State Legislature – Powers and Functions of Legislative Council

Chapter III of Part VI of the Indian Constitution deals with the State Legislature. The Legislative Assembly is a popularly elected chamber that is the real Centre of power in a State. The strength of an assembly shall not exceed 500 or its minimum strength fall below 60.

However, some of the States like Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, etc. have been allowed to have smaller Legislative Assemblies.

Special provisions are also provided concerning the representation of SC and ST. A legislative assembly is in term for five years, however, the governor holds the authority to dissolve well before the end of its term.

Qualification of a member of the Legislative Assembly

If a person wishes to be a member of the Legislative Assembly, he needs to stand qualified under the following qualifications –

1. Shall be a Citizen of India.
2. Shall be 30 yrs and above in case of the council and 25 yrs and above in case of the assembly.
3. Must be an elector from the concerned state, belonging to any constituency.
4. Must be a resident of the respective state.
5. To contest from reserved seats, He must be an SC or ST. However, they hold the choice to contest from unreserved seats too.

Powers and functions of the State Legislature

The State Legislature has to fulfill some functions and is granted with several powers that can be exercised, Some of them are listed below –

1. A Bill that is passed by the Legislative Assembly and refused by the Council, then the Assembly has the right to reconsider it.
2. A bill approved by the Assembly and sent to the Council for the first time can be retained for three months, but when it is sent for the second time and is kept in the Council only for a month, the bill shall be deemed as passed.
3. The Legislative Assembly holds superiority over the Legislative Council.
4. The State Assembly holds similar powers as that of the Lok Sabha in the case of Money Bills.
5. Legislative assembly members hold the right to question the ministers, move motions and resolutions, and also pass a vote of censure to drop the state government.
6. The government ministry is accountable to the Legislative Assembly.
7. The Legislative Assembly elects its speaker and deputy speaker.
8. The assembly participates in the election of the President.

Considering the above-stated powers and functions of the Legislative Council, it can be made that it holds a prominent role in the working of the country and is parallel to the Lok Sabha.

Composition of the State Legislature

The composition of the legislative council of the country is as such –

1. One-third of the members are elected by legislative assembly members.
2. One-third of them are elected from local bodies.
3. One twelfth is elected by the teachers of three years standing and who are not lower in standard than secondary school.
4. One twelfth is elected by graduates of three years that are standing and residing in the state
5. One-sixth is nominated by the governor.

Limitations on the powers of the State Legislature

Some of the limitations on the power of the state legislature include the following –

1. Without a previous sanction of the parliament, certain bills are not supposed to be moves in the state legislature.
2. Even if a certain bill has been passed by the legislature, it cannot be operated unless it is passed by the parliament.
3. While the proclamation of emergency is in operation, the parliament can make or amend laws for any state that is listed on the state list.
4. The parliament has been empowered by the constitution to make laws and amend for any state or territory concerning the matters that have been listed on the state list.

Officers of the State Legislature

The chairman and the deputy chairman are chosen by the council. However, the same council that elects them holds the authority to take them off the power by passing a resolution with the majority. During the resolution, the chairman or the deputy chairman holds the right to speak for himself.

In case, the office of the chairman is vacant then his duties shall be taken care of by the deputy chairman and if the office of the deputy chairman is also vacant then any other member of the council shall be appointed by the government to perform the duties.

The speaker and the deputy speaker of the legislative assembly hold the right to resign at any given time. The speaker can also be removed from the office if the council passes a resolution by the majority.

However, if the assembly is being dissolved, the speaker does not get to vacate his office. It must be noted that the duties and the powers of the speaker of a legislative assembly are the same as that of a Lok Sabha.

Bicameral Legislature

The Legislature of a State consists of the State Legislature and the Governor. In some of the States, the Legislature may consist of two Houses, the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council, however, in the rest, there shall be only one House, that is, the legislative assembly.

A Bicameral legislature is a legislature where the state has two houses, that is a legislative assembly and a legislative council.

Most of the states in India have a unicameral legislature and there are only six states that have a bicameral legislature.

The states that have two houses are Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh.

Creation and Abolition of Legislative Councils

The Indian constitution states that the second chamber can be abolished from where it exists. Also a chamber can also be created where there is no such chamber, previously present.

In case, a resolution by a state Legislature passes with an absolute majority, that is, not less than two-thirds of the members who are present and voting in the favor of the creation of the second chamber, further if Parliament gives concurrence to such a resolution, the concerned State shall be allowed to have two Houses in the Legislature.

Conclusion

The Parliament and the State legislative, both have vital functions to play. Where the Parliament has two houses named Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, the State Legislature has two houses named Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council. The structure of the Parliament is fixed and stated.

The State legislature has a choice between a unicameral and a bicameral legislature. Another variation between the two is that the Parliament has a provision of a joint sitting of the two houses. There is no such provision to the State Legislature.