United States of America
In the United States of America, legislator is the generic term referring to a member of the legislative body of any of the country's 50 states.
The formal name varies from state to state. In 24 states, the legislature is simply called the Legislature, or the State Legislature, while in 19 states, the legislature is called the General Assembly. In Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the legislature is called the General Court, while North Dakota and Oregon designate the legislature as the Legislative Assembly.
Just as a member of the United States House of Representatives is officially a member of Congress (abbreviated MC) despite being referred as a congressmen or representatives, a legislator in the lower chamber of state legislatures would be a member of the Legislature (abbreviated ML), member of the State Legislature (abbreviated MSL), member of the General Assembly (abbreviated MGA), member of the General Court (abbreviated MGC) or member of the Legislative Assembly (abbreviated MLA) even though they are commonly referred to as representatives or assemblymen.
Further confusion over the proper title of legislators comes when newspapers, using the Associated Press guidelines for journalists, refer to legislators as state representatives or state senators to avoid confusion with federal counterparts.
Read more about this topic: Member Of The Legislative Assembly
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