preview

The Government Structure Of The State Of Pennsylvania

Decent Essays

The Government of Pennsylvania is the government structure of the state of Pennsylvania as established by the Pennsylvania Constitution. The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of Pennsylvania. The legislature meets in the Capitol building in Harrisburg. The General Assembly is a bicameral legislature.
The name of the legislative branch in Pennsylvania is the PA General Assembly. Pennsylvania has 253 members in total. 50 are in the senate “the upper house” the other 200 are in the “lower house “known as the house of representatives. Senators are elected for four year terms. There are 203 members elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to a two-year term, in November of the even numbered years. The PA …show more content…

State agencies submit their requests to the governor in October. Public hearings are held in February and March. The governor shows his or her proposed budget to the state legislature in February. The legislature adopts a new budget in May. A majority vote 2/3 of the Senate is required to pass a budget. The governor has line item veto authority. Line item veto is when an executive authority decides to nullify specific parts of a bill, usually a budget bill. The governor is legally required to submit a balanced budget proposal, but the legislature is not required to pass a balanced budget. The governor ultimately controls the budget. The legislative branch can oversee the executive by overturning votes on the budget, and also has the ability to overturn the governor’s line item veto or veto. The governor also has limited appointment power he has to have consent from the senate before he can appoint anyone. This gives the legislative branch an advantage; many governors have to consult with key legislators before making formal nominations. The confirmation process allows executive branch appointments to be used by legislatures to gain influence on governors and their policies. The governor also has to have majority vote to pass a budget nomination before the entire Senate body.
If the nomination is made the Senate must make its decision within 25 legislative days after the nomination is

Get Access