Senate
In a modern democracy, a senate is a group of people who are part of a legislature. A legislature passes or changes laws for their country, state, or other area. Members of a senate are called senators. Some legislatures are bicameral, meaning they have two groups of people (working in separate places) called houses. A senate can be called a House of Senators.
The senate of some such legislatures is weaker than the other house. The other house is called a House of Representatives, House of Commons, or Assembly. In bicameral legislatures, both houses must pass the same bill to make it a law. Modern democratic systems having legislatures with senates include the United States of America (U. S.), Canada, Australia and many states in the United States.
The first ever senate was the Roman Senate. The name comes from their word for "elder".
Senate is also the name of the ruling body of some universities.
Senate chambers
[change | change source]Sometimes, the senators are split into different groups, who then have different responsibilities. These groups meet in different rooms; each group is called a chamber.