Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multicameralism ( two or more chambers). Many multicameral legislatures were created to give separate voices to different sectors of society. Multiple houses allowed, for example, for a guaranteed representation of different social classes (as in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

or the French States-General). Sometimes, as in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, unicameralism comes about through the abolition of one of two bicameral 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 from the beginning.

Rationale for unicameralism and criticism

The principal advantage of a unicameral system is more efficient lawmaking, as the legislative process is simpler and there is no possibility of

deadlock In concurrent computing, deadlock is any situation in which no member of some group of entities can proceed because each waits for another member, including itself, to take action, such as sending a message or, more commonly, releasing a loc ...

between two chambers. Proponents of unicameralism have also argued that it reduces costs, even if the number of legislators stays the same, since there are fewer institutions to maintain and support financially and that it is more democratic. Proponents of bicameral legislatures say that having two legislative chambers offers the opportunity to re-debate and correct errors in either chamber in parallel, and in some cases to introduce legislation in either chamber. The main weakness of a unicameral system can be seen as potential lack of restraint on the majority, particularly noticeable in

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of th ...

s where the leaders of the parliamentary majority also dominate the executive. There is also the risk that important sectors of society may not be adequately represented by the elected singular body.

List of unicameral legislatures

Approximately half of the world's

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined te ...

s are currently unicameral. The

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

is somewhat in-between, with a legislature and a formal advisory body. China has a Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference which meets alongside the National People's Congress, in many respects an advisory "upper house". Many

subnational entities Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

have unicameral legislatures. These include the state of

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

and territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, the Chinese special administrative regions of

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

and Macao, the Australian state of Queensland as well as the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

and the Australian Capital Territory, a majority of the provinces of Argentina, all of the provinces and territories in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, all of the German states, all of the regions of Italy, all of the Spanish autonomous communities, both the

autonomous regions of Portugal The two Autonomous Regions of Portugal from 1999 ( pt, Regiões Autónomas de Portugal) are the Azores (''Região Autónoma dos Açores'') and Madeira (''Região Autónoma da Madeira''). Together with Continental Portugal (''Portugal Continenta ...

, most of the states and union territories of India, and all of the states of Brazil. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the devolved Scottish Parliament, the

Senedd Cymru The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...

, the Northern Ireland Assembly, and the London Assembly are also unicameral.

National (UN member states and observers)

Federal

Assembly of the Union The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw ( my, ပြည်ထောင်စု လွှတ်တော် lit. Assembly of the Union) is the ''de jure'' national-level bicameral legislature of Myanmar (officially known as the ''Republic of the Union of My ...

of the Comoros * Bundestag of Germany * 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) * Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia * National Assembly of Saint Kitts and Nevis *

Federal National Council The Federal National Council (FNC) ( ar, المجلس الوطني الإتحادي, ''al-Majlis al-Watani al-Ittihadi'') of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is an advisory quasi-parliamentary body in the UAE. The FNC consists of 40 members. Twen ...

of the United Arab Emirates * National Assembly of Venezuela

Unitary

=Africa

= * National Assembly of Angola * National Assembly of Benin * National Assembly of Botswana * National Assembly of Burkina Faso * National Assembly of Cape Verde * National Assembly of the Central African Republic * National Assembly of Chad * National Assembly of Djibouti * National Assembly of Eritrea * National Assembly of The Gambia * Parliament of Ghana * National Assembly of Guinea * National People's Assembly of Guinea-Bissau *

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

of Libya * National Assembly of Malawi * Majlis of Maldives * National Assembly of Mali * Parliament of Mauritania * National Assembly of Mauritius * Assembly of the Republic of Mozambique * National Assembly of Niger * National Assembly of São Tomé and Príncipe * National Assembly of Senegal * National Assembly of Seychelles * Parliament of Sierra Leone * National Assembly of Tanzania * National Assembly of Togo * National Assembly of Tunisia * Parliament of Uganda * National Assembly of Zambia

=Asia

= * Leadership Council of Afghanistan * National Assembly of Armenia * National Assembly of Azerbaijan *

Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad ( bn, জাতীয় সংসদ, lit=National Parliament, translit=Jatiyô Sôngsôd), often referred to simply as the ''Sangsad'' or JS and also known as the House of the Nation, is the supreme legislative body of B ...

of Bangladesh * Legislative Council of Brunei * National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China – though they also have a Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference which is effectively an advisory "upper house". *

National Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

of East Timor * Parliament of Georgia * Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran * Knesset of Israel * Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) * National Assembly of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) * National Assembly of Kuwait * Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan * National Assembly of Laos * Parliament of Lebanon * State Great Khural of Mongolia * Legislative Council of Palestine * Consultative Assembly of Qatar * Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia (most powers are reserved for the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

) * Parliament of Singapore * Parliament of Sri Lanka * Parliament of Syria * Grand National Assembly of Turkey * National Assembly of Vietnam

=Europe

= * Kuvendi of Albania * National Assembly of Bulgaria *

Sabor The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabo ...

of Croatia * Folketing of Denmark *

Riigikogu The Riigikogu (; from Estonian ''riigi-'', of the state, and ''kogu'', assembly) is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the Prime Minister and Chief Just ...

of Estonia * Parliament of Finland * Parliament of Greece * National Assembly of Hungary * Althing of Iceland * Saeima of Latvia * Landtag of Liechtenstein * Seimas of Lithuania * Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg * Parliament of Malta * Parliament of Moldova * National Council of Monaco * Parliament of Montenegro * Assembly of North Macedonia * Storting of Norway * Assembly of the Republic of Portugal *

Grand and General Council The Grand and General Council ( it, Consiglio Grande e Generale) is the parliament of San Marino. The council has 60 members elected for a five-year term. History From the fifth century San Marino was ruled by an assembly composed by all t ...

of San Marino * National Assembly of Serbia * National Council of Slovakia * Riksdag of Sweden * Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine * Pontifical Commission for Vatican City

=North America

= * Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica * National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba * House of Assembly of Dominica * Legislative Assembly of El Salvador * Congress of Guatemala * National Congress of Honduras * National Assembly of Nicaragua * National Assembly of Panama * House of Assembly of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

=Oceania

= * Parliament of the Cook Islands * Parliament of Fiji * House of Assembly of Kiribati *

Legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

of the Marshall Islands * Parliament of Nauru * Parliament of New Zealand * Assembly of Niue *

of Papua New Guinea * Legislative Assembly of Samoa *

of Solomon Islands * Legislative Assembly of Tonga * Parliament of Tuvalu * Parliament of Vanuatu

=South America

= * National Assembly of Ecuador * National Assembly of Guyana * Congress of the Republic of Peru * National Assembly of Suriname

Territorial

* House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands * Legislative Assembly of the Cayman Islands * Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands * The Løgting of the Faroe Islands * Parliament of Gibraltar *

Inatsisartut The Inatsisartut ( kl, Inatsisartut; '' da, Landstinget, lit=''the land's- thing'' of Greenland''), also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the unicameral parliament (legislative branch) of Greenland, an autonomous territory* ...

of Greenland *

of Guam * Legislative Council of Hong Kong * Legislative Assembly of Macao * House of Assembly of Tobago *

of the U.S. Virgin Islands

State parliaments with limited recognition

* People's Assembly of Abkhazia * National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh * Assembly of Kosovo * Assembly of the Republic of Northern Cyprus * National Council of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic * Parliament of South Ossetia * Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan) * Supreme Council of Transnistria

Subnational

Federations

* All legislatures and legislative councils of the regions and communities of Belgium * All legislative assemblies in all states of Brazil * All legislative assemblies of the provinces and territories of Canada * All Landtage of the states of Germany * All legislative assemblies of the states of Malaysia * All legislatures in all states of Mexico * All legislatures of the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

in Nepal * All legislatures of the provinces and territories in Pakistan * The

of the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

of Nebraska, and council of the District of Columbia in the

* Parliament of Queensland and the legislative assemblies of the territories of Australia (but not the other states) * Provincial legislatures of the

of South Africa * Narodna skupština of Republika Srpska Legislaturas provinciales de Argentina

* 15 of the

of Argentina – Chaco, Chubut, Córdoba, Formosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Misiones, Neuquén, Río Negro, San Juan, Santa Cruz, Santiago del Estero, Tierra del Fuego, Tucumán, and the autonomous city of Buenos Aires. * 22 of the states of India –

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...

, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa,

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

, Jharkhand,

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland,

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...

, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal; and 3 of the union territories –

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

, Jammu and Kashmir, and

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry t ...

Devolved governments

* Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament * Northern Ireland Assembly * Scottish Parliament * Senedd (Welsh Parliament) * Parliaments of the

autonomous communities eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

of Spain * All regional councils of France * Bangsamoro Parliament * All Oblast Councils of Ukraine * City and County Councils of the special municipalities, provincial cities, and counties of the Republic of China (Taiwan)

Others

* Local People's Congresses of all levels of provinces, regions, and municipalities of the People's Republic of China * National Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization

List of historical unicameral legislatures

National

* The

First Protectorate Parliament The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the Ho ...

and

Second Protectorate Parliament The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons. In its first session, the House of Commons was its only chamber; in ...

of the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, ...

, regulated by the

Instrument of Government The Instrument of Government was a constitution of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland. Drafted by Major-General John Lambert in 1653, it was the first sovereign codified and written constitution in England. Antecedence The ' ...

(dissolved) * Parliament of the Kingdom of Scotland until 1707 (dissolved) * Congress of the Confederation was unicameral before being replaced in 1789 by the current, bicameral United States Congress. * Provisional Congress of the Confederate States was unicameral before being replaced by the bicameral Confederate States Congress in 1862. * Congress of Deputies of Second Spanish Republic was unicameral between 1931 and 1936. Dissolved at the end of

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

* The Parliament of Uzbekistan was unicameral before being replaced in 2005 by the current, bicameral

Oliy Majlis The Oliy Majlis (Cyrillic ''Олий Мажлис'', ) is the parliament of Uzbekistan. It succeeded the Supreme Council of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 1995, and was unicameral until a reform implemented in January 2005 created a second chamber ...

. * National Assembly of

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

was unicameral before being replaced in 2013 by the current, bicameral Parliament of Cameroon. * Chamber of People's Representative of Equatorial Guinea was unicameral before being replaced in 2013 by the current, bicameral Parliament of Equatorial Guinea. * National Assembly of

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

was the country's unicameral legislature before becoming the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Kenya in 2013. * National Assembly of Ivory Coast was the country's unicameral legislature before becoming the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Ivory Coast in 2016. * Central National Committee and the Provisional People's Representative Council of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

was the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Indonesia during the War of Independence and the Liberal democracy era.

Subnational

* General Assembly of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

until 1789 * General Assembly of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

until 1790 * General Assembly of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

until 1836

Other

* Assembly of Representatives of Yishuv community in

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

from 1920 to 1949

Unicameralism in the Philippines

Though the current

Congress of the Philippines The Congress of the Philippines ( fil, Kongreso ng Pilipinas, italic=unset) is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, although colloquially the te ...

is bicameral, the country experienced unicameralism in 1898 and 1899 (during the

First Philippine Republic The Philippine Republic ( es, República Filipina), now officially known as the First Philippine Republic, also referred to by historians as the Malolos Republic, was established in Malolos, Bulacan during the Philippine Revolution against ...

), from 1935 to 1941 (the Commonwealth era) and from 1943 to 1944 (during the Japanese occupation). Under the 1973 Constitution, the legislative body was called

Batasang Pambansa The Batasang Pambansa Complex, or simply the Batasan (), is the seat of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It is located along the Batasan Road in Batasan Hills, Quezon City. The complex was initially the home of the Batasang ...

, which functioned also a unicameral legislature within a

(1973-1981) and a semi-presidential system (1981-1986) form of government. 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 was included in the proposals of the constitutional commission created by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Unlike in the United States, senators in the

Senate of the Philippines The Senate of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Senado ng Pilipinas'', also ''Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas'' or "upper chamber") is the upper house of Congress of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines with the House of Representatives ...

are elected not per district and state but nationally; the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

is a

unitary state A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only ...

. The Philippine government's decision-making process, relative to the United States, is more rigid, highly centralised, much slower and susceptible to political gridlock. As a result, the trend for unicameralism as well as other political system reforms are more contentious in the Philippines. While Congress is bicameral, all local legislatures are unicameral: the Bangsamoro Parliament, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Boards), Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Councils),

Sangguniang Bayan The Sangguniang Bayan () is the local legislative branch of the municipal governments in the Philippines. It is responsible for passing ordinances and resolutions for the administration of a municipality. Its powers are defined by the Local Gov ...

(Municipal Councils), Sangguniang Barangay (

Barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolita ...

Councils), and the

Sangguniang Kabataan Sangguniang Kabataan (abbreviated as SK; ) is a council meant to represent the youth in each barangay in the Philippines. It was put "on hold", but not quite abolished, prior to the 2013 barangay elections. In January 2016, the Sangguniang ...

(Youth Councils).

Unicameralism in the United States

The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the supreme legislative body of the state of Nebraska and the only unicameral state legislature in the United States. Its members are called "senators", as it was originally the upper house of a bicameral legislature before the Nebraska House of Representatives dissolved in 1937. The legislature is also notable for being nonpartisan and officially recognizes no party affiliation, making Nebraska unique among U.S. states. With 49 members, it is also the smallest legislature of any U.S. state. A 2018 study found that efforts to adopt unicameralism in Ohio and Missouri failed due to rural opposition. There was a fear in rural communities that unicameralism would diminish their influence in state government. 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. Some of the 13 colonies which became independent, such as

, New Jersey and

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

had initially introduced strong unicameral legislature and (relatively) less powerful governors with no veto power. Pennsylvania's constitution lasted only 14 years. In 1790, conservatives gained power in the state legislature, called a new constitutional convention, and rewrote the constitution. The new constitution substantially reduced universal male suffrage, gave the governor veto power and patronage appointment authority, and added an upper house with substantial wealth qualifications to the unicameral legislature. Thomas Paine called it a constitution unworthy of America. In 1999, Governor

Jesse Ventura Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, actor, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2 ...

proposed converting the Minnesota Legislature into a single chamber. Although debated, the idea was never adopted. Seven U.S. states,

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, Idaho,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, New Jersey, North Dakota,

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

, and Washington, effectively have two-house unicamerals. In these states, districts in the upper house and the lower house are combined into a single constituency, a practice known as nesting. The U.S. territory of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

held a non-binding referendum in 2005. Voters 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

and Senate had approved by a vote the specific amendments to the Puerto Rico Constitution that are required for the change to a unicameral legislature, another referendum would have been held in the territory to approve such amendments. If those constitutional changes had been approved, Puerto Rico could have switched 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. Because of legislative gridlock in 2009, former Congressman

Rick Lazio Enrico Anthony Lazio (; born March 13, 1958) is an American attorney and former four-term U.S. Representative from the State of New York. A Long Island native, Lazio became well-known during his bid for U.S. Senate in New York's 2000 Senate e ...

, a prospective candidate for governor, has proposed that New York adopt unicameralism. The United States as a whole was subject to a unicameral Congress during the years 1781–1788, when the Articles of Confederation were in effect. The Confederate States of America, pursuant to its Provisional Constitution, in effect from February 8, 1861, to February 22, 1862, was governed by a unicameral Congress.

Notes

References

{{Authority control Legislatures