Part 2: In a Nutshell
- A constitution is a document that gives rules and laws explaining how the government is organized and run.
- Lawmakers must follow the Constitution when they make new laws.
- Changes to the Constitution are called amendments.
- The rights of the people are stated in the Bill of Rights which is the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
- The Constitution limited the powers of the government by dividing the power into three parts.
- Checks and balances allows the branches of government to check on each other so that no one branch has too much power.
- The legislative branch makes the laws.
- The executive branch makes sure the laws are enforced.
- The judicial branch explains the laws and settles disputes.
- Congress, the legislative branch, is composed of the Senate (100 members) and the House of Representatives (435 members).
- Each state is represented by two senators.
- Each state is represented by one or more representatives, depending on the state’s population.
- North Dakota has one representative.
- The court system makes up the judicial branch of the federal government.
- The U.S. Supreme Court, made up of nine justices, is the highest court in the nation.
- The U.S. Supreme Court explains the laws according to the Constitution.
- The capital of the United States is Washington, D.C.
- The city of Washington occupies all of the District of Columbia.
- Each branch of the U.S. government has a main building where it meets.
- State governments are set up the same way as the federal (national) government.
- Federal laws are higher than state laws.
- Both the national and state governments can make laws, manage a court system, collect taxes, borrow money, and take care of people.
- The people have certain powers that the national and state governments cannot take away.
- The North Dakota Constitution was written in 1889 when North Dakota became a state.
- A preamble is an introduction.
- A bill of rights is a list of people’s rights that the government must protect.
- North Dakota’s bill of rights is called the “Declaration of Rights.”
- Amendments, or changes, to the North Dakota Constitution must be approved by the voters.
- North Dakota’s legislative branch is called the “Legislative Assembly.”
- The Legislative Assembly meets biennially, or every two years during odd-numbered years (…2019, 2021, 2023, …).
- The Legislative Assembly (like Congress) is bicameral, or made up of two houses that have equal power.
- North Dakota’s 47 legislative districts are changed each decennial (every 10 years) after a census is taken.
- Each legislative district has one senator and two representatives in the Legislative Assembly.
- The House chamber is larger than the Senate chamber because there are twice as many representatives as senators.
- The Speaker of the House is elected by the members of the House to conduct meetings in the House chamber.
- The Lieutenant Governor is called the “President of the Senate” and conducts meetings in the Senate chamber.
- Most of the work of the Legislative Assembly is done in committees.
- Each bill, or draft of a law, has a hearing, or public discussion, before it is voted on.
- A majority (over half ) of the senators and representatives must vote in favor of a bill in order for it to pass.
- If the Governor signs a bill, it becomes a law.
- If the Governor vetoes (rejects) a bill, it goes back to the Senate and House.
- The Senate and House may override (win against) a Governor’s veto if two-thirds of both houses vote in favor of the bill.
- The executive branch of North Dakota government is headed by 13 elected officials.
- The judicial branch of state government is made up of the state court system.
- The North Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court in the state.
- Five justices serve on the North Dakota Supreme Court.
- The Chief Justice is elected by the other justices to preside over the Supreme Court.
- An appeal is a court case brought up from a lower court to a higher court.
- The Court of Appeals helps the Supreme Court with certain cases.
- District Courts serve the counties in the state.
- A criminal case involves someone being accused of doing something illegal.
- A civil case involves disputes about people’s rights.
- Municipal Courts deal with violations of municipal ordinances, or city laws.
- Citizens elect people to represent (speak for) them in government.
- North Dakota citizens have the power to make or reject a law by getting enough signatures on a petition and having the citizens of the state vote on it.