North Carolina General Assembly

North Carolina General Assembly
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate House of Representatives
Leadership
President/Lt. Governor	Dan Forest (R) Since January 7, 2013
President Pro Tem of the Senate	Phil Berger (R) Since January 26, 2011
Senate Majority Leader	Harry Brown (R) Since January 26, 2011
Speaker of the House	Tim Moore (R) Since January 15, 2015
House Majority Leader	John R. Bell IV (R)
Seats	170 (both houses)
Elections
Last election	November 8, 2016
Next election	November 6, 2018
Meeting place
North Carolina State Legislative Building, Raleigh
Website
http://www.ncleg.net

The North Carolina General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of North Carolina.

The General Assembly drafts and legislates the state laws of North Carolina, also known as the General Statutes. The General Assembly is a bicameral legislature, consisting of the North Carolina House of Representatives (formerly the North Carolina House of Commons until 1868) and the North Carolina Senate. The House has 120 members, while the Senate has 50. There are no term limits for either chamber.

Legislators in both chambers serve two-year terms. Starting with the 2002 election, each legislator represents a single-member House or Senatorial district; prior to 2002, some districts elected multiple legislators.

The General Assembly meets in the state capital of Raleigh (except for special occasions, when legislators might decide to hold a ceremonial session in some other city). It met in the Capitol building until 1963, when the legislature relocated to the new North Carolina State Legislative Building.

The Senate has 50 members. Though its members represent districts that are larger than those of their colleagues in the House, its prerogatives and powers are no greater.

The President of the Senate is the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, but the Lt. Governor has very limited powers and only votes to break a tie. Before the office of Lt. Governor was created in 1868, the Senate was presided over by a "Speaker." After the 1988 election of James Carson Gardner, the first Republican Lt. Governor since Reconstruction, Democrats in control of the Senate shifted most of the power held by the Lt. Governor to the senator who is elected President Pro Tempore (or Pro-Tem). The President pro tempore appoints members to standing committees of the Senate, and holds great sway over bills.