Before entering fully into the meaning of the term legislature, we are going to proceed to discover its etymological origin. In this case, we can emphasize that it is a word that derives from Latin and that it is the result of the sum of the following lexical components of said language:
-The noun "lex, legis", which can be translated as "law."
-The adjective "latus", which is synonymous with "produced" or "carried."
-The suffix "-ura", which is used to indicate "result of the action."
According to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ), the legislature is the period during which the legislative bodies of a region or a country meet . The term also refers to the time in which legislators exercise their functions as established by the Constitution .
It can be said that a legislature is the duration of the mandate of a Congress or a Parliament . In this way, it begins with the establishment of a certain assembly or legislative chamber (whose members are chosen by the population through elections) and ends when said assembly is dissolved according to the corresponding constitutional term.
In the case of Spain, we can establish that the legislatures of each Government last four years, except if a specific and very specific situation occurs that appears in the 1978 Constitution, such as a motion of censure, for example.
In 2020, the XIV Legislature is taking place in that country, which began on December 3, 2019 with the constitution of the Cortes Generales, after the holding of general elections. However, it was solemnly initiated on February 3, 2020 by King Felipe VI and the President of the Government is none other than Pedro Sánchez, leader of the PSOE, who decided to form a coalition government with the Unidas Podemos party, led by Pablo Iglesias.
In Spain, the shortest legislature in its history was the eleventh with only 111 days of operation because, after a general election, the Congress of Deputies failed to form a Government and elect a President. Hence, other elections had to be called again.
Although the RAE does not mention it, the concept of legislature is also usually used with reference to the bodies that are responsible for the exercise of legislative power . In these cases, it is usually written with an initial capital letter ( Legislature ) and refers to the senate , the chamber of deputies , the deliberative council or another similar institution.
The Legislature of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires , for example, is the legislative branch of the Argentine capital . It is a unicameral body made up of sixty legislators, who serve for four years. Every two years, on the other hand, the Legislature is renewed in halves.
It is possible to find newspaper articles that indicate, to cite one case, that "the Legislature of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires will debate a project to regulate street sales." This means that the legislators who make up the chamber will discuss this issue in one session . It is also common to speak of the Legislature to name the building where the sessions are held (the Palace of the Legislature ).