National Assembly of Louisiana (Joan of What?)

The National Assembly of the Republic of Louisiana (: Assemblée Nationale du République Louisienne) is a component of the, along with the. The National Assembly chamber is located in Parliament House in the Louisianan capital of Quebec.

The National Assembly is a democratically elected body whose members are known as Deputies (French: Député; DP). There were 308 members in the last Parliament (most members elected in ), but that number has risen to 338 following the. Members are elected by simple plurality ('first-past-the-post' system) in each of the country's electoral districts. Deputies may hold office until Parliament is dissolved and serve for constitutionally limited terms of up to five years after an election. Historically however, terms have ended before their expiry and the sitting government has typically dissolved parliament within four years of an election according to a long-standing convention. In any case, an Act of Parliament now limits each term to four years. Seats in the National Assembly are distributed roughly in proportion to the population of each province. However, some districts are more populous than others, and the Louisianan constitution contains some special provisions regarding provincial representation. As a result, there is some interprovincial and regional malapportionment relative to population.

The National Assembly was established in 1871, when France was forced to grant Louisiana independence, pursuant to the Treaty of Frankfurt signed after, and was modelled on the British House of Commons. The lower of the two houses making up the parliament, the National Assembly in practice holds far more power than the upper house, the Senate. Although the approval of both Houses is necessary for legislation, the Senate very rarely rejects bills passed by the Assembly (though the Senate does occasionally amend bills). Moreover, the Government of Canada is responsible solely to the National Assembly. The stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support, or "confidence", of the lower house.