The Legislature
The Legislature is a unicameral body, one of the four such legislative bodies in the United States, along with Nebraska, Guam and the District of Columbia. The Legislature meets inside the Senate Building in Charlotte Amalie, a restored Danish and American military barracks building as well as a former high school.
It is composed of 15 senators, each serving two-year terms. The territory is divided into two multimember constituencies, with seven senators representing each, while a single senator from St. John is elected at large. The Legislature is the only one of its kind in the United States where one of the two major national parties has no representation whatsoever (except for Puerto Rico, which has its own local parties but members ally themselves with the Democratic or Republican parties nationally).
Qualifications to be a senator include being over or at least 21 years of age, a U.S. citizen, a resident of the Virgin Islands for three years, and a qualified resident of their representing district.
Read more about this topic: Legislature Of The Virgin Islands
Famous quotes containing the word legislature:
“It seemed monstrous to our intolerant youth that “poor white folksy” men should have an equal right with gentlemen, born and bred, in deciding who should represent the county in the Legislature and the district in Congress.”
—Marion Harland (1830–1922)
“An ... important antidote to American democracy is American gerontocracy. The positions of eminence and authority in Congress are allotted in accordance with length of service, regardless of quality. Superficial observers have long criticized the United States for making a fetish of youth. This is unfair. Uniquely among modern organs of public and private administration, its national legislature rewards senility.”
—John Kenneth Galbraith (b. 1908)