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A legislature is a Government al Deliberative Assembly with the power to adopt Law s. Legislatures are known by many names, the most common being '''''parliament''''' and '''''congress''''', although these terms also have more specific meanings. In Parliamentary System s of Government , the legislature is formally supreme and Appoint s the Executive . In Presidential System s of government, the legislature is considered a power branch which is equal to, and independent of, the executive. In addition to Enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to Raise Tax es and adopt the Budget and other Money Bill s. The consent of the legislature is also often required to Ratify Treaties and Declare War . Chambers The primary component of a legislature is one or more ''chambers'' or ''houses'': assemblies that Debate and Vote upon Bill s. Most legislatures are either '' Bicameral '' or '' Unicameral '', although historically there have also been rare incidences of two separate chambers, usually described as an Upper House and a Lower House , which may differ in duties, powers, and methods for the selection of members. In most Parliamentary System s, the lower house is the most powerful house while the upper house is merely a chamber of advice or review. However in Presidential System s the powers of the two houses are often similar or equal. In Federation s it is typical for the upper house to represent the component states. For this purpose the upper house may either contain the delegates of state governments, as is the case of Germany and was the case in the pre-20th century United States , or to be elected according to a formula that grants disproportionate representation to smaller states, as is the case today in Australia and the United States . Competences The power of legislatures varies widely from country to country. ''Rubber stamp legislature'' is a derogatory name for a legislature that has no real power but simply approves, by unanimous or near unanimous votes, bills put before it by other institutions. For example, the legislatures of many Communist states were often derided as mere 'rubber stamps' for decisions of the ruling party. The term is not usually used to describe legislatures of Parliamentary System s. Although the final draft of Legislation introduced by the government almost always passes, these legislatures are generally not labelled "rubber stamps" because legislators are involved in the drafting and amendment of bills.-sal List of titles of legislatures National
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