Today, Citizen legislature remains a topic of great relevance and interest to many people around the world. Whether due to its impact on society, its importance in history, its influence on culture or its relevance today, Citizen legislature continues to be the object of analysis, debate and reflection. Over the years, Citizen legislature has been extensively researched and written about, offering different perspectives and approaches to better understand its meaning and scope. In this article, we will explore some of the most relevant facets of Citizen legislature and reflect on its importance in our daily lives.
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."