Lower house

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Lower house" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Part of the Politics series
Politics
Outline Index Category
Primary topics Outline of political science Index of politics articles Politics by country Politics by subdivision Political economy Political history Political history of the world Political philosophy
Political systems Anarchy City-state Collective leadership Confessional system Democracy Dictatorship Directorial Federacy Feudalism Hybrid regime Meritocracy Monarchy Parliamentary Presidential Republic Semi-parliamentary Semi-presidential Theocracy
Academic disciplines Political science (political scientists) International relations (theory) Comparative politics Election science Political analysis Political theory Policy studies Political psychology Political sociology
Public administration Bureaucracy (street-level) Technocracy Adhocracy Service (Public / Civil)
Policy Public policy (doctrine) Domestic policy Foreign policy Civil society Public interest
Government branches Separation of powers Legislature Executive Judiciary Election commission
Related topics Sovereignty Polity / State / Country Theories of political behavior Biology and political orientation Political organisations Critique of political economy
Subseries Electoral systems Elections voting Unitarism Federalism Government (forms / Governance) Ideology Culture Political campaigning Political parties
Politics portal
v t e

A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house.^[1] Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise exert significant political influence.

In comparison with the upper house, lower houses frequently display certain characteristics (though they vary by jurisdiction).

In a parliamentary system, the lower house:

• In the modern era, has much more power, usually due to restrictions on the upper house.
  • Exceptions to this are Australia, Italy, and Romania, where the upper and lower houses have similar power.
• Is able to override the upper house in some ways.
• Can vote a motion of no confidence against the government, as well as vote for or against any proposed candidate for head of government at the beginning of the parliamentary term.

In a presidential system, the lower house:

• Generally has less power than the upper house, but maintains exclusive powers in some areas.
• Has the sole power to impeach the executive; the upper house then tries the impeachment.
• Typically initiates legislation on appropriation and supply.

The lower house:

• Can, in a parliamentary system, be dissolved by the executive.
• Has total or initial control over budget, supply, and monetary laws.
• Has a lower age of candidacy than the upper house.
• Is more numerous than the upper house.
  • The Parliament of the United Kingdom furnishes a notable exception.

Members of the lower house:

• Are elected directly, while those of the upper house may hold their positions through direct or indirect election, appointment, or inheritance.
• Are elected more frequently, and all at once, not by staggered terms.
• Are usually numbered in proportion to the population of their administrative divisions, unlike in the upper house.

The government of the day is usually required to present its budget to the lower house, which must approve the budget. It is a widespread practice for revenue (appropriation) bills to originate in the lower house. A notable exception to this is the West Virginia House of Delegates in the United States, which allows revenue bills to originate from either house.^[2]

Many lower houses are named in manners such as follows:

• Chamber of Deputies
• Chamber of Representatives
• House of Assembly
• House of Commons
• House of Delegates
• House of the People (including Lok Sabha)
• House of Representatives
• Legislative Assembly
• National Assembly
• National Council
• Sejm/Seimas

• Representative democracy

This government-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e