Legislative session

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A legislative session is the period of time when a legislature is convened for the purpose of lawmaking. Legislatures plan their business using a legislative calendar. Unofficial but related business may be conducted by legislators outside of the session, or within the session but on days which it is not convened. Sessions of a parliament are also called parliamentary sessions.

In places where regular elections are held (without the need to dissolve a previous session), as is common to presidential systems, two sessions together are often called by the name of the body and an ordinal number -- for example, the 109th United States Congress. Other legislatures do this as well, but may define a session differently, like the 50th Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Contents 1 Commonwealth realms 2 United States 3 Prorogation 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Commonwealth realms

In Commonwealth realms, each session begins with a speech from the throne. Houses of Parliament in some Realms then introduce a pro forma bill, symbolising the right of Parliament to give priority to matters other than the speech and its contents. Sessions can thereafter last from a few weeks to over a year. Between two elections, there are usually anywhere from one to six sessions of parliament.

Bills are numbered within each session and they expire if they do not become law by the time the session ends. In Canada, for example, each session's government House bills are numbered from C-2 to C-200 and when a new session starts, the first new bill is numbered C-2 again and senate bills are numbered S-2 through S-200.

Historically, sessions would run for several months continuously and be followed by a prorogation of several months when members of parliament would spend time in their home constituencies. This pattern has become less necessary in modern times; transportation and communication technology make it easy for members to return home for short visits throughout each session. It is not uncommon for a session of parliament to be put into recess during holidays and then resumed a few weeks later exactly where it left off. Governments today end sessions whenever it is most convenient, and often, a new session will begin on the same day that the previous session ended.

[edit] United States

In the United States, some state legislatures meet only part of the year. If business arises that must be addressed before the next regular session, the chief executive (like the governor or premier) may call a special session.

[edit] Prorogation

For prorogation in the constitution of ancient Rome, see Prorogatio.

A prorogation is the period between two sessions of a legislative body. When a legislature or parliament is prorogued, it is still constituted (that is, all members remain as members and a general election is not necessary), but all orders of the body (bills, motions, etc.) are expunged.^[1] (In the British parliament, this has now changed somewhat in that Public Bills can be carried over from one session to another.)

In the British and Canadian parliamentary systems, this is usually due to the completion of the agenda set forth in the Speech from the Throne (in the UK, called the legislative programme, and also "the Queen's Speech"). Legislatures and parliaments, once prorogued, remain in recess until summoned again by the Queen, Governor General, or Lieutenant Governor, and a new session is begun with the State Opening of Parliament and the Speech from the Throne.

In the parliament of the United Kingdom, prorogation is immediately preceded by the prorogation speech. Prior to the speech, the House of Commons is summoned by the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod to the House of Lords. The speech is approved by the Queen but is rarely delivered by the sovereign in person (Queen Victoria being the last sovereign to attend prorogation in person); instead it is presented by the Lords Commissioners and read by the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. This speech looks back at the legislative session, noting major bills passed and other actions of the government.^[2] The Lord Chancellor wears a tricorn hat for the occasion and the Lords Commissioners wear bicorn hats.

When King Charles I of England dissolved Parliament in 1628 after the Petition of Right, he gave a prorogation speech that effectively cancelled all future meetings of Parliament, at least until he once again required finances.

Parliaments are prorogued before elections to prevent the upper house from sitting during the campaign and to expunge all existing upper house business before the start of the next parliament. In Australia, prorogations not thus related to the conduct of an election are unusual.

In Canada, Parliament was prorogued under unusual circumstances on December 4, 2008, by Governor General Michaëlle Jean at the request of Prime Minister Harper, who attempted to stop a vote of no confidence (scheduled for December 8, 2008) by a coalition composed of the Liberal Party and NDP, and supported by the Bloc Québécois.^[3]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Look up prorogue in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikinews has related news: Canadian Parliament suspended until late January

• Video of Prorogation
• Canada. House of Commons. Procedure Online