L.+State+of+Maine

Organization, Hierarchy & Leadership The Maine Legislature has met at the Maine State House in Augusta since 1832. It is a bi-cameral legislation made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Senate consists of 35 members, and the House is made up of 151 members with three non-voting members. These three non-voters represent the Native American populations of Maine. Each member of the House of Representatives represents 8,800 Maine citizens at the state level. Maine's Senate chooses their own President through a voting process. The President of the Senate would succeed the governor if something were to happen to the governor during their term.



The Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives is the chief leadership position in the House. The Speaker is elected through the majority party caucus. The current speaker is Mark Eves from North Berwick, Maine.

El ections, Qualifications & Terms Qualifications for running for a position in Maine's Congress are:
 * You must be twenty one years old
 * You have to live in the United states for at least five years
 * Must have been a Maine resident for one year
 * You have to have been a citizen of Maine by the age of twenty one
 * No one shall run for the House of Representatives unless they live in the district that they are running for

Elections for the legislative branch are held every November on even numbered years, during the state’s general election. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate terms are limited to four consecutive, two year terms.

Powers, Duties & Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the legislature include:
 * approving state budgets
 * initiating tax legislation
 * voting on bills

In order for a bill to become a law in Maine’s Congress, it must go through four steps; the first reading, the second reading, engrossment (which means to produce (a legal document) in its final or definitive form) and finally enactment. After the House votes to enact the bill, it is sent to the Senate for enactment, and then sent to the governor. If the governor decides to veto the bill, then the House and the Senate need to have a 2/3 vote to overrule the governor’s veto.

Checks & Balances

The checks and balances system in Maine’s government, reflects the federal government’s system. Checks and balances is used to ensure that one branch of government does not become too powerful.

Maine’s legislative branch can remove the governor from office, or judges of the judicial branch from power if they declare that they are doing their job improperly. U.S. governors have only been impeached eight times, but never in Maine.

If the governor does not approve of one of the bills that Congress proposes, then he can veto it. However Congress has one more chance to turn the bill into a law. If Congress gets 2/3 votes they can override the executive branch’s veto, and the bill becomes a law.


 * Sources: **

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"Maine State Government." Maine Secretary of State Kids: Maine Government. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. .

"Maine State Senate - Ballotpedia." Maine State Senate - Ballotpedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2015. .

"State & Local Government." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2015. .

"The Maine House of Representatives." Maine House of Representatives: About the House Members. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. .

"Welcome to the Maine Legislature." Maine State Legislature. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. .

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Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. < [|__https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Legislature__] >.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2015. .