1.  The Legislative Branch consists of a Senate with 21 members and a House of Representatives with one member for approximately 350,000 citizens[1].  The districts of Senators and Representatives will be drawn as defined herein.

2.  In both the Senate and House, the majority required to move any question will be based on the number of seats, not the number of members voting.

3.  The Senate will enact or approve all laws[2].  A law passed with the vote of 14 Senators is immediately in effect.  A law passed by a majority but with the vote of fewer than 14 Senators will be in effect ten days after passage unless vetoed by the President or rejected by the House with a resolution of disapproval passed by 60% of the members.  The vote of 14 Senators will override a veto by the President and/or a rejection by the House. 

4.  The House cannot amend laws.  The House may propose laws, which will be in effect ten days after the vote in the House unless rejected by the vote of 11 Senators or vetoed by the President[3]. 

5.  The legislature will always be in session.  Procedures will be established so that the votes of Senators and Representatives may be recorded from remote locations[4]. 

6.  The President will submit Executive and Judicial appointments as defined herein to the Senate.  If the Senate fails to vote within 60 days, appointments will be in effect.  If and when the Senate votes, appointments will be in effect immediately unless rejected with fewer than 11 Senators voting to confirm. 

7.  Procedural rules of the Senate and House not defined herein will be defined in law[5]. 

8.  The Senate and House will keep journals of proceedings and of votes and publish same on a timely basis.  Senators and Representatives will not have to answer in any other place over anything recorded therein.

9.  A Capitol building will be maintained for the assembly and administration of the Legislative Branch.  References to noon herein refer to local time at the site of the Capitol.

10.  The Legislative Branch will employ professional staff for research, audit, and administration.

B.  Senators and Representatives

1.  The terms of Senators will be six years and staggered so that the terms of one-third of the Senators expire every two years.  A person can serve in the Senate for no more than 24 years.  When assuming office, a Senator must be at least the minimum age and less than a maximum age defined by law and must have been a citizen for at least 30 years. 

2.  The terms of Representatives will be two years.  A person can serve in the House for no more than 16 years.  When assuming office, a Representative must be at least the minimum age and less than a maximum age defined by law and must have been a citizen for at least 20 years.

3.  Senators and Representative must have been residents of their districts for at least two years, except for a grace period following the redrawing of district boundaries. 

4.  The number of Representative Districts in each state will be the count of citizens divided by 350,000 and rounded to a whole number[6].  A District cannot include parts of two states.  Each Representative’s District will be built up by computer program from census tracts[7]:

1. To include approximately the same number of citizens. 
2. To minimize the perimeter of district borders. 
3. To exclude from consideration any classification of citizens who are qualified to vote and any history of voting patterns in an area.

5.  Additionally, there will be at least one Representative District for residents of the territories[8] in the hemisphere east of 100° West longitude and at least one from the opposite hemisphere, each of which can include more than one territory.  Where appropriate, Districts will be defined like those of the states to include an average of 350,000 citizens. The Districts will be defined by law.  These Representatives will serve with the same powers as the Representatives from the states.

6.  There will be 21 Senatorial Districts consisting of an approximately equal number of citizens.  Each Senatorial District will be built up by computer program from the Representative Districts of the states[9]:

1. To include the total number of Representative Districts, excluding those of the territories, divided by 21, rounded to the nearest whole number, plus or minus one. 
2. To minimize the perimeter of district borders.
3. To exclude from consideration any classification of citizens who are qualified to vote and any history of voting patterns in an area. 
   

C.  Vacant Legislative Seats

1.  If the seat of a Representative becomes vacant, that seat will be filled by an eligible person appointed by the Governor of the State that includes the District or by the President if the District is not part of any state.

2. If the seat of a Senator becomes vacant, the President will appoint an eligible person to serve until after the next Senatorial election, in which the nominees will be selected in the Federal Nominating Convention, but excluding the Presidential appointee.  Subsequently, the seat will be contested in the regular Senatorial election schedule.

D.  Committees of the House

1.  Laws will define the standing committees of the House, including one standing committee or sub-committee corresponding to each organizational unit of the Executive Branch headed by an official appointed by the President and one standing committee each for the Judicial and Electoral Branches and for territorial matters.  Either body may create a special committee of the House, which must have a specific purpose and term.

2.  Every standing or special committee will have an equal number of Representatives from each Senatorial district.

3.  Representatives from the territories will serve on regular and special committees as determined by law and will also serve on the committee devoted to territorial matters.

4.  The House and each committee thereof will select its own presiding officer.  A Senator may act as an ex-officio member of any House committee.

5.  Standing and special committees of the House will[10]:

1. Draft legislation as directed by the Senate or by the body of the House,
2. Investigate citizens’ complaints and suggestions and otherwise monitor the operations of government.
3. Initiate recommendations for changes to federal laws and regulations.
4. Have full access to the details of the operations and associated costs of the executive departments, take testimony under oath, and subpoena witnesses.
5. Initiate impeachment proceedings against members of the Executive and Judicial Branches and expulsion proceedings against members of the Legislature. 
6. Initiate disciplinary actions against civilian federal employees which may include dismissal or demotion.
7. Act as plaintiff in civil proceedings and refer potential criminal matters to a grand jury.

6.  The Senate will review disciplinary actions and legal procedures initiated by any House committee and challenges to the operations of any House committee initiated by affected parties.