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Kentucky General Assembly

Kentucky General Assembly

The Kentucky General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and House of Representatives. The Kentucky Senate has 38 members and the Kentucky House of Representatives has 100 members. Prior to a 1992 constitutional amendment the Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky presided over the Senate; the 1992 amendment created a new office of President of the Senate to be held by one of the 38 senators. The Kentucky General Assembly meets in the state capitol building in Frankfort, Kentucky. The House and Senate chambers are on opposite ends of the third floor of the capitol building, and legislators have offices in the nearby Capitol Annex building. The Kentucky General Assembly is served by a nonpartisan agency called the Legislative Research Commission.
- [http://www.lrc.state.ky.us/ Kentucky Legislature Home Page] Category:Government of Kentucky Category:U.S. State legislatures Category:Kentucky General Assembly

State legislature

State legislatures are the lawmaking bodies of the 50 states in the United States of America. They are the legislative branch at the state level of government, and (generally) perform many of the same duties on the state level that the U.S. Congress performs on the federal level. As a rule, state legislative branches are checked in power by a state executive officer (a governor) and a state judiciary, though the degree to which this is so varies from one state to the next. A state legislature will usually go into session shortly after the first of the year and remain in session — for several months in states where the legislature is part-time and year around in states where the legislature is full-time — considering matters referred to it by the governor of the state or introduced by members. Business and other special interest organizations often lobby the legislature to obtain or favorably influence legislation. State legislatures approve or rewrite the state's budget recommended by the Governor. Every state except Nebraska has a bicameral legislature, meaning that the legislature consists of two separate legislative bodies (or "houses"); Nebraska has a one-house, or unicameral legislature. Prior to United States Supreme Court decisions in the 1960s, many state legislatures were organized so that each body represented citizens according to a different principle; for example, by small single-member districts in the lower chamber and at large by county in the upper. Since the "one man, one vote" principle was definitively applied to state legislatures (but not to the U.S. Senate upon which these upper bodies were based), those states have been forced to adopt other systems for electing members to the upper body, most commonly by adding periodic reapportionment to the existing scheme in that body. For example, in Vermont, state senators were formerly elected at large, two to a county – regardless of that county's size. Now, they are elected at large, from senatorial districts of comparable population. It is often possible in such systems to elect different majority parties in the two chambers. State legislatures appointed the U.S. Senators from their respective states until the ratification of the 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1917 brought about the direct election of Senators by the voters. Under the terms of Article V of the United States Constitution, state lawmakers retain the power to ratify amendments to the U.S. Constitution which have been proposed by Congress and they also retain the ability to "apply" for a national convention to propose amending the America's highest legal document. There are about 7,500 state legislators in the United States. The legislatures employ many staff aides to help prepare and analyze legislation, to review and amend submitted budgets, and to help solve constituent problems with state government. State legislatures have generally grown in importance over time, especially in the states without term limits. Longtime Pennsylvania state legislator Mark B. Cohen has said: "The biggest change during my tenure in the legislature has been the rise of the individual legislator. Time and again, individual legislators have shown that they have answers for pressing problems that command the support to be enacted into law." Many members of state legislatures meet every year at the annual meeting, and other meetings, of the National Conference of State Legislatures, which is headquartered in Denver, Colorado and has a lobbying office in Washington, D.C. The American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative organization focusing on state legislatures, also has an annual meeting attracting many legislators. The legislature is frequently called "The Legislature", and is comprized of a House and Senate, as in the Congress of the United States, however in some states, particularly older ones, the state legislature has other names, such as General Assembly (Either the whole legislature or just the lower house), or General Court (The whole legislature of New Hampshire and Massachusetts).

External link

- [http://www.ncsl.org/ National Conference of State Legislatures]

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the fifty states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, together with the District of Columbia and Palmyra Atoll (an uninhabited incorporated unorganized territory), form the United States of America. The separate state governments and the U.S. federal government share sovereignty, in that an "American" is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of residence. The United States Constitution allocates power between the two levels of government in general terms; the general idea is that by ratifying the Constitution, each state has transferred certain aspects of its sovereign powers to the federal government while retaining the remainder for itself. The tasks of education, health, transportation, and other infrastructure are generally the responsibility of the states. Over time, the Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization, with the federal government playing a much larger role than it once did.

Legal relationship

At the time of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776, the 13 colonies became 13 independently sovereign states, which became fourteen in 1777 with the formation of the Vermont Republic; for a brief period, they were in effect legally separate nations. But upon the adoption of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, the states became a single sovereign political entity as defined by international law, empowered to levy war and to conduct international relations, albeit with a very loosely structured and inefficient central government. After the failure of the union under the Articles of Confederation, the thirteen states joined the modern union via ratification of the United States Constitution, beginning in 1789. Under Article IV of the Constitution, which outlines the relationship between the states, the Congress has the power to admit new states to the union. The states are required to give "full faith and credit" to the acts of each other's legislatures and courts, which is generally held to include the recognition of legal contracts, marriages, criminal judgments, and - at the time - slave status. The states are guaranteed military and civil defense by the federal government, which is also required to ensure that the government of each state remains a republic. The Constitution is silent on the issue of the secession of a state from the union. The Articles of Confederation had stated that the earlier union of the colonies "shall be perpetual", and the preamble to the Constitution states that Constitution was intended to "form a more perfect union". In 1860 and 1861, several states attempted to secede, but were brought back into the Union by force of arms during the Civil War. Subsequently, the federal judicial system, in the case of Texas v. White, established that states do not have the right to secede without the consent of the other states.
- Four of the states bear the formal title of Commonwealth: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. In these cases, this is merely a name and has no legal effect. However, the United States has non-state areas called commonwealths (Puerto Rico and the Northern Marianas) which do have a legal status different from the states.
- States are free to organize their judicial systems differently from the federal judiciary, as long as due process is protected. See state supreme court for more information. For example, most lawsuits in the state of New York are filed in the Supreme Court, and then appealed to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. The highest court in New York is the Court of Appeals.
- The joint resolution which admitted the Republic of Texas to the Union as a state guaranteed Texas the right to divide itself up into up to 5 states. This clause may be redundant, however, as any such state would arguably require Congressional approval, just as when Maine was split off from Massachusetts; it may also be unconstitutional, as reducing the equal suffrage of the other states in the United States Senate.

List of states

The states, with their U.S. postal abbreviations, traditional abbreviations, capitals and largest cities, are as follows. For a complete list of non-state dependent areas and other territory under control of the U.S., see United States dependent areas. State names speak to the circumstances of their creation. (See the lists of U.S. state name etymologies and U.S. county name etymologies for more detail.)
- Southern states on the Atlantic coast originated as British colonies named after British monarchs: Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland. Some northeastern states, also former British colonies, take their names from places in the British Isles: New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York.
- Many states' names are those of Native American tribes or are from Native American languages: Kansas, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Connecticut, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, the Dakotas, Mississippi, Texas, Utah, and others.
- Because they are on territories previously controlled by Spain or Mexico, many states in the southeast and southwest have Spanish names. They include Colorado, New Mexico, Florida, and Nevada.
- Because it was previously a French colony, Louisiana is named after the Louis XIV (King of France at the time).
- The origins of the names of California, Oregon, Idaho, and Rhode Island are unknown, although various theories exist.

Trivia

Names

- "Georgia" can refer to either a U.S. state or to an independent country in the Caucasus.
- The name "New York" can refer to any one of three geographical levels: a state, a city in that state, or a county (coterminous with the borough of Manhattan) in that city.
- "Washington" is a state, a city corresponding to the District of Columbia (and thus not part of any state), and a number of cities and counties in various states. See the list of places named for George Washington.
- The state of Washington is the only state named after a U.S. President (or after a person born within the area now comprising the U.S., for that matter).
- The official name of Rhode Island is "the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations."
- Only two states have state capitals named for the state (however, such name-sharing occurs commonly with states and provinces in some other countries, where the state or province actually often takes its name from a capital city): Oklahoma, with capital Oklahoma City, and Indiana, with capital Indianapolis (which means Indiana City). Iowa City, Iowa was the first state capital of Iowa but the capital was later moved to Des Moines, Iowa.
- Maine is the only state with a one-syllable name.

Geography

- Colorado and Wyoming are bounded by two circles of latitude and two meridians each, i.e. they appear to be rectangles in a cylindrical map projection.
- Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming are the only states whose borders are made up of only straight lines (taking meridians and circles of latitude as straight lines) and, thus, the only states whose borders completely ignore natural features.
- Every state—except Hawaii, which has no land boundaries—has straight lines as at least part of its boundaries. These are usually combined with rivers (see river borders of U.S. states), ridge lines and other natural boundaries. Pennsylvania and Delaware are unique in that their common border is an arc of a circle, see The Twelve-Mile Circle.
- The lower peninsula of Michigan is shaped like a mitten; Louisiana is shaped like a boot.
- Alaska, Florida, Idaho, Maryland, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia have panhandles.
- Alabama, Missouri, New Mexico and Mississippi have bootheels.
- Alaska and Hawaii are the only states that are not physically connected to other states; Maine is the only state that borders only one other state. Missouri and Tennessee each border eight other states, the most for any state.
- Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah are the only four states to share a common border, known as the "Four Corners."
- Appearances given by the stereographic projection to the contrary, Minnesota is the northernmost of the forty-eight contiguous United States, as a northern spur of the state contains a portion of Lake of the Woods. At one time it was thought that Lake of the Woods contained the headwaters of the Mississippi River (now known to be at Lake Itasca).
- Alaska is the northernmost state and the westernmost state. Some would argue that it is also the easternmost state, as the Aleutian island chain crosses the 180º line of longitude.

Grouping of the states in regions

Alaska, The South and The Northeast. Note that Alaska and Hawaii are shown at different scales, and that the Aleutian Islands and the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are omitted from this map.]] States may be grouped in regions; there are endless variations and possible groupings, as most states are not defined by obvious geographic or cultural borders. For further discussion of regions of the U.S., see the list of regions of the United States.

State lists

References

External links

- [http://factfinder.census.gov/bf/_lang=en_vt_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_GCTPH1R_US9S_geo_id=01000US.html Tables with areas, populations, densities and more (in order of population)]
- [http://factfinder.census.gov/bf/_lang=en_vt_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_GCTPH1_US9_geo_id=01000US.html Tables with areas, populations, densities and more (alphabetical)]
- [http://www.usnewspapers.org US Newspapers by State]
- [http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0854966.html Origin of State Names] United States, States of the Category:Subdivisions of the United States
- U.S. State ja:アメリカ合衆国の地方行政区画 ko:미국의 주 simple:List of U.S. states th:มลรัฐของสหรัฐอเมริกา zh-min-nan:Bí-kok ê hêng-chèng-khu

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky became the 15th U.S. state when it was admitted to the U.S. in 1792. Kentucky and its residents are most well known for thoroughbred horses and horse racing, local whisky distilleries, and enthusiasm for basketball. particularly for the two principal basketball rivals in the state--the blue and white Wildcats of the University of Kentucky and the red and black Cardinals of the University of Louisville. Sports rivalries between the University of Kentucky and the Universities of Tennessee and North Carolina have also long existed. While Kentucky's pastimes are distinctly those of the South, Kentuckian cuisine is considered to be a synergistic blend of Midwestern cuisine and Southern US cuisine.

Origin of name

It was once believed that the name Kentucky was derived from the Native American word meaning "dark and bloody hunting ground," which is believed to be due to the fact that many Native American tribes went there to hunt in the game-rich forests and often fought each other there. However, it is now most commonly believed that the name Kentucky can be attributed to various Native American languages with several possible meanings from "land of tomorrow" to "cane and turkey lands" to "meadow lands." This last may come from the Iroquois name for the Shawnee town Eskippathiki. The name Kentucky referred originally to the Kentucky River and from that came the name of the region.

History

Kentucky is one of four states referred to as a commonwealth. Before the American War of Independence, this land was called Transylvania with its capital at Boonesborough. It was a major gateway for early migration to the west through the Cumberland Gap, and was the first major frontier developed west of the Appalachian Mountains. Guns enabled this movement westward, and even the term shotgun was first coined in Kentucky in 1776. After the war, it became Kentucky County, Virginia and ten constitutional conventions took place at the courthouse of Constitution Square in Danville between 1784 and 1792. In 1790, Kentucky delegates accepted Virginia's terms for separation and the state constitution was drafted at the final convention in April 1792. On June 1, 1792, Kentucky became the fifteenth state in the union and Isaac Shelby, a Revolutionary War hero from Virginia, was named the first Governor of the Commonwealth Of Kentucky. Revolutionary War were born in Kentucky.]] Kentucky was a border state during the American Civil War and for a time had two state governments, one supporting the Confederacy and one supporting the Union. Fittingly, the Presidents of both the United States (Abraham Lincoln) and the Confederate States (Jefferson Davis) during the Civil War were born in Kentucky. At the beginning of the war, control of Kentucky was coveted by both sides of the conflict because of its central location. So much so, in fact, that in September 1861, Lincoln wrote in a private letter, “I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game.” The Confederates made advances in the state during the "Kentucky Campaign" of Generals Braxton Bragg and Edmund Kirby Smith in 1862, but Braggs' retreat following the Battle of Perryville left the state under the control of the Union Army for the rest of the war.

Law and government

The capital of Kentucky is Frankfort and its current governor is Ernie Fletcher (Republican). Kentucky's two U.S. Senators are Jim Bunning (Republican) and Mitch McConnell (Republican). The Kentucky Constitution provides for three branches of government: the legislative, the judicial, and the executive. Kentucky's General Assembly has two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The executive branch is headed by the Governor. See List of Kentucky Governors. The judicial branch of Kentucky is made up of trial courts, called District and Circuit Courts, an intermediate appellate court, called the Kentucky Court of Appeals, and a court of last resort, the Kentucky Supreme Court. Historically, Kentucky has leaned towards the Democratic Party, and was included among the "Solid South." The majority of the state's voters are officially registered as Democrats, although the majority has slimmed substantially in recent election cycles. Kentucky has voted Republican in five of the last seven presidential elections, but has supported the Democratic candidates of the South. The commonwealth supported Democrats Jimmy Carter in 1976, and Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, but Republican George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. Bush won the state's 8 electoral votes overwhelmingly in 2004 by a margin of 20 percentage points and 59.6% of the vote. The most solidly Democratic counties are in the mountainous eastern unionized coal mining region, especially Pike, Floyd, Knott, Menifee, and Breathitt, and the city of Louisville.

Geography

See also: List of Kentucky counties List of Kentucky counties Kentucky, also known as The Bluegrass State, borders the Midwest and the Deep South. It touches West Virginia, Virginia, and Tennessee, but is separated by water from Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Its northern border is the low-water mark on the north side of the Ohio River. Its western border is the Mississippi River. Other major rivers in Kentucky include the Kentucky River, Tennessee River, the Cumberland River, the Green River, and the Licking River. There are five main regions, the Cumberland Mountains and Cumberland Plateau in the southeast, the north-central Bluegrass Region, the south-central and western Pennyroyal Plateau, also sometimes termed "Pennyrile", the western coal-fields area, and the far-west Jackson Purchase. Jackson Purchase The largest cities in Kentucky in terms of geographic area are the two merged city/county governments of Lexington-Fayette and Louisville Metro, although Louisville and its metropolitan area both have a much larger population than Lexington and its metro area. Northern Kentucky, an assemblage of smaller cities across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Ohio, also has a large metropolitan population. The Lexington MSA and the Kentucky portions of the Louisville and Cincinnati MSAs, together, only make up about 45% of the state population, suggesting how rural the state is although 83% of Kentuckians live in MSAs with populations greater than 65,000. Much of rural Kentucky has become suburban during the last decade of the twentieth century. Interestingly enough, Kentucky is the only U.S. state to have a non-contiguous part exist as an enclave of another state. Far western Kentucky includes a small part of land on the Mississippi River bordered by Missouri and accessible via Tennessee. This area is known as the Madrid Bend.

Regions

Bluegrass Region The Bluegrass region is commonly divided into two regions, the Inner Bluegrass - the encircling ninety miles around Lexington - and the Outer Bluegrass, the region that contains most of the Northern portion of the state, above the Knobs.

Significant natural attractions

- Cumberland Gap, chief passageway through the Appalachian Mountains in early American history.
- Cumberland Falls State Park, where a "moon-bow" may be seen in the mists of the falls.
- Mammoth Cave National Park, featuring tours of the world's longest cave.
- Red River Gorge Geological Area, part of the Daniel Boone National Forest.
- Land Between the Lakes, a National Recreation Area managed by the United States Forest Service.

Economy

The total gross state product for 2003 was $129 billion. Its Per Capita Personal Income was $26,575, 41st in the nation. Kentucky's agricultural outputs are horses, cattle, tobacco, dairy products, hogs, soybeans, corn, and often cotton in the west. Its industrial outputs are transportation equipment, chemical products, electric equipment, machinery, food processing, tobacco products, coal, and tourism.

Demographics

As of 2004, there were an estimated 4,145,922 people living in Kentucky. This is a increase of over 104,104 people from 2000. This includes about 95,000 foreign-born (2.3%). Racially, the population is:
- 89.3% White, non-Hispanic
- 7.3% Black
- 1.5% Hispanic
- 0.7% Asian
- 0.2% Native American
- 1.1% Mixed race The five largest ancestries in the state are: American (20.9%), German (12.7%), Irish (10.5%), English (9.7%), African American (7.3%). Blacks, who once represented a quarter of the state's population during the height of the tobacco, cotton, and hemp plantation era, are most concentrated in the southwest (notably Christian County and the city of Paducah), the Bluegrass, and the city of Louisville. "American ancestry" is the largest reported ancestry group throughout most of the state in the Census.

Religion

Religiously, Kentucky is mostly Protestant. The religious affiliations of the state are as follows:
- Christian – 86%
- Protestant – 70%
- Baptist – 35%
- Methodist – 5%
- Pentecostal – 4%
- Church of Christ – 3%
- Lutheran – 2%
- Presbyterian – 2%
- Other Protestant – 19%
- Roman Catholic – 15%
- Other Christian – 1%
- Jewish 0.01%
- Other Religions – <1%
- Non-religious – 14% Religious movements were important in the early history of Kentucky. Perhaps the most famous event was the interdenominational revival in August 1801 at the Cane Ridge Meeting house in Bourbon County. As part of what is now known as the "Western Revival" thousands began meeting around a Presbyterian communion service on August 6, 1801 and ended six days later on August 12, 1801 when both humans and horses ran out of food. The service was originally scheduled for August 8th but people began arriving two days earlier on a rainy August 6th. The meeting was hosted by Barton Stone. Presbyterians, Methodists and some Baptist were present as the services were attempted to be interdominational as possible. As the days wore on, some counted as many as seven preachers preaching at the same time from tree stumps or wagons.

Important cities and towns

Population > 1,000,000 (urbanized areas)

- Louisville

Population > 100,000 (urbanized areas)

- Lexington

Population > 10,000 (urbanized areas)

Important suburbs and small towns

Education

Colleges and universities

Private

Public

Community colleges

Professional sports teams

Kentucky is home to no major league sports team, but several minor league teams. Minor league baseball
- Louisville Bats (Triple-A International League affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds)
- Lexington Legends (Single-A South Atlantic League affiliate of the Houston Astros)
- Florence Freedom (Single-A Frontier League independent) Football
- Lexington Horsemen (United Indoor Football)
- Louisville Fire (AF2) Basketball
- Kentucky Colonels (American Basketball Association (21st century))

State symbols

American Basketball Association (21st century)
- State bird: Northern Cardinal
- State flower: Goldenrod
- State tree: Tulip Poplar (formerly the Kentucky coffeetree)
- State horse: Thoroughbred
- State fish: Kentucky Bass
- State wild animal: Grey Squirrel
- State butterfly: Viceroy Butterfly
- State gemstone: Fresh Water Pearl
- State fossil: Brachiopod
- State song: "My Old Kentucky Home" by Stephen Foster (1853)
- State bluegrass song: "Blue Moon of Kentucky" by Bill Monroe (1947)
- State drink: Milk
- State motto: "United We Stand, Divided We Fall"
- State slogan: "Unbridled Spirit"
- See also: Flag of Kentucky

Trivia

Several U.S. Navy ships have been named USS Kentucky in honor of the state. The USS Paducah and USS Louisville also served as naval vessels.

External links

- [http://www.genealogybuff.com/ky/ GenealogyBuff.com - Kentucky Library of Files]
- [http://www.kentuckytourism.com Kentucky Department of Tourism]
- [http://www.kentuckyhighlands.com/kh/index.asp The Kentucky Highlands Project]
- [http://history.ky.gov/Museums/Kentucky_History_Center.htm The Kentucky History Center]
- [http://obit.obitlinkspage.com/ky.htm Kentucky Obituary Links]
- [http://www.kentuckyunbridledspirit.com/ Kentucky: Unbridled Spirit]
- [http://kentucky.gov Kentucky.gov: My New Kentucky Home]
- [http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/21000.html U.S. Census Bureau Kentucky QuickFacts]
- Category:States of the United States ko:켄터키 주 ms:Kentucky ja:ケンタッキー州 simple:Kentucky

Bicameral

:This article refers to the term's use with respect to government. For the psychological theory, see Bicameralism (psychology). In government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a parliament or legislature which consists of two Chambers or Houses. Bicameralism is an essential and defining feature of the classical notion of mixed government.
Theory
Although the ideas on which bicameralism is based can be traced back to the theories developed in ancient Greece and Rome, recognizable bicameral institutions first arose in medieval Europe where they were associated with separate representation of different estates of the realm. The Founding Fathers of the United States eschewed any notion of separate representation for a social aristocracy, but they accepted the prevailing disposition towards bicameralism. However, as part of the Great Compromise between large states and small states, they invented a new rationale for bicameralism in which the upper house would have states represented equally and the lower house would have them represented by population. In subsequent constitution making, federal states have often adopted bicameralism, and the solution remains popular when regional differences or sensitivities require more explicit representation, with the second chamber representing the constitutent states. Nevertheless, the older justification for second chambers – providing opportunities for second thoughts about legislation – has survived. A trend towards unicameralism in the 20th century appears now to have been halted. Growing awareness of the complexity of the notion of representation and the multifunctional nature of modern legislatures may be affording incipient new rationales for second chambers, though these do generally remain contested institutions in ways that first chambers are not. An example of political controversy regarding a second chamber has been the debate over the powers of the Canadian Senate. The relationship between the two chambers varies; in some cases, they have equal power, while in others, one chamber is clearly superior in its powers. The first tends to be the case in federal systems and those with presidential governments. The latter tends to be the case in unitary states with parliamentary systems. Some political scientists believe that bicameralism makes meaningful political reforms more difficult to achieve and increases the risk of deadlock (particularly in cases where both chambers have similar powers). Others argue strongly for the merits of the 'checks and balances' provided by the bicameral model, which they believe helps prevent the passage into law of ill-considered legislation.
The different sorts of bicameralism

Federalism
Some countries, such as Australia, the United States, India, Brazil, Switzerland, and Germany, link their bicameral systems to their federal political structure. In the United States, Australia and Brazil, for example, each state is given the same number of seats in the legislature's upper house. This takes no account of population differences between states — it is designed to ensure that smaller states are not overshadowed by more populous ones. (In the United States, the deal that ensured this arrangement is known as the Connecticut Compromise.) In the lower houses of each country, these provisions do not apply, and seats are won based purely on population. The bicameral system, therefore, is a method of combining the principle of democratic equality with the principle of federalism — all votes are equal in the lower houses, while all states are equal in the upper houses. In the Indian and German systems, the upper houses (the Rajya Sabha and the Bundesrat, respectively) are even more closely linked with the federal system, being appointed or elected directly by the governments of each Indian State or German Bundesland. (This was also the case in the United States before the 17th Amendment.)
Aristocratic bicameralism
In a few countries, bicameralism involves the juxtaposition of democratic and aristocratic elements. The best known example is the British House of Lords, which includes a number of hereditary peers. The House of Lords represents a vestige of the aristocratic system which once predominated in British politics, while the other house, the House of Commons, is entirely elected. Over the years, there have been proposals to reform the House of Lords, some of which have been at least partly successful — the number of hereditary peers (as opposed to life peers, appointed by the government) has been reduced to 92 out of around 700, and the ability of the House of Lords to block legislation has been reduced. Another example of aristocratic bicameralism was the Japanese House of Peers, abolished after World War II.
Unitary States
Many bicameral systems are not connected with either federalism or an aristocracy, however. Japan, France, Italy, the Netherlands, the Philippines, the Republic of Ireland and Romania are examples of bicameral systems existing in unitary states. In countries such as these, the upper house generally exists solely for the purpose of scrutinising and possibly vetoing the decisions of the lower house. In some of these countries, the upper house is indirectly elected. Members of France's Senate, Ireland's Seanad Éireann are chosen by electoral colleges consisting of members of the lower house and local councillors, while the Netherlands' First Chamber is chosen by members of provincial assemblies.
Subnational entities
In some countries with federal systems, individual states (like those of the United States and Australia) may also have bicameral legislatures. Only two states, Nebraska in the US and Queensland in Australia have adopted unicameral systems. However, in early United States history, unicameral state legislatures were commonplace. It was not until 1836, for example, that Vermont finally created a Senate. During the 1930s, the Legislature of the State of Nebraska was reduced from bicameral to unicameral with the 43 members that once comprised that state's Senate. One of the arguments used to sell the idea at the time to Nebraska voters was that by adopting a unicameral system, the perceived evils of the "conference committee" process would be eliminated. A conference committee is appointed when the two chambers cannot agree on the same wording of a proposal, and consists of a small number of legislators from each chamber. This tends to place much power in the hands of only a small number of legislators. Whatever legislation, if any, the conference committee finalizes must then be approved in an unamendable "take-it-or-leave-it" manner by both chambers. During his term as Governor of the State of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura proposed converting the Minnesotan legislature to a single chamber with proportional representation, as a reform that he felt would solve many of legislative difficulties and impinge upon legislative corruption. In his book on political issues, Do I Stand Alone?, Ventura argued that bicameral legislatures for provincial and local areas were excessive and unnecessary, and discussed unicameralism as a reform that could address many legislative and budgetary problems for states. In Australian states the lower house was traditionally elected based on the one-vote-one-value principle, whereas the upper house was partially appointed and elected, with a bias towards country voters. In Queensland, the appointed upper house was abolished in 1922, while New South Wales there were similar attempts at abolition, before the upper house was reformed in the 1970s to provide for direct election. Nowadays, the upper house is elected using proportional voting and the lower house through preferential voting, except in Tasmania, where proportional voting is used for the lower house, and preferential voting for the upper house.
Bicameralism and Arab political reform
A [http://www.cfr.org/pdf/Arab_Democracy_TF.pdf 2005 report] on democratic reform in the Arab world by the US [http://www.cfr.org/ Council for Foreign Relations] co-sponsored by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright urged Arab states to adopt bicameralism, with upper chambers appointed on a 'specialised basis'. The Council argued that this would protect against the 'tyranny of the majority', expressing concerns that without a system of checks and balances Islamist extremists would use the single chamber parliaments to restrict the rights of minority groups. In 2002, Bahrain adopted a bicameral system with an elected lower chamber and an appointed upper house. This led to a boycott of parliamentary elections that year by one radical Islamist party, who said that the government would use the upper house to veto their plans. Many secular critics of bicameralism were won round to its benefits in 2005, after Islamist MPs in the lower house voted for the introduction of so-called 'morality police'.
Examples
radical Islamist party
- Parliament in Australia, which consists of House of Representatives and Senate; all of the state parliaments except Queensland's are also bicameral.
- The Bundesversammlung in Austria, which consists of the Nationalrat and the Bundesrat; all of the Bundesländer have unicameral parliaments.
- Parliament in Canada, which consists of the House of Commons and the Senate; all of the provincial legislatures are unicameral.
- Parliament in the Fifth French Republic which consists of the Assemblée Nationale (National Assembly) and the Sénat (Senate)
- the Bundestag and Bundesrat in Germany; they form two distinct bodies not framed by a comprehensive institution; all of the Länder have unicameral parliaments.
- Parliament in India, which consists of the Lok Sabha (House of the People) and the Rajya Sabha (Council of States); some of the states also have bicameral parliaments.
- The Diet of Japan is bicameral, consisting of the House of Representatives (衆議院; Shūgi-in) as the lower house and the House of Councillors (参議院; Sangi-in) as the upper house.
- The Oireachtas of the Republic of Ireland which consists of Dáil Éireann (the House of Representatives) and Seanad Éireann (the Senate)
- Parliament in Malaysia, which consists of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives) and the Dewan Negara (Senate); all of the state parliaments are unicameral.
- The Netherlands States-General, which consists of the Tweede Kamer (Second Chamber) and the Eerste Kamer (First Chamber)
- Parliament in Pakistan, which consists of the National Assembly and the Senate; all of the provincial assemblies are unicameral.
- In Spain, the Cortes Generales, with the Congreso de los Diputados (Congress of Deputies) and the Senado (Senate)
- Parliament in South Africa which consists of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces; all of the provincial legislatures are unicameral.
- The Federal Assembly in Switzerland, which consists of the National Council and the Council of States; all of the cantons have unicameral parliaments.
- Parliament in the United Kingdom which consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords
- Congress in the United States which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives; all of the state legislatures except Nebraska's are also bicameral.
See also

- List of national legislatures
- Lower House
- Upper House
- Unicameralism
- Tricameralism Category:Government ja:両院制

Kentucky Senate

Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly, the state legislature of Kentucky. The Kentucky Senate has 38 members, each elected from a geographic district. One of the 38 senators is elected as President of the Senate. Prior to a 1992 constitutional amendment, the Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky presided over the Kentucky Senate. Category:Government of Kentucky Category:U.S. State legislatures Category:Kentucky General Assembly

Kentucky House of Representatives

Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly, the state legislature of Kentucky. The Kentucky House of Representatives has 100 members. Each member is elected from a single-member geographic district within the state. A Speaker of the House is elected from among their number to preside over the body. Other officers of the body - as in many other American legislative chambers - include the Speaker Pro Tempore, Majority Leader, Minority Leader, Majority Whip and Minority Whip. In the early 1990s the Kentucky House of Representatives was rocked by scandal when numerous state legislators including Speaker of the House Don Blandford were indicted and convicted on corruption charges. Category:Government of Kentucky Category:U.S. State legislatures Category:Kentucky General Assembly

Kentucky House of Representatives

1992

1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday.

Events

January

- January 1 - Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General
- January 1 - George H. W. Bush becomes the first President of the United States to address the Australian Parliament.
- January 8 - Bosnian Serbs declare their own republic within Bosnia-Herzegovina in protest to the decision by Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats to seek EC recognition.
- January 8 - George H. W. Bush falls violently ill in the presence of the Prime Minister of Japan.
- January 11 - Paul Simon is the first major artist to tour South Africa after the end of the cultural boycott.
- January 12 - The second round of Algeria's general elections is cancelled when the first round is favorable to the Islamic Salvation Front.
- January 13 - Japan apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II.
- January 13 - Jeffrey Dahmer pleads guilty but insane to the murders of 15 young men and boys.
- January 15 - The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ceases to exist. Slovenia and Croatia gain independence.
- January 16 - El Salvador officials and rebel leaders sign a pact in Mexico City that ends a 12 year civil war that claimed at least 75,000.
- January 22 - Rebel forces occupy Zaire's national radio station in Kinshasa and broadcast a demand for the government's resignation
- January 22 - STS-42: Dr. Roberta Bondar becomes the first Canadian woman in space.
- January 26 - Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia is going to stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons.

February

- February 1 - Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal court declares Warren Anderson, ex-CEO of Union Carbide a fugitive under Indian law for failing to appear in the Bhopal Disaster case, and orders the Indian government to press for an extradition from United States
- February 7 - Signing of the Maastricht treaty, which founded the European Union.
- February 10 - In Indianapolis, Indiana boxer Mike Tyson is convicted of raping a Miss Black America contestant named Desiree Washington
- February 11 - F-16 jet crashes into a residential district of Hengelo, the Netherlands. No casualties are reported.
- February 17 - A court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin sentences Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer to life in prison
- February 18 - Iraq disarmament crisis: The Executive Chairman of UNSCOM details Iraq's refusal to abide by UN Security Council disarmament resolutions.
- February 20 - The English FA Premier League was officially formed
- February 21 - United Nations Security Council approves Resolution 743 and decides to send UNPROFOR peacekeeping force to Yugoslavia
- February 26 - Supreme Court of Ireland rules that a 14-year-old rape victim may travel to England to get an abortion

March

- March - Boxer Mike Tyson is given a 6 year sentence for raping an 18 year old Miss Black America contestant, Desiree Washington
- March 1 - After a majority of the Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat communities vote for Bosnian independence, Serb snipers fire on civilians
- March 12 - Mauritius becomes a republic while remaining a member of the British Commonwealth
- March 12 - 13 are killed and several injured when a tram-car crashes into a crowd of people at the tram-station at Vasaplatsen in Gothenburg, Sweden.
- March 13 - In eastern Turkey, an earthquake registering 6.8 on the Richter scale kills over 500.
- March 17 - 29 are killed and 242 injured when a suicide car-bomb goes off in the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires.
- March 25 - Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev returns to Earth after a 10-month stay aboard the Mir space station

April

- April - Bosnia and Herzegovina secedes from Yugoslavia.
- April 2 - In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder of mob boss Paul Castellano and racketeering and is later sentenced to life in prison
- April 6 - Robert Schumann (record-breaker) becomes the youngest person to visit the north pole
- April 6 - Serbian troops begin to bombard Sarajevo
- April 8 - Punch magazine publishes its final issue
- April 9 - A Miami jury convicts former Panamanian ruler Manuel Noriega of assisting Colombia's cocaine cartel
- April 9 - United Kingdom general election - John Major unexpectedly re-elected.
- April 10 - IRA bomb explodes in the Baltic Exchange in the City of London - 3 dead, 91 injured
- April 13 - Flooding in downtown Chicago, Illinois
- April 13 - Roermond in the Netherlands is rocked by an earthquake along the Peel Fault.
- April 14-October 15 - The trial of the Russian serial killer Andrew Chikatilo - he is sentenced to death
- April 21 - Maria Vladimirovna of Russia succeeds her father as Head of the Imperial Family of Russia and Titular Empress and Autocrat of all the Russias.
- April 22 - Fuel that has leaked into sewer explodes in Guadalajara, Mexico - 215 dead, 1500 injured
- April 27 - Betty Boothroyd elected the first woman to be Speaker of the British House of Commons.
- April 29 - In Los Angeles, California, the police officers that were accused of excessive force in their severe beating of Rodney King, were found "not guilty". The verdict resulted in several days of riots in L.A. and smaller riots around the country.

May

- May 5 - Alabama ratifies a 202-year-old proposed amendment to the United States Constitution making the 27th Amendment law. This amendment bars the U.S. Congress from giving itself a midterm or retroactive pay raise
- May 5 - Russian leaders in Crimea declare their separation from Ukraine as a new republic. They withdraw the secession on May 10
- May 10 - Team of Sweden wins the Ice Hockey World Championships in Prague
- May 15 - The Genoa Expo '92 World's Fair opens in Genoa, Italy
- May 16 - STS-49: Space Shuttle Endeavour lands safely after a successful maiden voyage
- May 19 - Amy Fisher shoots at Mary Jo Buttafuoco
- May 23 - Mafia bomb kills Italian anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone
- May 26 - Charles Geschke, President of Adobe Systems is kidnapped from his company car park. Kidnappers demand ransom for $650,000 - they are later apprehended

June

- June 1 - Terrorist Carlos (the Jackal) is sentenced to life imprisonment
- June 1 - Kentucky celebrates its bicentennial statehood.
- June 1 - The Pittsburgh Penguins sweep the Chicago Blackhawks in 4 games in the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals.
- June 8 - The first World Ocean Day celebrated, coinciding with the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- June 12 - Medical doctor Pravin Thakkar is sentenced for 16 years for aborting fetuses of two of his former lovers without their permission
- June 15 - During a spelling bee at a Trenton, New Jersey elementary school, U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle corrects a student's spelling of the word potato by indicating it should have an e at the end.
- June 17 - A 'Joint Understanding' agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (this would be later codified in START II). [http://www.fas.org/nuke/control/start2/]
- June 22 - Two skeletons excavated in Yekaterinburg are identified as Czar Nicholas II and his tsarina
- June 23 - Mafia boss John Gotti is sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and racketeering on April 2 [http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/gotti/don_24.html?sect=15]
- June 26 - Denmark beat Germany 2-0 to win Euro 92 at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden.
- June 29 - Bodyguard assassinates president Mohammed Boudigh of Algeria

July

- July 6-29 - Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq refuses a U.N. inspection team access to the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture. UNSCOM claimed that it had reliable information that the site contained archives related to illegal weapons activities. U.N. Inspectors stage a 17-day "sit-in" outside of the building, but leave when their safety is threatened by Iraqi soldiers
- July 10 - In Miami, Florida, former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is sentenced to 40 years in prison for drug and racketeering violations
- July 13 - Britain's former executioner Albert Pierrepoint dies
- July 20 - Václav Havel resigns as president of Czechoslovakia
- July 22 - Near Medellín, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escapes from his luxury prison fearing extradiction to the United States.
- July 25 - Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

August

- August 7 - Buckingham Palace opened to the public for the first time
- August 10 - The UK government bans Ulster Defence Association, a loyalist paramilitary organisation that had been legal for twenty years.
- August 17 - US Marshalls start Siege of Ruby Ridge
- August 18 - Wang Laboratories files for bankruptcy
- August 20 - Kristiansunds connection to the main land of Norway, Krifast, opens.
- August 24 - Hurricane Andrew hits South Florida.
- August 28 - Hurricane Andrew dissipates over the Tennessee valley when it merges with a storm system. Twenty-three were killed.

September

- September 11 - Hurricane Iniki hits the Hawaiian Islands, Kauai and Oahu
- September 16 - Pound Sterling and Italian Lira forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (Black Wednesday)
- September 23 - A large IRA bomb destroys the forensic laboratories in Belfast
- September 24 - The Kentucky Supreme Court in Kentucky v. Wasson holds that laws criminalizing same-sex sodomy are unconstitutional, and accurately predicts that other states and the nation will eventually rule the same way.

October

- October 1 - Pittsburgh International Airport's new facility is opened in Findlay Township, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania The new terminal's were built as an expansion for US Air and an upgrade from the older Pittsburgh International Airport facility.
- October 2 - Riot in the Carandiru prison system in São Paulo, Brazil, which leads up to the events known as the Carandiru Massacre.
- October 4 - Plane crash in Amsterdam, Netherlands, known as the Bijlmerramp.
- October 7 - In Turkey, the farmer Tevfik Esenç, the last fluent speaker of the Ubykh language, dies.
- October 9 - A 13-kilogram (29-pound) meteorite landed in the driveway of the Knapp residence in Peekskill, New York destroying the family's 1980 Chevrolet Malibu.
- October 15 - In Russia, Andrei Chikatilo is found guilty of 52 serial murders.
- October 17 - Yoshihiro Hattori, a 16-year-old Japanese exchange student mistakes from an address to a party, and is shot after knocking on the wrong door in Louisiana, United States. The shooter, Rodney Peairs, is acquitted by Jury causing an outrage in Japan.
- October 24 - Toronto Blue Jays win World Series in 6 games. Marking the first Canadian team to win.
- October 26 - In Canada, the Charlottetown Accord is defeated in a national referendum.
- October 29 - The Food and Drug Administration approves Depo Provera for use as a contraceptive in the United States.

November

- November 3 - Bill Clinton defeats George H. W. Bush and H. Ross Perot in the U.S. presidential election
- November 5 - In Detroit, Michigan, black motorist Malice Green is beaten to death by policemen Larry Nevers and Walter Budzyn during a struggle (the officers were later convicted and sentenced to prison)
- November 11 - The Church of England votes to allow women to become priests.
- November 20 - In England, a fire breaks out in the Private Chapel room of Windsor Castle, rages for 15 hours, and seriously damages the northwest side of the building (an investigation found that the fire was ignited after a spotlight came into contact with a curtain over an extended period).
- November 24 - In the People's Republic of China, a China Southern Airlines domestic flight crashes, killing all 141 people on-board
- November 24 - Queen Elizabeth II describes this year as an Annus Horribilis (horrible year) due to various scandals damaging the image of the Royal Family
- November 25 - The Czechoslovakia Federal Assembly votes to split the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia starting on January 1, 1993
- November 30 - A murder trial of 14 South Vietnamese accused of murder of 24 North Vietnamese begins in Hong Kong (ends November 29, 1994)

December

- December 3 - UN Security Council Resolution 794 is unanimously passed, approving a coalition of United Nations peacekeepers led by the United States to form UNITAF, tasked with ensuring humanitarian aid gets distributed and establishing peace in Somalia.
- December 3 - The Greek oil tanker Aegean Sea carrying 80,000 tonnes of crude oil runs aground in a storm while on approach to La Coruña, Spain, and spills much of its cargo
- December 4 - US military forces invade Somalia.
- December 5 - Kent Conrad of North Dakota resigns his seat in the United States Senate and is sworn into the other seat from North Dakota, becoming the only US Senator ever to have held two seats on the same day.
- December 6 - Hindu activists destroy the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, India, triggering religious violence around the country.
- December 8 - Last blast fired in Falu Copper Mine in Sweden. The end of a millennium of continuous operation.
- December 20 - The Folies Bergere music hall in Paris, France closes.
- December 29 - Brazil's president Fernando Collor de Mello resigns, following charges that he stole more than $32 million from the government and impeachment precedings.

Unknown Dates

- The Council for National Academic Awards, UK is wound up.
- Pope John Paul II issues an apology and lifts the edict of Inquisition against Galileo Galilei
- The largest shopping mall in the US, Minnesota's Mall of America is constructed spanning 78 acres (316,000 m²)
- Carsington Reservoir opened in England after nearly 20 years planning and construction.
- Image Comics is founded by a number of former Marvel artists, seeking to create a company where creators were given exclusive ownership of their creations.

Fictional Events

- January 12 HAL 9000 is purported to become operational at the H.A.L. plant in Urbana, Illinois.
- The events of the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? take place.

Births

For more 1992 births see :Category:1992 births
- January 10 - Eric & Brandon Billings, Twin American actors
- January 19 - Logan Lerman, American actor
- January 21 - Logan O'Brien, American actor
- February 14 - Freddie Highmore, British actor
- March 15 - Sosie Bacon, American actress
- March 21 - Bobby Preston, American actor
- April 15 - Richard Sandrak, American bodybuilder and actor
- May 18 - Spencer Breslin, American actor
- June 7 - Jordan Fry, American Actor
- June 12 - Ryan Malgarini, American actor
- June 14 - Daryl Sabara, American voice actor
- July 13 - Dylan Patton, American actor and model
- August 4 - Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Twin child actors
- September 19 - Gavin Fink, American actor
- October 9 - Tyler James Williams, American actor
- October 15 - Vincent Martella, American actor
- October 30 - Tequan Richmond, American actor
- November 25 - Zack Shada, American actor
- November 30 - Dylan Smith, American actor
- December 23 - Spencer Daniels, American actor

Deaths

January-April

- January 3 - Dame Judith Anderson, Australian actress (b. 1897)
- January 9 - Bill Naughton, British playwright (b. 1910)
- January 23 - Freddie Bartholomew, Irish actor (b. 1924)
- January 26 - José Ferrer, Puerto Rican actor (b. 1912)
- January 27 - Allan Jones, American actor and singer (b. 1908)
- January 29 - Willie Dixon, American composer and musician (b. 1915)
- February 2 - Bert Parks, American game show host (b. 1914)
- February 4 - Lisa Fonssagrives, Swedish model (b. 1911)
- February 10 - Alex Haley, American author (b. 1921)
- February 12 - Bep van Klaveren, Dutch boxer (b. 1907)
- February 20 - Dick York, American actor (b. 1928)
- March 2 - Sandy Dennis, American actress (b. 1939)
- March 9 - Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of Israel, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1913)
- March 23 - Friedrich Hayek, Austrian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
- March 29 - Paul Henreid, Austrian-born actor (b. 1908)
- April 5 - Molly Pi