CHAPTER XIV.

ARTICLE III.--DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS.

Branches of Government.-Government, both state and national, is divided into three branches:-legislative, executive, and judicial. It is intended that each branch shall be independent of the others, but this is not always possible. Each state in the Union has a constitution which provides for these three branches and defines the powers of each. The legislative branch is also called the law-making power; the executive branch, the law-enforcing power, and the judicial branch, the law-interpreting power.

Legislative Branch.-The legislative branch of government in Iowa is called the general assembly, or state legislature, which consists of a senate and a house of representatives. The style, or heading, of every law passed by the general assembly is: "Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Iowa." The sessions are biennial and are designated by number. The session to be held in 1904 will be the meeting of the Thirtieth General Assembly.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Qualifications.-The house of representatives, or lower house, as it is sometimes called, is composed of members chosen every second year by the qualified voters of their respective districts. A representative must be a male citizen

of the United States, at least twenty-one years of age. He must have been an inhabitant of the state of Iowa one year next preceding his election, and, at the time of his election, must have had an actual residence cf sixty days in the county or district he is chosen to represent.

Number of Members. The house of representatives now consists of one hundred members, the largest number possible under the constitution. The number of representative districts is ninety-one, and the ratio of representation is one representative for every thirty-six thousand inhabitants or fraction thereof more than one-half in the district. As the population of the state increases, it becomes necessary to increase the ratio of representation. This may be done at any regular session of the general assembly. No representative district can contain more than four counties, and each district is entitled to at least one representative.

Additional Representation.-Every county or district having a number of inhabitants equal to one-half of the ratio of representation is entitied to one representative, and a county or district having a population equal to one and one-half times the ratio of representation is entitled to one additional representative. By this provision, there is a gain of seven members in the ninety-three districts of the

state.

Census.-Section 33, of Article III, of the constitution, says: "The general assembly shall, in the years 1859, 1863, 1865, 1867, 1869, 1875, and every ten years thereafter, cause an enumeration to be made of all the inhabitants of the state.' These enumerations, together with the United States census, taken in the last year of each reg

ular decade, enable the general assembly to apportion the senators and representatives among the several districts.

Election.--The members of the house of representatives are chosen at the general election, held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November of each oddnumbered year. In some of the states, the meetings of the legislature are held every year, and the members in such instances are elected annually.

Qualification of Voters.--It will be seen by section one of the second article of the constitution, that every male citizen of the United States, twenty-one years of age, or over, who has been a resident of the state six months, and of the county in which he claims his vote, sixty days next preceding the election, is duly qualified to vote at any election held in this state. These are the only qualifications required of voters for members of the general assembly. Sections four and five of the same article contain the only exceptions to the above qualifications.

Citizenship.-The term citizen is often improperly restricted to those persons who have the right of suffrage. Many voters in the United States are not citizens, and, in all the states, many citizens are not voters. The fourteenth amendment to the United States constitution says: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside." In some states, foreigners acquire the right to vote at all state elections upon taking out the first naturalization papers. That is not the case in Iowa, however. Here a foreigner must have completed the process of naturalization before voting at any election.

Vacancies.-When vacancies occur in either house, it is the duty of the governor, or acting executive officer, to issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.

Powers. The house of representatives has the same power as the senate in general law-making. Bills may originate in either house, and may be amended, altered, or rejected by the other. The power to impeach state officers is vested in the house of representatives, but the trial of all persons impeached rests with the senate. With this exception, the powers of both houses are the

same.

The Senate. The senate is composed of members chosen by the qualified voters of the several senatorial districts. The constitution provides that the number of senators shall not be less than one-third, nor more than onehalf the number of representatives. The senate is now composed of fifty members, the largest number possible under the constitution.

How Composed. The state is separated into fifty senatorial districts, and each district is entitled to one senator. In some of the other states, the senate is a much smaller body than in Iowa. In all of the states, the senate has fewer members than the house. In Iowa, the senatorial term is four years.

Qualifications.-Senators must be at least twentyfive years of age. The qualifications as to citizenship, inhabitancy, and residence are the same as for representatives. It was intended by the founders of the constitution that the senate should be composed of men of wide experience, and hence the distinction in age was made. In this respect, the

state constitution is modeled after the constitution of the United States, although the minimum age required is not the same.

Senators Classed.-At the first session of the legislature, the senators were divided into two classes as nearly equal as possible. The term of those belonging to the first class expired in two years, and that of the others in four years. The successors of the members of each class were chosen for four years. As the number of senators increased, they were annexed, by lot, to one or the other of the two classes, so as to keep them as nearly equal in numbers as practicable. At present, there are two classes of twenty-five members each.

Powers. The senate is co-ordinate with the house in all general legislation. The impeachment of all state officers rests with the house of representatives, but the trial of those impeached is conducted by the senate. When acting as a court in such cases, the senators are placed under oath er affirmation to decide the case upon its merits. No person can be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present.

Impeachment.-The governor, judges of the supreme and district courts, and other state officers, are liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor or malfeasance in office. Judgments in such cases extend only to removal from office, and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the state. The decision of the senate does not prevent the offender from being indicted, tried, and punished, according to the laws which govern the crime of which he is accused.