The clerk, chief clerk, secretary, or secretary general 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 act as the presiding officer in the election of a new presiding officer such as the speaker or president. The clerk in some cases 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, clerk is often used to refer to other parliamentary officials who are involved with administrative operations.

Appointment

In the Westminster system, the clerk is usually an apolitical civil servant, 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.

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

Commonwealth

LegislatureClerk of sole or lower houseClerk of upper houseNotes
Australia Parliament of AustraliaClerkClerk
Canada Parliament of CanadaClerkClerk
India Parliament of IndiaSecretary GeneralSecretary General
New Zealand Parliament of New ZealandClerkN/AUnicameral. The Clerk of the upper house was called the Clerk of the Parliaments prior to abolition.[1]
United Kingdom Parliament of the United KingdomClerkClerk
—Wales Senedd (Wales)Chief Executive and ClerkN/AUnicameral
—Isle of Man Tynwald (Isle of Man)SecretaryClerkBicameral, 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.[2]

North America

LegislatureClerk of sole or lower houseClerk of upper houseNotes
Greenland InatsisartutDirectorN/A[3]
Mexico Congress of the UnionSecretary GeneralSecretary General
United States United States CongressClerkSecretaryElected every two years.
—AlabamaAlabama LegislatureClerkSecretaryThe deputy to the Clerk of the House is called the Chief Clerk.
—Alaska Alaska LegislatureChief ClerkSecretary
—Arizona Arizona State LegislatureChief ClerkSecretary
—Arkansas Arkansas General AssemblyChief ClerkSecretaryThe Chief Clerk is appointed by the Speaker and confirmed by the House by simple majority.
—California California State LegislatureChief ClerkSecretaryElected every two years.
—Colorado Colorado General AssemblyChief ClerkSecretary
—Connecticut Connecticut General AssemblyClerkClerk
—Delaware Delaware General AssemblyChief ClerkSecretary
—Washington, D.C. Council of the District of ColumbiaSecretaryN/AFederal District. Unicameral.
—Florida Florida LegislatureClerkSecretary
—Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia General AssemblyClerkSecretary
—Hawaii Hawaii LegislatureChief ClerkClerk
—Idaho Idaho LegislatureChief ClerkSecretary
—Illinois Illinois General AssemblyClerkSecretary
—Iowa Iowa General AssemblyChief ClerkSecretary
—Kansas Kansas LegislatureChief ClerkSecretary
—Kentucky Kentucky General AssemblyChief ClerkChief Clerk
—Louisiana Louisiana LegislatureClerkSecretary
—Maine Maine LegislatureClerkSecretary
—Maryland Maryland General AssemblyChief ClerkSecretary
—Massachusetts Massachusetts General CourtClerkClerk
—Michigan Michigan LegislatureClerkSecretary
—Minnesota Minnesota LegislatureChief ClerkSecretary
—Mississippi Mississippi LegislatureClerkSecretary
—Missouri Missouri General AssemblyChief ClerkSecretary
—Montana Montana LegislatureChief ClerkSecretary
—Nebraska Nebraska LegislatureClerkN/AUnicameral. The current sole House was the Senate before the House of Representatives was abolished in 1936.
—Nevada Nevada LegislatureChief ClerkSecretary
—New Hampshire New Hampshire General CourtClerkClerk
—New Jersey New Jersey LegislatureClerkSecretary
—New Mexico New Mexico LegislatureChief ClerkChief Clerk
—New York (state) New York LegislatureClerkSecretary
—North Carolina North Carolina General AssemblyClerkClerk
—North Dakota North Dakota Legislative AssemblyChief ClerkSecretary
—Ohio Ohio General AssemblyClerkClerk
—Oklahoma Oklahoma LegislatureChief ClerkSecretary
—Oregon Oregon Legislative AssemblyChief ClerkSecretary
—Pennsylvania Pennsylvania General AssemblyChief ClerkSecretary-ParliamentarianThe Secretary-Parliamentarian acts as both the chief administrative officer and parliamentarian of the Senate.[4] The Senate also has a Chief Clerk, who is the chief fiscal officer, and holds other miscellaneous administrative duties.[5]
—Puerto Rico Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico ClerkSecretaryUnincorporated territory of the United States.
—Rhode Island Rhode Island General AssemblyClerkSecretary
—South Carolina South Carolina General AssemblyClerkClerk
—South Dakota South Dakota LegislatureChief ClerkSecretary
—Tennessee Tennessee General AssemblyChief ClerkChief Clerk
—Texas Texas LegislatureChief ClerkSecretary
—Utah Utah State LegislatureChief ClerkSecretary
—Vermont Vermont General AssemblyClerkSecretary
—Virginia Virginia General AssemblyClerkClerk
—Washington (state) Washington State LegislatureChief ClerkSecretary
—West Virginia West Virginia LegislatureClerkClerkThe House Clerk is ex-officio the Keeper of the Rolls of the Legislature.[6]
—Wisconsin Wisconsin State LegislatureChief ClerkChief Clerk
—Wyoming Wyoming State LegislatureChief ClerkChief Clerk

Europe

LegislatureClerk of sole or lower houseClerk of upper houseNotes
Belarus National Assembly of BelarusDirector of the SecretariatDirector of the Secretariat

Asia

LegislatureClerk of sole or lower houseClerk of upper houseNotes
China National People's CongressSecretary GeneralN/AUnicameral, 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 KongSecretary GeneralN/AUnicameral
—Macau Legislative Assembly of MacauSecretary GeneralN/AUnicameral
Israel The Israeli KnessetSecretaryN/AUnicameral

Other officials

This is a non-exhaustive list of some types of clerks.

NameNotes
Calendar clerkResponsible for the planning and upkeep of the legislative calendar.
Clerk assistantSometimes used as the title for the deputy of the Clerk of the House. The Second clerk assistant is sometimes the title used for their deputy.
Committee clerkResponsible for the administrative operations of a parliamentary committee. The most senior committee clerk is sometimes known as the Clerk of Committees.
Journal clerkResponsible for the upkeep of the house's journal. The most senior journal clerk is sometimes known as the Clerk of the Journals.
Reading clerkResponsible for oral reading of bills, motions and amendments.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Parliament's People". New Zealand History. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  2. ↑ "Roles of Members & Officers". Tynwald. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  3. ↑ "Bureau for Inatsisartut Organisationsdiagram" (PDF). Inatsisartut. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  4. ↑ 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)
  5. ↑ 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)
  6. ↑ Joint Rules of the Senate and House of Delegates. Rule 18 Record of Enrolled Bills.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)


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