Students must practice these AP Inter 2nd Year Civics Important Questions 7th Lesson State Legislature to boost their exam preparation.
AP Inter 2nd Year Civics Important Questions 7th Lesson State Legislature
Long Answer Questions
Question 1.
Explain the composition, powers and functions of the State Legislative Assembly.
Answer:
Composition:
The legislative Assembly of each state shall be composed of members elected directly on the basis of the adult franchise from territorial constituencies: The Governor nominates one member from Anglo-Indian community to provide an adequate representation. There shall be a proportionate representation to population in respect of each territorial constituency within the state. Some of the seats in Assembly are reserved for scheduled castes and schedule tribes.
Powers and functions of the State Legislative Assembly:
The powers and functions of the State Legislative Assembly may be explained follows:
1. Legislative Powers and Functions:
The State Legislative Assembly is primarily a law making body. It has the power to make laws on all subjects included in the State List. It can also pass legislation on all subjects mentioned in the Concurrent List. When the Legislative Assembly passes a law among including in the Concurrent List that law should not be conflict with a law already made by the union Parliament on the same subject. If the said law on a concurrent subject goes contrary to the corresponding union law, it becomes invalid.
2. Executive Powers and Functions:
The State Legislative Assembly exercises control over the State Council of Ministers,
The Chief Minister and Ministers are individually and collectively responsible to the State Legislative Assembly. The cabinet continues as long as it has the confidence of the State Legislative Assembly. The State Legislative Assembly exercises control over the State Legislative Assembly through various ways, like Call-Attention-Motion, Adjournment – Motion, Questions, Supplementary Questions, etc.
3. Financial Powers and Functions:
The State Legislative Assembly has enormous powers and functions relating to the state finances. It sanctions and approves the state finances. Without finance, government can do nothing. The finance is the fuel to the engine of administration. All money bills are at first introduced in State Legislative Assembly for its approval.
4. Constitutional Powers:
The State Legislative Assembly plays a secondary role in the matters of Constitutional amendment. It cannot initiate any proposal for amending the provisions of the Constitution. Some provisions of the Constitution can be amended by the union Parliament and half of the state legislative assemblies.
5. Electoral Functions:
The elected members of State Legislative Assembly take part in the election of the President of India. The members of Rajya Sabha will be elected through indirect election by the legislative assemblies of the concerned states. l/3rd of the Legislative Council members are elected by concerned State Legislative Assembly. The State Legislative Assembly elects the members of various legislative committees. The Legislative Assembly elects the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
6. Other Powers and Functions:
The State Legislative Assembly serves as a forum of public opinion. It also acts as a training school for the newly elected members. It requests the Parliament through a resolution either for the creation or abolition of the Legislative Council.
Question 2.
Write briefly the Composition, powers and functions of the State Legislative Council.
Answer:
Composition:
The members of Legislative Council are partly elected and partly nominated. The election is an indirect one. In this regard the principle of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote is followed. There are mentioned five different categories of representation in the Legislative Council. They are as follows:
- 1/3rd of the total members are elected by an electorate consisting of members of local self bodies i.e., Municipalities, Municipal Corporations, District Boards, etc. in the State.
- 1/3rd of the total members are elected by the Members of Legislative Assembly.
- 1/12th of the total members are elected by the electorate consisting of university graduates or other possessing equalent qualifications.
- 1/12th of the total members are elected by the electorate consisting of Secondary School Teachers or those in higher educational institutions with at least 3 years of experience in teaching.
- The remaining 1/6th members are nominated by the Governor on the basis of their special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, arts, co-operative movement or social service.
Powers and functions of the Legislative Council:
The powers and functions of the Legislative Council may be explained as follows-
1. Legislative powers and functions:
The Legislative Council does not possess equal powers and functions when compared to its counterpart, State Legislative Assembly. It is said that the Legislative Council enjoys equal status and not power. However it exercises the following powers and functions. All the bills, other than money bills may be introduced in either of the House. They will be sent to the assent of the Governor only with the approval of both the Houses. The Council may reject any bill and sent it back for the reconsideration of the Assembly. However, incase of a disagreement between two Houses, the decision of the Assembly will be supreme.
2. Executive powers and functions:
The State Legislative Council has very limited executive powers when compared to that of the Assembly. The Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister is responsible for its acts only to the Assembly and not to the Council. The Council cannot decide the future of the Council of Ministers. However, the Council can influence the policies and programmes of the ministers by asking questions and supplementary questions by drawing the call attention motion etc.
3. Financial powers and functions:
The Legislative Council has only limited powers in the financial matters. Money bills cannot at first be introduced in the Legislative Council first. The Council must accept all money bills with or without recommendation within fourteen days of the receipt of the bill.
4. Electoral functions:
The Legislative Council elects a Chairman and Deputy Chairman to preside over its meetings in a dignified manner. Some of its members are elected to various legislative committees like Public Accounts Committee, Estimates Committee and Public Undertakings Committee, etc.
5. Other functions:
The Legislative Council acts as the best means for formulating and consolidating public opinion. It helps in the provision of special representation to eminent persons in the fields of Arts, Literature, Social Service and Co-operative Movement. The Council discusses technical and other contemporary matters, as there are experts in various fields.
Question 3.
Explain the role and responsibilities of the Speaker of Legislative Assembly.
Answer:
The role and responsibilities of the Speaker may be explained as follows:
- The Speaker preserves order and decorum in the House for conducting legislative business.
- He allocates time for different kinds of business in the House.
- He interprets the rules and procedure.
- He puts matters to vote and announces the results.
- He has the right of casting vote in case of a tie.
- He admits motions, resolutions and points of order.
- He is empowered to adjourn the meeting of the House in the absence of a quorum.
- He can order for removed of indecent and incriminatory references from the records.
- He allows the members to speak in the House.
- He may name a member and ask him to leave the House in case of disorderly p behaviour.
- He can adjourn the House in case of grave disorder or serious matter.
- He accepts and rejects the resignation of a member of the House after ascertaining whether it was submitted under due process or not.
- He appoints the Chairmen of all the committees of the assembly and supervises their functioning. He himself is a Chairman of Business Advisory Committee, Rules Committee and the General Purpose Committee.
- He decides where a bill is a Money Bill or not. His decision on this question is final.
Short Answer Questions
Question 1.
Write a note on the Legislative Assembly. [Mar. ’19,’16]
Answer:
Composition:
The Legislative Assembly of each state shall be composed of members elected directly on the basis of the adult franchise from territorial constituencies. The Governor nominates one member from Anglo-Indian community to provide an adequate representation. There shall be a proportionate representation to population in respect of each territorial constituency within the state. Some of the seats in Assembly are reserved for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. While U.P. has highest number of seats 404, Sikkim has the small number of seats 32. After bifurcation, at present the Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh consists of 175 members.
The members of State Legislative Assembly elect one among them as a Speaker and another as Deputy Speaker to conduct the business of the House.
Powers and Functions:
The State Legislative Assembly exercises several powers and functions. They are a) Legislative powers and functions, b) Executive powers and functions, c) Financial powers and functions, d) Constitutional powers, e) Electoral functions, f) Other powers and functions.
Question 2.
Write a note on Estimates Committee.
Answer:
Composition:
According to the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the State Legislature, the Estimates Committee consists of 20 members. Among them 15 members belong to Assembly. The remaining 5 members belong to Legislative Council. The members hold office for a period of one year. They are elected through an indirect election.
Functions of the Estimates Committee:
The functions of the Estimates Committee in the State Legislature are the same as that of Estimates Committee of Lok Sabha. These are given hereunder.
- Estimates Committee exercises control over public expenditure.
- It suggests fiscal reforms in organization, the efficiency or administration reforms consistent with the policy underlying estimates.
- It advises alternative policies for securing efficiency and economy in administration.
- It examines whether the money is well laid out within the limits of the policy implied in the estimates.
- It also suggests the form in which the estimates shall be presented to the Assembly.
Question 3.
What do you know about Public Accounts Committee ? [March 2017; May ’17]
Answer:
Composition:
Public Accounts Committee consists of 20 members out of which 15 members belong to Assembly and 5 members belong to Legislative Council. They are elected through indirect election by following the principle of proportional representation for a period of one year. The Chairman is normally the member of Opposition Party. The Ministers of Cabinet cannot be member of Public Accounts Committee.
Functions of the Public Accounts Committee:
- The committee examines the accounts showing the appropriation of sums granted by the house for expenditure of the state government.
- It scrutinizes the appropriation accounts of the state and the reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General.
- It shall be the duty of the Public Accounts Committee to examine such a trading, manufacturing and profit and loss accounts and balance sheets and the accounts of the state government and also to consider the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General.
- The committee carefully considers the accounting and audit procedures.
- The committee is not concerned with the question of policy approved by the legislature.
- The committee investigates expenditure after it has already incurred. An overall, this committee is generally described as a post-mortem committee’.
Question 4.
Write the powers and functions of the Vidhan Sabha Speaker. [March 2016; May ’16]
Answer:
The Speaker of Vidhan Sabha exercises the following powers and functions.
- The Speaker preserves order and decorum in the House for conducting legislative business.
- He allocates time for different kinds of business in the House.
- He interprets the rules and procedure.
- He puts matters to vote and announces the results.
- He has the right of casting vote in case of a tie.
- He admits motions, resolutions and points of order.
- He is empowered to adjourn the meeting of the House in the absence of a quorum.
- He can order for removal of indecent and incriminatory references from the records.
- He allows the members to speak in the House.
- He may name a member and ask him to leave the House in case of disorderly behaviour.
- He can adjourn the House in case of grave disorder or serious matter.
- He accepts and rejects the resignation of a member of the House after ascertaining whether it was submitted under due process or not.
Very Short Answer Questions
Question 1.
Qualifications of M.L.A. [March 2018,’16; May ’16]
Answer:
- He shall be a citizen of India.
- He should have completed the age of 25 years.
- He should possess such other qualifications as prescribed by an act of Parliament.
- No person can simultaneously be a member of any House of the Parliament and of a State Legislature.
Question 2.
Qualifications of M.L.C. [March 2017; May ’17]
Answer:
- He should be a citizen of India.
- He should have completed 30 years of age.
- He should possess such other qualifications as laid down by an Act of Parliament.
Question 3.
Quorum. [March-2019, May-2017]
Answer:
Quorum is the minimum number of members required to be present in the house before it can transact any business. Article 188 of our Constitution says that the Quorum for conducting the State Legislative Assembly meeting was fixed at 1/10th of the total membership.
Question 4.
Salaries and Allowances of M.L.A.
Answer:
The members of Andhra Pradesh State Legislative Assembly receive a monthly salary of Rs. 90,000/- which includes a basic pay of Rs. 15,000/- and constituency allowance of Rs. 75,000/-Those legislators who are not provided government accomodation will get an additional Rs. 10,000/- as H.R.A. Members also get daily allowance of Rs. 800/- when the State Legislature is in session.
Question 5.
Privileges of State Legislature.
Answer:
Privileges of State Legislature are a sum of special rights, immunities and exemptions enjoyed by the State Legislatures. The Legislature has the right to publish its reports, debates and proceedings and also to prohibit others publishing the same. The privileges belonging to the members of State Legislature includes that they cannot be arrested during the session of the State Legislative or 40 days before and after the end of the session.
Question 6.
Brief History of AP Legislature. [March-2017]
Answer:
The Andhra State was formed on 1st October, 1953, after separated from Madras. Kurnool was its first capital. Andhra State Legislature initially had 140 MLAs. As per the recommendations of the States Re-organization Committee, Hyderabad State was merged with Andhra Pradesh, which had 245 MLAs (including 105 MLA’s of Hyderabad State) The State Legislative Council was established on July 1st, 1958. On 2nd June 2014, the State of Andhra Pradesh got bifurcated to form a new state of Telangana, as per the AP Re-organisation Act, 2014.
Question 7.
Chairman of Legislative Council. [March 2016; May ’16]
Answer:
There will be a Chairman in the Legislative Council for conducting the meetings. He is elected by the members of the Legislative Council among themselves. As a presiding officer. The powers and functions of the Chairman in the Council are similar to those of Speaker in the Legislative Assembly.
Question 8.
Deputy Speaker.
Answer:
The members of State Legislative Assembly elect one among them as a Speaker and another as Deputy Speaker to conduct the business of the House. The Deputy Speaker performs the duties in the absence of the Speaker. The Speaker and Deputy Speaker may be removed by passing a resolution in the house.
Question 9.
Deputy Chairman of Legislative Council.
Answer:
There will be Chairman and Deputy Chairman in the Legislative Council for conducting the meetings. They are elected by the members of the Legislative Council from among themselves. He performs the duties of the Chairman in his absence. He also acts as the Chairman of the State Legislative Council when it remains vacant.
Question 10.
Types of Committee. [March-2018]
Answer:
Indian Parliament and State Legislatures have set up many committee to perform variety of functions. These committees are of two types. Namely i) Standing Committees, which deal with specific business (financial matters) e.g. Estimates Committee and Public Accounts Committee, ii) Ad-hoc Committees, which are concerned with the matters of temporary nature. They cease to exist after completion of the work.