Second Chamber of the States-General of Dutch Lower Saxony

The Second Chamber of the States-General of Dutch Lower Saxony is the and together with the First Chamber forms the States-General of the Saxonian state of Dutch Lower Saxony, in the Seafaring Confederation.

The States-General became the of Dutch Lower Saxony as of independence from the  in 1835 following the Dutch Low Saxonian Revolution. Within this representative assembly, the Second Chamber is directly elected by eligible voters in the state of Dutch Lower Saxony, as opposed to the First Chamber, which is indirectly elected through the members of the States-Provincial. Elections are held every four years.

The Second Chamber has its seat in the Old Monastery in Amersfoort.

Functions
The Second Chamber, together with the First Chamber, functions as the controlling organ over the State Government of Dutch Lower Saxony. This entails, amongst other things, the ability to summon State Ministers before the Chamber for. The Second Chamber is also where the majority of Ministers are taken from to form the Cabinet; the Prime Minister is, by convention, the leader of the largest party in the Second Chamber. A Cabinet will fall if it loses the trust of a majority of the Second Chamber.

Constitutionally, the Second Chamber has three main tasks:


 * keep a check on Government policies;
 * legislation (together with the Government en de First Chamber);
 * representation of the people of Dutch Lower Saxony.

The Second Chamber has several ways to keep a check on Government policies. The most important of these is the right of budget, meaning that the Second Chamber can approve or reject ministerial budgets, or amend them if desired. The rights of interpellation and are also important rights of the Chamber. Lastly and most importantly legislatively is the right of, meaning that any member of the Second Chamber can propose to amend a piece of legislation that has been brought before the Chamber.

The Second Chamber can also pass. The Chamber can use a motion to express an opinion, or request an action of a Minister or the whole Cabinet. Depending on what kind of motion is passed, a Minister can either ignore it, choose to resign (in case of a Motion of Disapproval) or be forced to resign (Motion of Distrust).

The Second Chamber also has the right of initiative, meaning that members of the Chamber, individually or together, can draft legislation.