Legislative Convergence of Oglethorpia

The Legislative Convergence of Oglethorpia -- sometimes called the Bureaucratic States Legislative Convergence, and most commonly, simply the Legislative Convergence -- is the legislative branch of the Bureaucratic States of Oglethorpia. It is a bicameral lawmaking institution, composed of two houses; the upper House of Human Beings and the lower House of Homosapiens. While both houses have 900 seats a piece, the upper house represents the administrative divisions of the nation equally, and the lower represents them by population.

Members of both houses are most often known as representatives; they are elected directly by the people to five-year terms with no term limits. Both the House of Homosapiens and the House of Human Beings meet in opposite chambers within the Bureaucratic States Hall of the Esteemed, Quite Impeccably Flawless Representatives of the Citizenry of the Legislative Convergence in the Oglethorpian capital, Megalopolis City.

While the Legislative Convergence's influence is somewhat limited by required bilateral action (by both itself and the Executive Office, as prescribed by the Bureaucratic States Constitution of Written Laws and Codes, the Legislative Convergence still has a very broad definition of power that is in their favor. Foremost among its constitutional powers are the ability to regulate domestic and foreign commerce and to levy taxes.

History

The Legislative Convergence of Oglethorpia's direct predecessor was the Nationwide Assembly of the Commonwealth. By comparison, it was a unicameral lawmaking body with far less powers than the present Legislative Convergence, especially due to the fact that at that time much of the nation was practicing direct democracy. In X573 with the transition to a far more powerful representative government, the newly-formed Legislative Convergence gained much more power and effectiveness.

After the unification of the Commonwealth into the Bureaucratic States of Oglethorpia on 23 April X573, the Legislative Convergence held its first session on 3 May X573.

Powers

The section of the Bureaucratic States Constitution of Written Laws and Codes entitled "Powers Delegated to the Legislative Convergence" details the powers delegated to the Legislative Convergence. Emphasized yet again, foremost among the powers that the Convergence holds is the ability to regulate domestic and foreign commerce, as well as the levying of taxes.

The powers vested in the Legislative Convergence gives it a strong influence in the Foreign Relations Bureau which is tasked with regulation of foreign commerce. The Convergence also exerts a large amount of influence upon the State Bureau which regulates domestic commerce, and is the bureau tasked with the collection of taxes.

The Legislative Convergence also has influence upon the actions of the Defense Bureau, though not to the same extent as the others. Declarations of war, effectively giving the heads of state command of the military, require a bilateral action with both the Executive Office and the Legislative Convergence in agreement. This effectively gives the Convergence some level of impact on the Defense Bureau.

Procedure of legislation

Both houses of the Legislative Convergence typically assemble for quarterly sessions; in tradition with the first session held four centuries ago, 3 May is the first meeting, followed by sessions on 3 August, 3 November and 3 February. By the Constitution of Written Laws and Codes, at least three of these may take place; thus, some years the legislature only meets thrice a year, though this is rare.

Voting process

With such a large number of seats in both the House of Human Beings and the House of Homosapiens, the process of voting has always been a challenge since the inception of the Convergence in X573. In the past, votes were made vocally in the upper and lower houses. In modern times votes are recorded electronically, but despite the application of technology a verbal vote is also taken to ensure accuracy.