Senate (Belize)

The Senate is one of the chambers of the National Assembly of Belize. It has 12 members appointed for a five-year term by the Governor General of Belize.

Establishment and appointment

Senators are appointed by the Governor General in the following manner:

In practice, the party that wins the general election (by capturing the most seats in the lower house of representatives) also controls the Senate. In previous incarnations, eight senators were appointed, five by the Prime Minister, two by the Leader of the Opposition and one by the Governor General and the Belize Advisory Council. One more senator was given to the opposition beginning in the 1990s.

Belize

Belize (ⁱ/bəˈliːz/) is a country on the eastern coast of Central America. It is the only country in Central America whose official language is English, though Belizean Creole (Kriol) and Spanish are also commonly spoken. Belize is bordered on the north by Mexico, on the south and west by Guatemala, and on the east by the Caribbean Sea. Its mainland is about 290 km (180 mi) long and 110 km (68 mi) wide.

With an area of 22,966 kilometers squared (8,867 square miles) making it the world's 147th largest country by area and also Belize has a population of 368,310 which makes it the world's 173rd most populous country in the world

(8,867) a population of Belize has the lowest population density in Central America. The country's population growth rate of 1.87% per year (2015) is the second highest in the region and one of the highest in the Western Hemisphere.

Belize's abundance of terrestrial and marine species and its diversity of ecosystems give it a key place in the globally significant Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.

Senate

A Senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature or parliament. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: Senatus), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: senex meaning "the elder" or "the old one") and therefore allegedly wiser and more experienced members of the society or ruling class.

Thus, the literal meaning of the word "senate" is: Assembly of Elders.

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 a lower house, whose members are usually elected.

Overview

The modern word senate is derived from the [Latin] word senātus (senate), which comes from senex, “old man”. The members or legislators of a senate are called senators. 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 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 adaptation was used to show the power of those in body and for the decision-making process to be thorough, which could take a long period of time. The original senate was the Roman Senate, which lasted until 580 (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.

Select committee

A select committee is a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues originating in the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Select committees exist in the British Parliament, as well as in other parliaments based on the Westminster model, such as those in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and New Zealand.

It is a special subcommittee of a legislature or assembly governed under a committee system, like Robert's Rules of Order. They are often investigative in nature, collecting data or evidence for a law or problem, and will dissolve immediately after they report their findings to their superiors.

These are very common in government legislatures, and are used to solve special problems, hence their name.

New Zealand

United Kingdom

United States

In the United States, notable select committees include the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities (for investigating Nixon's role in Watergate), Select Committee on Benghazi, and the 9/11 Commission (for uncovering further details on the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Centers).

Elvin Penner

Elvin Penner is a Belizean politician who served in the House of Representatives from 2008 to 2015 representing the Cayo North East constituency. He is a member of the United Democratic Party. Penner was the first Belizean Mennonite elected to national office.

Penner was initially appointed as Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment in 2008. Following a cabinet reshuffling in March 2009, Penner transitioned to the Ministry of Public Utilities, Information and Broadcasting. After being re-elected in 2012, Penner was appointed Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security (with responsibility for immigration and border protection).

Personal

He has three children, one daughter and two sons.

References