JimHackerMP
Member
- Joined
- May 7, 2018
- Messages
- 136
- Reaction score
- 26
- Location
- Maryland, U.S.A.
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Moderate
Because of present federal law, BOTH chambers of a state legislature must be based on districts proportional to the population, as per the most recent census.
For example, it was decided, when the constitution of Maryland was amended in the late 1960's/early 70s to comply with recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, that we should subdivide the state into 47 legislative districts, having nothing to do with the boundaries of the 23 counties and the City (of Baltimore, which is like its own county). They must have roughly equal population, based on an electoral quotient derived from the decennial census.
The upshot of the whole thing is that the 47 member state Senate and the 144-member House of Delegates are each an overblown photocopy machine for the other chamber. Since the Voting Rights Act forbids a state to organize its state senate as if it were a federal state, rather than a unitary one, there is no longer any point to having a bicameral legislature. Congress needs to be bicameral due to the federal organization of the United States. But since this is forbidden to the state legislatures, why not abolish the bicameral state legislature in America? Nebraska did it. They actually abolished their lower house in 1934, retaining the 49-member Senate as the Nebraska Legislature (its members are still referred to as state senators).
Why shouldn't other states do the same? I am only familiar with Maryland's representation scheme (the photocopy machine) but I imagine other states are similar, since each state's senate and its lower house must be based on population, rather than equally representing local governments (like the counties most states are divided into). It's time we got rid of the photocopy machines that are America's state capitals.
For example, it was decided, when the constitution of Maryland was amended in the late 1960's/early 70s to comply with recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, that we should subdivide the state into 47 legislative districts, having nothing to do with the boundaries of the 23 counties and the City (of Baltimore, which is like its own county). They must have roughly equal population, based on an electoral quotient derived from the decennial census.
The upshot of the whole thing is that the 47 member state Senate and the 144-member House of Delegates are each an overblown photocopy machine for the other chamber. Since the Voting Rights Act forbids a state to organize its state senate as if it were a federal state, rather than a unitary one, there is no longer any point to having a bicameral legislature. Congress needs to be bicameral due to the federal organization of the United States. But since this is forbidden to the state legislatures, why not abolish the bicameral state legislature in America? Nebraska did it. They actually abolished their lower house in 1934, retaining the 49-member Senate as the Nebraska Legislature (its members are still referred to as state senators).
Why shouldn't other states do the same? I am only familiar with Maryland's representation scheme (the photocopy machine) but I imagine other states are similar, since each state's senate and its lower house must be based on population, rather than equally representing local governments (like the counties most states are divided into). It's time we got rid of the photocopy machines that are America's state capitals.