Discuss the Composition and Functions of the Legislative Assembly of your State.
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Ans. The Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the state legislature. In the states, the Legislative Assembly is the law-making body. It has the same position in the states as the Lok Sabha has at the center. It is the representative assembly of the people.
Composition:
Constituencies-
The number of members in the Legislative Assembly of a state should not be less than 60 or more than 500 based on its population. Its members are elected through direct election on the basis of adult suffrage. For this purpose, the state is divided into various electoral constituencies. One member is elected from each constituency. The division of constituencies is done on the basis of population. But through a constitutional amendment, it has been decided that till 2001, the number of members will be determined on the basis of the 1971 census only.
Reserved Seats-
Some seats have been reserved in the Legislative Assembly for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes based on their share of the population. This reservation has been increased every 10 years by amendments to the Constitution. In the Legislative Assembly of Assam, seats have been reserved for Autonomous Tribal Districts.
The Governor can nominate some members of the Anglo-Indian community to the Legislative Assembly if he feels the community has not received adequate representation.
Number of Members-
The current number of members in the Legislative Assemblies of various states is as follows:
Term-
The term of the Legislative Assembly is 5 years. During the Proclamation of Emergency, its term can be extended by one year through a parliamentary law but it cannot be extended beyond 6 months after the Emergency ends.
Qualifications-
A person can be a member of the Legislative Assembly only if he:
(i) is a citizen of India.
(ii) is at least 25 years of age.
(iii) fulfills other qualifications prescribed by Parliament.
No person can be a member of both houses of the state legislature or a member of more than two state legislatures at the same time.
Disqualifications-
A person cannot be a member of the Legislative Assembly if:
(i) He holds any office of profit under the central or state government.
(ii) He has been declared insane by a court.
(iii) He is bankrupt.
(iv) He is not a citizen of India has acquired citizenship of a foreign state or has allegiance to a foreign state.
(v) He is disqualified by a law passed by Parliament.
Qualifications of voters-
Election to the state Legislative Assembly is done on the basis of adult suffrage. Every citizen who is not below 18 years of age has the right to vote, provided he is a resident of that area, not insane, and not convicted of corrupt or illegal practices.
Quorum-
The quorum for a sitting of the Legislative Assembly is 1/10th or 10 members, whichever is higher.
Sessions-
The constitution provides that the Legislative Assembly must have at least two sittings every year with not more than a 6-month gap between sessions. The Governor summons the Assembly.
Powers of the Legislative Assembly:
The Legislative Assembly is the lower and foremost house of the state legislature. It has the sole authority regarding law-making and financial matters.
It has the following powers-
(i) Legislative powers-
In the sphere of law-making, the Legislative Assembly is very powerful. It has the exclusive right to make laws on subjects of the State List. It can also make laws on subjects of the Concurrent List but in case of conflict with a parliamentary law, the law made by Parliament will prevail.
In a bicameral legislature, the Legislative Council can only delay an ordinary bill by 4 months at most. Ultimately, the decision of the Legislative Assembly will be final.
(ii) Financial powers-
The Legislative Assembly controls the finances of the state. Money Bills can only be introduced in this House. The Legislative Council can delay it by a maximum of 14 days. Though there may be disputes between both houses on Money Bills or demands for grants, only the Legislative Assembly has the power to vote on them.
(iii) Executive powers-
Indian states have adopted the parliamentary system in which the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the lower house. The Legislative Assembly controls the executive by asking questions, supplementary questions, adjournment motions, or passing resolutions. It can remove the ministry by passing a no-confidence motion.
(iv) Miscellaneous powers-
The Legislative Assembly has powers related to elections. It takes part in the election of the President. It also has constitutional powers. For amendment in some provisions of the constitution, approval of at least half the state legislatures is required.