In this article, we want to delve deeper into the topic of Citizen legislature, an aspect that has gained relevance in recent years. Citizen legislature is a topic that has captured the interest of many people in different areas, whether on a personal, academic or professional level. As Citizen legislature continues to gain importance, it is essential to understand its implications and applications in today's society. Through this article, we will explore various perspectives and approaches related to Citizen legislature, with the aim of providing a complete and enriching vision on this topic.
A citizen legislature is a legislative chamber made up primarily of citizens who have a full-time occupation besides being a legislator. Such citizen legislatures can be found on the state level, as in some U.S. states, or on the national level as in Switzerland.
Legislatures in the U.S. considered to be citizen legislatures include Montana, Nevada, Idaho, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.
Many other states in the US, by contrast, have a professional legislature. James Madison wrote in Federalist No. 62 that "It is not possible that an assembly of men called for the most part from pursuits of a private nature, continued in appointment for a short time, and led by no permanent motive to devote intervals of public occupation to a study of the laws, the affairs, and the comprehensive interests of their country, should, if left wholly to themselves, escape a variety of important errors in the exercise of their legislative trust."