In government, unicameralism (Latin uni, one + camera, chamber) is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a unicameral parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house. Some countries with unicameral legislatures are often small and homogeneous unitary states and consider an upper house or second chamber unnecessary.

Concept[link]

Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multicameralism. Many multicameral legislatures were created to give separate voices to different sectors of society. Multiple chambers allowed for guaranteed representation of different social classes (as in the Parliament of the United Kingdom or the French States-General), ethnic or regional interests, or subunits of a federation. Where these factors are unimportant, in unitary states with weak regional identity, unicameralism often prevails. Sometimes, as in New Zealand and Denmark, this comes about through the abolition of one the two chambers, or, as in Sweden, through the merger of the two chambers into a single one, while in others a second chamber has never existed.

Unicameral legislatures are also common in Communist states such as the People's Republic of China and Cuba. Similarly, many formerly Communist states, such as Ukraine, Moldova and Serbia, have retained their unicameral legislatures, though others, such as Russia and Poland, adopted bicameral legislatures after the fall of Communism. The socialist viewpoint regards upper houses as typically conservative and representing the interests of the upper classes.

The principal advantage of a unicameral system is more efficient lawmaking, as the legislative process is much simpler and there is no possibility of legislative deadlock. Proponents of unicameralism have also argued that it reduces costs, as even if the number of legislators is the same as it would be in a multicameral system, there are fewer institutions to maintain and support.

The main weakness of a unicameral system can be seen as the lack of restraint on the majority, particularly noticeable in parliamentary systems where the leaders of the parliamentary majority also dominate the executive. There is also the risk, depending on how seats are allocated in the legislature, that important sectors of society may not be adequately represented.

List of unicameral legislatures[link]

Approximately half of the sovereign states are presently unicameral, including both the most populous (the People's Republic of China) and the least populous (the Vatican City).

Many subnational entities have unicameral legislatures. These include Nebraska, Guam and the Virgin Islands in the United States, Hong Kong, the Australian states and territories of Queensland, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, all of the provinces and territories in Canada, all of the German Bundesländer, all of the Italian Regioni and all of the Spanish Autonomous Communities.

In the United Kingdom, the devolved Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales, Northern Ireland Assembly, and London Assembly are also unicameral.

Almost all city legislatures are also unicameral in the sense that the city councils are not divided into two chambers. Until the turn of the 20th century, bicameral city councils were common in the United States^{[citation needed]}.

National[link]

  Nations with bicameral legislatures.

  Nations with unicameral legislatures.

  No legislature.

• Assembly of the Republic of Albania
• National Assembly of Angola
• National Assembly of Armenia
• National Assembly of Azerbaijan
• Jatiyo Sangshad of Bangladesh
• National Assembly of Benin
• National Assembly of Botswana
• Legislative Council of Brunei
• National Assembly of Bulgaria
• National Assembly of Burkina Faso
• National Assembly of Cameroon
• National Assembly of Cape Verde
• National Assembly of the Central African Republic
• National Assembly of Chad
• National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China
• Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
• Assembly of the Union of the Comoros
• Parliament of the Cook Islands
• Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica
• National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire
• Parliament of Croatia
• National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba
• House of Representatives of Cyprus
• Folketing of Denmark
• House of Assembly of Dominica
• National Assembly of Djibouti
• National Parliament of East Timor
• National Assembly of Ecuador
• Legislative Assembly of El Salvador
• Chamber of People's Representatives of Equatorial Guinea
• National Assembly of Eritrea
• Riigikogu of Estonia
• Parliament of Finland
• National Assembly of The Gambia
• Parliament of Georgia
• Parliament of Ghana
• Parliament of Greece
• Congress of Guatemala
• National Assembly of Guinea
• National People's Assembly of Guinea-Bissau
• National Assembly of Guyana
• National Congress of Honduras
• National Assembly of Hungary
• Althing of Iceland
• Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran
• Council of Representatives of Iraq (provision exists for the founding of a "Council of Union", but no move to this effect has been initiated by the existing Council)
• Knesset of Israel
• National Assembly of Kenya
• House of Assembly of Kiribati
• Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea
• National Assembly of the South Korea
• Assembly of Kosovo
• Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan
• National Assembly of Kuwait
• National Assembly of Laos
• Saeima of Latvia
• Parliament of Lebanon
• General People's Congress of Libya
• Landtag of Liechtenstein
• Seimas of Lithuania
• Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg
• Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia
• National Assembly of Malawi
• Majlis of the Maldives
• National Assembly of Mali
• Parliament of Malta
• Legislature of the Marshall Islands
• National Assembly of Mauritius
• Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia
• Parliament of Moldova
• National Council of Monaco
• State Great Khural of Mongolia
• Parliament of Montenegro
• Assembly of the Republic of Mozambique
• Parliament of Nauru
• Constituent Assembly of Nepal
• Parliament of New Zealand
• National Assembly of Nicaragua
• National Assembly of Niger
• Assembly of Niue
• Parliament of Norway
• National Assembly of Panama
• National Parliament of Papua New Guinea
• Congress of the Republic of Peru
• Assembly of the Republic of Portugal
• National Assembly of Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Legislative Assembly of Samoa
• National Assembly of São Tomé and Príncipe
• National Assembly of Serbia
• National Assembly of Seychelles
• Parliament of Sierra Leone
• Parliament of Singapore
• National Council of Slovakia
• Transitional Federal Parliament of Somalia
• Parliament of Sri Lanka
• National Assembly of Suriname
• Parliament of Sweden
• Parliament of Syria
• National Assembly of Tanzania
• National Assembly of Togo
• Legislative Assembly of Tonga
• Grand National Assembly of Turkey
• Assembly of Turkmenistan
• Parliament of Tuvalu
• Parliament of Uganda
• Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
• Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State
• National Assembly of Venezuela
• National Assembly of Vietnam
• Assembly of Representatives of Yemen
• National Assembly of Zambia

Territorial[link]

• House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands
• Legislative Assembly of the Cayman Islands
• Parliament of Greenland
• Parliament of Gibraltar
• Legislature of Guam
• Legislative Council of Hong Kong (divided into two groups for private members' bills since 1998)
• Legislative Assembly of Macau
• Legislature of the U.S. Virgin Islands

Subnational[link]

Federations[link]

• All legislatures and legislative councils of the regions and communities of Belgium
• All legislative assemblies of the provinces of Canada
• All Landtage of the states of Germany
• All legislative assemblies of the states of Malaysia
• The Nebraska, USA legislature
• Council of Washington, D.C. (United States)
• Parliament of Queensland and the legislative assemblies of the territories of Australia
• Provincial legislatures of the Provinces of South Africa
• Narodna skupština of Republika Srpska
• All legislatures in all states of Brazil and Mexico
• 22 Indian States and 2 Union Territories – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Delhi, Pondicherry

Devolved governments[link]

• Northern Ireland Assembly
• Scottish Parliament
• National Assembly for Wales
• London Assembly London
• Parliaments of the autonomous communities of Spain

Other[link]

• People's Congresses of all levels of provinces, regions and municipalities of the People's Republic of China (unitary)
• Provincial Assembly of the Sindh is a unicameral house of elected representatives of people of Sindh established under Article 106 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Historic[link]

National[link]

• Parliament of the Kingdom of Scotland until 1707

Territorial[link]

• Colonial period of the General Assembly of Georgia
• Colonial period of the General Assembly of Pennsylvania
• General Assembly of Vermont until 1836

Federations[link]

• Congress of the Confederation was unicameral before being replaced by the current, bicameral United States Congress.

Unicameralism within the subdivisions of the United States[link]

Within U.S. states, Nebraska is currently the only state with a unicameral legislature. Nebraska's state legislature is also unique in the sense that it is the only state legislature that is entirely nonpartisan.

Local government legislatures of counties, cities, or other political subdivisions within states are usually unicameral and have limited lawmaking powers compared to their state and federal counterparts.

In 1999, Governor Jesse Ventura proposed converting the Minnesota Legislature into a single unicameral chamber.^[1] Although debated, the idea was never adopted.

In a non-binding referendum held on July 10, 2004, voters in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico approved changing its Legislative Assembly to a unicameral body by 456,267 votes in favor (83.7%) versus 88,720 against (16.3%). If both the territory's House of Representatives and Senate approve by a 2/3 vote the specific amendments to the Puerto Rico Constitution that are required for the change to a unicameral legislature, another referendum will be held in the territory to approve such amendments. If those constitutional changes are approved, Puerto Rico could switch to a unicameral legislature as early as 2015.

On June 9, 2009, the Maine House of Representatives voted to form a unicameral legislature, but the measure did not pass the Senate.^[2]

Because of legislative gridlock in 2009, former Congressman Rick Lazio, a prospective candidate for governor, has proposed that New York adopt unicameralism.^[3]

Unicameralism in the Philippines[link]

Unicameralism is experienced in the Philippines from 1935-1940 during the Commonwealth period. In the 1973 Constitution, the legislative system is called Batasang Pambansa in a parliamentary system of the government until 1986.

The ongoing process of amending or revising the current constitution and form of government is popularly known as Charter Change. A shift to a unicameral parliament is included in the proposals of the constitutional commission created by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.^[4] Unlike in the United States, senators in the Senate of the Philippines are elected not per district and state but nationally; the Philippines is a unitary state.^[5] The Philippine government's decision-making process, relative to the United States, is more rigid, highly centralized, much slower and susceptible to political "gridlocks." As a result, the trend for unicameralism as well as other political system reforms are more contentious in the Philippines.^[6]

While Congress is bicameral, all local legislatures are unicameral: the ARMM Regional Legislative Assembly, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Boards), Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Councils), Sangguniang Bayan (Municipal Councils), Sangguniang Barangay (Barangay Councils) and the Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Councils).

See also[link]

• Multicameralism
• Bicameralism
• Tricameralism
• Tetracameralism
• List of legislatures by country

References[link]

Gary LeBeau (born June 1, 1947) is the State Senator in Connecticut from the third senatorial district serving the towns of East Hartford, South Windsor, East Windsor, and Ellington. Gary was first elected to the State Senate in 1996. Gary is currently serving his 6th term as senator.

Biography[link]

Born and raised in Easthampton, Massachusetts, Senator LeBeau was educated in public schools and graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a Masters Degree in Education, a Sixth-Year Degree from the University of Connecticut, and Elementary Education Certification from Central Connecticut State University. A former public school teacher for 36 years, Senator LeBeau is now retired. He lives in East Hartford with his wife Joanne, their three children Kara, Matthew and Christopher, and their chocolate Labrador Retriever “Hershey.”

Legislative experience[link]

LeBeau was first elected to the Connecticut General Assembly in 1990 as a state representative from the town of East Hartford. While in the state House, he served on the Finance Committee and as vice-chairman of the Commerce Committee. He was first elected to the state Senate in 1996, where he represents the 3rd Senatorial District towns of East Hartford, South Windsor, East Windsor and Ellington. In his time in the Senate, LeBeau has advocated for a state commitment to the Groton-area submarine base which helped save it from the federal budget axe; tax credits for job creation; major investments in biotechnology, stem cell research and alternative energies such as fuel cells; linking the research departments of various state institutions of higher learning with start-up, high-technology firms; contracting reform; Goodwin College; and the Rentschler Field complex.^{[citation needed]} Senator LeBeau has also championed a transportation study of the Buckland shopping mall area and a legislative Task Force on Fatherhood.^{[citation needed]}

In 2011, Senator LeBeau voted for HB 6599,^[1] a measure which would add gender identity and gender expression to existing anti-discrimination statutes. He also voted for HB 6650,^[1] which is intended to clarify and limit the classes of prisoners made eligible for early release by an earlier bill.^[2] Some Republicans in the Senate said that the bill didn't limit the early release program enough, allowing some violent fleons to gain early release.^[2]

Other public service[link]

Senator LeBeau has been a member of the East Hartford Lions Club for 25 years and has held all major offices in the club. He served on the East Hartford Town Council and is currently a member of the Blessed Sacrament/Our Lady of Peace linked parishes, the East Hartford Historical Society, and the League of Women Voters. LeBeau has supported children's dental health by initiating the distribution of over 500 oral healthcare kits to children in East Hartford.^[3][4] His professional experience includes founding the Synergy School for at-risk students and working as the coordinator for Drop Out Prevention and Drug-Free Schools Program for the East Hartford schools and serving on the ERASE Board of Directors, The Capital Region Growth Council Board of Directors, the Liquor Control Task Force Against Underage Drinking, the CT Economic Conference Board, the International Trade Council, the Cultural Heritage Committee, and the East Hartford Child Plan.

2010 Connecticut gubernatorial election[link]

On July 28, 2009 LeBeau announced the formation of an exploratory committee for the 2010 Connecticut gubernatorial election.^[5][6] LeBeau told the media in attendance that his first order of business would be to garner the support of Connecticut Democrats and he would start by visiting Democratic Town Committees around the state to hear their concerns about the future of Connecticut. LeBeau said he would make a decision whether or not to officially enter the statewide race by early 2010.^[7]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Personal Website
• Blog
• YouTube Channel

v t e Members of the Connecticut State Senate President of the Senate: Nancy Wyman (D) President pro Tempore: Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D) Majority Leader: Martin M. Looney (D) Minority Leader: John P. McKinney (R)        John Fonfara (D)    Eric D. Coleman (D)    Gary LeBeau (D)    Steve Cassano (D)    Beth Bye (D)    Theresa Gerratana (D)    John A. Kissel (R)    Kevin Witkos (R)    Paul R. Doyle (D)    Toni N. Harp (D)    Martin M. Looney (D)    Edward Meyer (D)    Len Suzio (R)    Gayle Slossberg (D)    Joan Hartley (D)    Joe Markley (R)    Joseph Crisco, Jr. (D)    Andrew M. Maynard (D)    Edith Prague (D)    Andrea Stillman (D)    Kevin Kelly (R)    Anthony Musto (D)    Ed Gomes (D)    Michael McLachlan (R)    Bob Duff (D)    Toni Boucher (R)    Carlo Leone (D)    John P. McKinney (R)    Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D)    Andrew Roraback (R)    Jason Welch (R)    Rob Kane (R)    Eileen Daily (D)    Len Fasano (R)    Tony Guglielmo (R)    Scott Frantz (R)    Democratic (22)    Republican (14) Connecticut General Assembly Connecticut House of Representatives Connecticut State Senate

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