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Clerk (legislature)

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In Commonwealth countries, senior clerks will often sit on a table in-front of the presiding officer, and are accordingly known as the clerks at the table
Legislature
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Parliament
Parliamentary procedure
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Legislatures by country

The clerk, chief clerk, secretary, or secretary general (British English: /klɑːrk/; American English: /klɜːrk/) of a legislative chamber is the senior administrative officer responsible for ensuring that its business runs smoothly. This may encompass keeping custody of documents lain before the house, received, or produced; making records of proceedings; allocating office space; enrolling of members, and administering an oath of office. During the first sitting of a newly elected legislature, or when the current presiding officer steps down, they may preside over an election of a new presiding officer. The clerk sometimes has a ceremonial role. A clerk may also advise the speaker or members on parliamentary procedure, acting in American parlance as a "parliamentarian".

In the English speaking world, a parliamentary, legislative or congressional clerk is often used to refer to other officials who are involved with procedural operations within a legislature, and usually assist the clerk of the House in fulfilling their duties. The expression clerking can be used to describe working with the procedural aspects of a legislative assembly.

Appointment

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In the Westminster system, the clerk is usually an apolitical civil servant,[a] and typically attains the position through promotion and retains it until retirement. In the UK, the clerks of both houses are appointed by letters patent from the Sovereign. Junior clerks may be appointed by the clerk of the House or by the presiding officer, and may have to be confirmed by the members.[b]

In the United States, while clerks are usually nonpartisan, they are often elected by the assembly members at the beginning of each term. At the federal level, and typically at state level, the lower house has a "(chief) clerk" while the upper house has a "secretary".

Clerks of the House by legislature

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Commonwealth

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Legislature Clerk of sole or lower house Clerk of upper house Notes
Australia Parliament of Australia Clerk Clerk
— Australian Capital Territory Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly Clerk N/A Unicameral. Federal territory of Australia.
— New South Wales Parliament of New South Wales Clerk Clerk The clerk of the Legislative Council is formally known as the clerk of the Parliaments and clerk of the Legislative Council.
— Northern Territory Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Clerk N/A Unicameral. Federal territory of Australia.
— Queensland Parliament of Queensland Clerk N/A Unicameral.
— South Australia Parliament of South Australia Clerk Clerk
— Tasmania Parliament of Tasmania Clerk Clerk
— Victoria (state) Parliament of Victoria Clerk Clerk
— Western Australia Parliament of Western Australia Clerk Clerk The clerk of the Legislative Council is formally known as the clerk of the Legislative Council and clerk of the Parliaments.
Canada Parliament of Canada Clerk Clerk The clerk of the Senate is formally known as the clerk of the Senate and clerk of the Parliaments.
—Alberta Legislative Assembly of Alberta Clerk N/A Unicameral.
—British Columbia Legislative Assembly of British Columbia Clerk N/A Unicameral
—Manitoba Legislative Assembly of Manitoba Clerk N/A Unicameral
—New Brunswick Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Clerk N/A Unicameral
—Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly Clerk N/A Unicameral
—Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories Clerk N/A Unicameral
—Nova Scotia Nova Scotia House of Assembly Chief Clerk N/A Unicameral
—Nunavut Nunavut Legislative Assembly Clerk N/A Unicameral
—Ontario Legislative Assembly of Ontario Clerk N/A Unicameral
—Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island Clerk N/A Unicameral
—Quebec National Assembly of Quebec Secretary General N/A Unicameral. The post of secretary general was formerly called greffier in French.[1]
—Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan Clerk N/A Unicameral
—Yukon Yukon Legislative Assembly Clerk N/A Unicameral
India Parliament of India Secretary General Secretary General
New Zealand Parliament of New Zealand Clerk N/A Unicameral. The Clerk of the upper house was called the clerk of the Parliaments prior to abolition.[2]
United Kingdom Parliament of the United Kingdom Clerk Clerk The clerk of the House of Lords is known as the clerk of the Parliaments, and the clerk of the House of Commons is formally the under-clerk of the Parliaments, but the latter title is seldom used.
—Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Assembly Clerk N/A Unicameral
—Scotland Scottish Parliament Clerk N/A Unicameral
—Wales Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament Clerk (Clerc) N/A Unicameral
—Isle of Man Tynwald Court Secretary Clerk Bicameral, however when the Houses are sitting together they become the Tynwald Court. The clerk of Tynwald is ex-officio the secretary of the House of Keys and the chief administrative officer for the entire Court.[3]

Asia

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Legislature Clerk of sole or lower house Clerk of upper house Notes
China National People's Congress Secretary General N/A Unicameral, however the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is a permanent body of the Congress which often acts as the national legislature.
—Hong Kong Legislative Council of Hong Kong Secretary General N/A Unicameral
—Macau Legislative Assembly of Macau Secretary General N/A Unicameral
Israel Knesset Secretary N/A Unicameral
Philippines Congress of the Philippines Secretary General Secretary

Europe

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Legislature Clerk of sole or lower house Clerk of upper house Notes
Belarus National Assembly of Belarus Director of the Secretariat Director of the Secretariat
Spain Cortes Generales General Secretary (Secretario General) Senior Clerk (Letrado mayor) The general secretary of the Congress of Deputies is also ex officio senior clerk of the whole Parliament (Letrado mayor de las Cortes Generales). Both clerks are elected by the bureaus of their respective chambers, and must be civil servants from the Parliament.[4] The regional assemblies also have this officer with the same name of senior clerk.

North America

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Legislature Clerk of sole or lower house Clerk of upper house Notes
Greenland Inatsisartut Director N/A [5]
Mexico Congress of the Union Secretary General Secretary General
United States United States Congress Clerk Secretary Elected every two years.
—AlabamaAlabama Legislature Clerk Secretary The deputy to the clerk of the House is called the chief clerk.
—Alaska Alaska Legislature Chief Clerk Secretary
—Arizona Arizona State Legislature Chief Clerk Secretary
—Arkansas Arkansas General Assembly Chief Clerk Secretary The chief clerk is appointed by the speaker and confirmed by the House by simple majority.
—California California State Legislature Chief Clerk Secretary Elected every two years.
—Colorado Colorado General Assembly Chief Clerk Secretary
—Connecticut Connecticut General Assembly Clerk Clerk
—Delaware Delaware General Assembly Chief Clerk Secretary
—Washington, D.C. Council of the District of Columbia Secretary N/A Federal District. Unicameral.
—Florida Florida Legislature Clerk Secretary
—Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia General Assembly Clerk Secretary
—Hawaii Hawaii Legislature Chief Clerk Clerk
—Idaho Idaho Legislature Chief Clerk Secretary
—Illinois Illinois General Assembly Clerk Secretary
—Iowa Iowa General Assembly Chief Clerk Secretary
—Kansas Kansas Legislature Chief Clerk Secretary [citation needed]
—Kentucky Kentucky General Assembly Chief Clerk Chief Clerk
—Louisiana Louisiana Legislature Clerk Secretary
—Maine Maine Legislature Clerk Secretary
—Maryland Maryland General Assembly Chief Clerk Secretary
—Massachusetts Massachusetts General Court Clerk Clerk
—Michigan Michigan Legislature Clerk Secretary
—Minnesota Minnesota Legislature Chief Clerk Secretary
—Mississippi Mississippi Legislature Clerk Secretary
—Missouri Missouri General Assembly Chief Clerk Secretary
—Montana Montana Legislature Chief Clerk Secretary
—Nebraska Nebraska Legislature Clerk N/A Unicameral. The current sole house was the Senate before the House of Representatives was abolished in 1936.
—Nevada Nevada Legislature Chief Clerk Secretary
—New Hampshire New Hampshire General Court Clerk Clerk
—New Jersey New Jersey Legislature Clerk Secretary
—New Mexico New Mexico Legislature Chief Clerk Chief Clerk
—New York (state) New York Legislature Clerk Secretary
—North Carolina North Carolina General Assembly Clerk Clerk
—North Dakota North Dakota Legislative Assembly Chief Clerk Secretary
—Ohio Ohio General Assembly Clerk Clerk
—Oklahoma Oklahoma Legislature Chief Clerk Secretary
—Oregon Oregon Legislative Assembly Chief Clerk Secretary
—Pennsylvania Pennsylvania General Assembly Chief Clerk Secretary-Parliamentarian The secretary-parliamentarian acts as both the chief administrative officer and parliamentarian of the Senate.[6] The Senate also has a chief clerk, who is the chief fiscal officer, and holds other miscellaneous administrative duties.[7]
—Puerto Rico Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico Clerk Secretary Unincorporated territory of the United States.
—Rhode Island Rhode Island General Assembly Clerk Secretary
—South Carolina South Carolina General Assembly Clerk Clerk
—South Dakota South Dakota Legislature Chief Clerk Secretary
—Tennessee Tennessee General Assembly Chief Clerk Chief Clerk
—Texas Texas Legislature Chief Clerk Secretary
—Utah Utah State Legislature Chief Clerk Secretary
—Vermont Vermont General Assembly Clerk Secretary
—Virginia Virginia General Assembly Clerk Clerk
—Washington (state) Washington State Legislature Chief Clerk Secretary
—West Virginia West Virginia Legislature Clerk Clerk The clerk of the House is ex-officio the keeper of the Rolls of the Legislature.[8]
—Wisconsin Wisconsin State Legislature Chief Clerk Chief Clerk
—Wyoming Wyoming State Legislature Chief Clerk Chief Clerk

Other officials

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Other administrative and procedural officials in legislatures of English-speaking countries will often be referred to as clerks, even if their formal job title doesn’t. It is noteworthy that whilst mostly similar, certain roles may have different responsibilities between the Commonwealth and United States.

Name Notes
Clerk assistant Sometimes used as the title for the deputy clerk of the House, such as in the UK House of Commons.[9]
Committee clerk Responsible for the administrative operations of a parliamentary committee, and advises the chair and members on procedural matters.[10] The most senior committee clerk is sometimes known as the Clerk of Committees.
Journal clerk Responsible for the upkeep of the chamber’s journal and other official records such as minutes of proceedings, however the verbatim record is usually the responsibility of a separate official. The most senior journal clerk is sometimes known as the clerk of the journals.
Reading clerk In the United States they are usually responsible for the oral reading of bills, motions, amendments and other items that the chamber may order.[11] The Reading Clerk in the House of Lords is responsible for reading letters patents and writs of summons of newly created peers, as well as commissions granting Royal Assent, and recording daily attendance.[12]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ In some jurisdictions this may be an erroneous description. In the United Kingdom they are known as parliamentary servants, as they serve Parliament, rather than the Crown and its Government.
  2. ^ For instance, the Clerk of the Parliaments Act 1824 provides that the clerk assistant and other clerks officiating at the table of the House of Lords are nominated and appointed by the Lord Speaker subject to the approval of the House, and other clerks are appointed directly by the clerk of the Parliaments.

References

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  1. ^ "Secrétaire général". Assemblee Nationale du Quebec. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Parliament's People". New Zealand History. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Roles of Members & Officers". Tynwald. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Agreement of March 27, 2006, adopted by the Bureaus of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate in a joint meeting, approving the Staff Statute of the Cortes Generales". Boletín Oficial del Estado (Official State Gazette): article 6. 5 April 2006. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Bureau for Inatsisartut Organisationsdiagram" (PDF). Inatsisartut. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  6. ^ Rules of the Senate of Pennsylvania (2023-2024). Rule 6 Duties of the Secretary-Parliamentarian. 3 January 2023.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^ Rules of the Senate of Pennsylvania (2023-2024). Rule 7 Duties of the Chief Clerk of the Senate. 3 January 2023.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ Joint Rules of the Senate and House of Delegates (West Virignia Legislature), Rule 18 Record of Enrolled Bills
  9. ^ "Clerk Assistant". UK Parliament. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Committees: Who's who?". Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  11. ^ "The Office of Legislative Operations". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  12. ^ Erskine May's treatise on the law, privileges, proceedings and usage of Parliament (25th ed.). Part 1, Paragraph 6.33. 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2024.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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