presidential nominees to
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#1733085418489506-528: The rights of each class of membership must be defined (such as whether a "member" in a class has the right to vote). There may also be ex officio members or persons who are members under some other office or position they hold. Ex officio members have the same rights as other members. Senate of Argentina Independents (26) Opposition (33) The Honorable Senate of the Argentine Nation ( Spanish : Honorable Senado de la Nación Argentina )
529-433: The scope of its operations. Examples include an organized society's or company's board of directors and government agency boards like a board of education . A member of a deliberative assembly has the right to attend meetings and make and second motions , speak in the debate, and vote. Organizations may have different classes of members (such as regular members, active members, associate members, and honorary members), but
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