Unit 4 Monster Review – Three Ring Circus
Essential Unit 4 – Legislative Branch vocabulary
Bicameral, census, constituent, majority party, minority party, standing committee, seniority, expressed
powers, implied powers, elastic clause, impeach, writ of habeas corpus, bill of attainder, ex post facto
law, franking privilege, lobbyist, filibuster, cloture, voice vote, standing vote, joint resolution, specialinterest group, roll call vote, veto, pocket veto
US Congress Specifics
House of Representatives: Reps serve 2 yr. terms, must be 25 yrs. old, a citizen for 7 yrs. and
live in the state he or she represents. The House has the power to impeach (accuse) the President.
Money bills must always begin in the House.
Senate: Senators serve 6 yr. terms, must be 30 yrs. old, a citizen for 9 years, and live in the
state he or she represents. The Senate carries out the trial for impeachments. The Senate has the
power to filibuster. Cloture is a vote that limits floor debate and ends filibuster.
Bill to Law: Bills must be passed in both houses and then signed by the President to become law.
If the President vetoes a bill, Congress can override the veto with a 2/3 vote. Most bills die in a standing
committee. Pigeonholing a bill is when the committee ignores the bill. A Conference Committee meets to
come to a consensus on a bill. A joint committee is a committee that has members of both houses.
Other important roles: Floor leaders (majority and minority), Whips, Speaker of the House is
leader of the House. The VP is the leader of the Senate; President Pro Tempore is second in command
of the Senate.
State Government
Reserved Powers – powers of the state governments
Federalism – division of power between a central government and several state governments
NC Government
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Legislative Branch: General Assembly
o NC House of Representatives (120)
 Impeachment procedures (same as federal govt.)
 Leader of the NC House is called the Speaker of the House
o NC Senate (50)
 Trial for impeachments (same as federal govt.)
 Representation by population (different from federal govt.)
 Leader of the NC Senate is the Lieutenant Governor
Local Government
Types of local government – County, City, and Townships
Local Officials – mayor, town/city council, county commissioners, sheriff, Board of
Education
Local Law – Statutes – laws passed by legislature
Ordinance – Rule enacted by a local government
Charter – a city’s basic law
Plans of local government – Mayor/Council [both strong & weak], Council/Manager
Unit 4 Review Questions
1. Who is the president of the Senate?
Vice President is the leader/president of the Senate.
2. Who is the leader of the House of Representatives?
The Speaker of the House is the leader of the House of Representatives.
3. What is the term length for a Senator?
The term length for a Senator is 6 years. There is NO limit to the number
of terms!!!!
4. What is the term length for a Representative?
The term length for a Representative is 2 years. There is NO limit to the
number of terms!!
5. Name 2 Congressional Leaders.
There are many different Congressional leaders: Vice President, Speaker
of the House, President Pro Tempore, Majority Leader, Minority Leader, Majority/Minority
Whip [make people vote for their political party]
6. Describe a filibuster.
A filibuster is to talk a LONG time in the SENATE to delay the voting on
a bill to become law.
7. What is a bill?
A bill is an idea that someone wants to become law. [proposed law]
8. What house acts as the trial for impeachments?
The Senate acts as the trial for impeachments.
9. What type of power is the power to establish schools?
Establishing schools is a reserved power. [Marriage is a reserved power!!!!]
10. What type of power is the power to tax?
Concurrent Powers are powers that are shared by both the national & state
governments. Taxation is a primary example.
11. What are the two methods of proposing an amendment to the US Constitution?
To PROPOSE an amendment you must either pass 2/3 vote in the US Congress or
in 2/3s of the states ask for a NATIONAL Convention
12. What are the two methods of ratifying a change to the US Constitution?
To RATIFY an amendment you must either pass 3/4 vote in the STATE
Legislatures or in 3/4s of the states RATIFYING Conventions
Unit 4 Practice Vocabulary Quiz
1. Franking Privilege The ability to send job related mail for free.
2. Lobbyists People hired by private groups to influence Congress
3. Bill of Attainder Law that punishes a person without a jury trial [ this is against the 6th
amendment]
4. Ex Post Facto Law Law created after the fact of the action being committed.
5. Impeach The House ability to accuse officials of misconduct in office.
6. Implied Powers Powers that Congress has that are NOT expressly written in the Constitution.
7. Elastic Clause Clause that allows Congress to STRETCH its powers to meet new needs.
8. Enumerated/ Expressed Powers that are written into the US Constitution for the Congress.
9. Seniority Having more years of service in the Congress
10. Majority Party Political party that has more than half of the Senate or House of Representatives
11. Minority Party Political party that has less than half of the Senate or House of Representatives
12. Standing committee This type of committee is a permanent committee in Congress.
13. Constituent These are the people represented in a Representative District.
14. Census Population count taken every 10 years.
15. Bicameral Having a 2 house legislature.