Parliament of Dreton

The Parliament of Dreton (Kazul: Dretons Parlament) is the legislature of Dreton. It maintains the powers to make legislation, vary taxes, scrutinise the government and form policy on 20 devolved issues. The Parliament consists of 130 members who are known as Members of Dreton's Parliament (MDPs). The parliament consists of a lower house, the Legislative Assembly and an upper house, the Legislative Council.

Currently, the Legislative Council has 40 members elected for five-year terms from multi-member constituencies by proportional representation, and the Legislative Assembly has 80 members, elected for five-year terms from single-member constituencies, using proportional representation. The Parliament of Dreton is the only devolved bicameral legislature of Kazulia. The party or coalition commanding the support of a majority of the members of the Legislative Assembly forms the Government of Dreton. The head of government holds the office of Minister-President of Dreton.

The Parliament was formed through the Government of Dreton Act, which initially granted the country powers similar to the municipal council it replaced however, through reforms and amendments to the act, the Parliament was granted the ability to legislate on devolved issues such as: health, education, economic development, transport, the environment, agriculture, local government and some degree of taxation.

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is the presiding officer of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Dreton. He or she is an elected member of the Parliament and is chosen by the members of the Legislative Assembly to supervise/preside over meetings of the assembly. His or her counterpart in the Legislative Council is the President of the Legislative Council.

Both the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and the President of the Legislative Council are obligated to swear political independence whilst in office and to remain impartial in all sitting/business of the house. It is because of this, both the Speaker and President do not reserve the right to vote, might they be casting votes or deliberative votes.

Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly is the house of responsible government, in that the government of the day must command a majority of support in this chamber. Furthermore, the Minister-President and Ministers are accountable to Parliament and must face questioning and scrutiny from Parliament. Similar to the Stortinget, the Assembly schedules question time and has time and subject limits on the ways that Ministers must respond to matters raised to them by any other member of the Assembly.

The Assembly functions as a representation of Dreton. The Assembly is the only chamber authorised to draw funds from the public treasury, or to raise taxes, on its own initiative. Changes to taxation or funding for projects can still be blocked by the Council, but the Assembly may always authorise funding for the ordinary operation of government without the expressed approval of the Council. This means that the Legislative Council cannot block the supply of government funds.

Most bills originate within the Assembly, partly as a matter of convention and mostly due to the fact that bills not sponsored by the government are unlikely to be passed. A bill typically goes through three readings, each followed by a vote, before being presented to the Legislative Council.

Legislative Council
The Legislative Council is the house of review. The Council's power has decreased over time, as its role has changed. It was initially a means of suppressing democratic reforms, particularly since the more representative Assembly was seen as too "liberal" and "radical". It now serves as a house of review, more closely modelled on the Hutorian Senate. Majorities within the Council are rare by design, while minority interest groups are more likely to be elected than within the Assembly, encouraging debate and compromise.

Bills passed by the Assembly must also pass the Council within the same form. Either house can propose amendments to bills and all bills, with the exception of supply bills, must pass both houses.