Hawaii Legislature

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The Hawaiʻi Legislature is the legislative body of the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi. Governing from the city of Honolulu, it is the descendant of the legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, the Republic of Hawaiʻi, and the territorial legislature of the U.S. Territory of Hawaiʻi. Its main purpose is to establish laws in the form of statutes. The Senate also has the advise and consent power to confirm the governor's appointments, both for the executive branch, such as department heads, and most judges of the judicial branch. Both houses may propose amendments to the Hawaiʻi State Constitution by either a 2/3 vote of each house in a single session, or a majority vote of both houses in two sessions. Constitutional amendments are presented to the public at the next general election and must pass by a simple majority to become law public vote.

A bicameral system, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature has two chambers. The lower chamber is the Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives, which comprises fifty-one elected members and is led by the Speaker of the House. The upper chamber is the Hawaiʻi State Senate, which comprises twenty-five elected members and is led by the President of the Senate. Members of the House are elected to two-year terms and senators are elected to four year terms. Legislators are not subject to term limits. Like most state legislatures in the United States, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature is a part-time body and legislators often have active careers outside of government.

Each session of the state legislature lasts for two years, starting in each odd year, called a biennium. Each annual session only lasts for 60 working days, beginning on the third Wednesday of January.

The practical effect of having a two year session is that any bill introduced in the first (odd) year which does not pass may be considered in the second year at the point in the process where its progress stopped. At the end of the biennium period, however, all bills that did not pass the legislature die and to be considered must be reintroduced anew in the following session.

The Hawaiʻi State Legislature moved to the Hawaiʻi State Capitol in downtown Honolulu on March 15, 1969. The legislature moved temporarily to adjacent downtown facilities when the Capitol was closed for four years in the 1990s for asbestos removal. The legislature moved back to the Capitol for the 1996 session. Prior to Governor John A. Burns's decision to build the new Capitol building, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature met in ʻIolani Palace.

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