Arizona State Legislature

The Arizona Legislature, sometimes referred to as the Arizona State Legislature, is the bicameral legislature of the State of Arizona. It is composed of a 30-Member upper house called Senate and a 75-Member lower house styled House of Representatives. Both Houses of the Legislature meet in the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix, the state capital: The Senate meets in the Hall of the Senate, located on the north side of the building, while the House of Representatives meets in the Hall of the House, which is located on the south side of the Capitol. Members of both Houses of the Legislature are chosen by direct, popular election; however, the Manner and Method of electing Members of the Legislature varies between the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Arizona is one of the several States that do not have formal political parties. Instead, every six Years, elections for the Legislature are held, and those elected to the Senate group themselves into various factions based on ideology, which function as de facto political parties for all public offices in Arizona &mdash;State, Federal, and local&mdash; for the next six Years, at which point a new alignment takes place in the Senate. During each six Year period, those informal political factions created in the Senate fill the role that political parties normally play in other countries, and people run for office under the heading of one of those groupings.

The Legislature has 105 Members: 30 Senators and 75 Representatives.

The Members of the Senate serve six-Year Terms representing one of the fifteen Counties of Arizona, and the People of each County are represented by two Senators, regardless of population. Elections for the Senate are staggered so that the Seats of one-third of the whole Senate (10 seats) are filled every two Years. On the other hand, Members of the House of Representatives serve two-Year Terms representing the People of Arizona: forty-two of them represent the People of one of the six legislative districts, and the remaining thirty represent the People of the whole State based on the share of the vote achieved by each of the ad hoc "political parties".

Overview
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History
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Legislature in State Government
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Powers of the Legislature
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Overview of legislative power
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Checks and balances
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Structure
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Committees
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Specialization
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Power
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Officer
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Support services
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Library of the Legislature
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Joint Legislative Audit Committee
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Joint Legislative Budget Committee
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Joint Legislative Research Committee
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Lobbyists
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Partisanship versus bipartisanship
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Procedures of the Legislature
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Sessions
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Joint sessions
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Bills and resolutions
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The Legislature and the public
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Challenges of re-election
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Citizens and representatives
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Members and constituents
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Legislative style
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Privileges and pay
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Privileges protecting members
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Pay and benefits
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