User:AlexanderFrancis/sandbox

Structure and Operation
The Parliament is composed of three distinct elements, The Queen, the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. All three parts work together as part of the legislative process in creating laws for the State of Victoria. Because The Queen is not usually resident in Victoria, she is represented in the legislative process by the Governor of Victoria. The Parliament is described as being a bicameral legislature which means that it consists of two legislative chambers or houses, the agreement of both houses must be achieved before a bill can be presented to the Governor for Royal Assent.

Each house has a number of committees which investigate proposed laws in detail before they are considered by the whole house. Some of the committee work is carried out by the Joint Committees which consist of members from from both chambers. Like the Parliament the committees cease to exist when the Parliament is dissolved by the governor and need to be recreated after each general election, this means that often the names and jurisdiction of the committees is changed.

A proposed law or Bill can be introduced into either house, but in practice most are introduced into the Legislative Assembly, they must then be passed by both Houses before being presented to the Governor who will sign the Bill into law on behalf of the Queen.