The National Assembly is the

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

of the nation of

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

. It is divided into the

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

, with 31 members, elected by universal suffrage, and the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, with 13 members, appointed by the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

in consultation with the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and the

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

. The presiding officer of the House is the Speaker, while the Senate is presided over by the President.

History

The National Assembly of Belize, known as British Honduras prior to independence in 1981, was first introduced on 31 December 1963, replacing the

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

Legislative Assembly. The National Assembly has the power to debate and create laws based on the Constitution. It typically meets, both House and Senate, once a month, with other meetings called as necessary. Since 1970, following the relocation of the capital to Belmopan, the Parliament has sat at National Assembly Building, Belmopan in the Cayo District.

House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is the Lower House. It consists of 31 members, who are elected by the people in a general election every five years. Each member represents one constituency. Members of the House include both members of the ruling party and members of the opposition who won their seats in general election. The House of Representatives is presided over during their meetings by a speaker. The speaker's main responsibility is to maintain order and control. The House of Representatives passes bills, debates national issues and approves government budget.

Senate

The Senate is the Upper House. The Senate discusses and confirms bills that are sent from the House of Representatives. It is made up of 13 members who are all appointed by the Governor General. The President of the Senate presides over meetings. * 6 senators are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister * 3 senators are appointed on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition * 1 is appointed on the advice of the Belize Chamber of Commerce and the Belize Business Bureau * 1 is appointed on the advice of the Belize Council of Churches * 1 is appointed on the advice of the Belize National Trade and Union Congress * 1 is appointed on the advice of the Non-Government Organizations (NGO)

Lawmaking process

The lawmaking process includes the following steps: # Cabinet accepts an idea from a minister and discuss it. Legal draftsmen draft the bill. # Approval of the bill by Cabinet. # The Bill is introduced into the House of Representatives for the 1st Reading. # House committee meetings to hear public opinions and possible changes to the bill. # The bill is debated in the House of Representatives. ( 2nd Reading) # The bill is accepted and voted upon ( 3rd Reading) if it is passed by a majority votes it becomes an act. # The act goes through the same three stages/ readings in the Senate before it becomes a law. # Once the act passes the Senate, it is sent to the Governor General for his signature. The act becomes a law.

Trivia

The house currently has only one

debating chamber A debate chamber is a room for conducting the business of a deliberative assembly or otherwise for debating. When used as the meeting place of a legislature, a debate chamber may also be known as a council chamber, legislative chamber, assembly ...

despite being a bicameral legislature. The National Assembly and the Senate meet at different times for this reason.

References

External links

*
Government of Belize
*http://www.oas.org/juridico/PDFs/mesicic5_blz_resp_annex5.pdf {{Legislatures of the Americas

Government of Belize Politics of Belize Political organisations based in Belize

1963 establishments in the British Empire