what is the term for a legislature with two bodies
List of United States state legislatures Each state in the United States has a legislature as part of its form of civil government. Most of the fundamental details of the legislature are specified in the state constitution. 49 state legislatures are bicameral bodies, composed of a lower house (Assembly, General Assembly, State Assembly, House of Delegates, or House of Representatives) and an upper house (Senate). The United States also has five non-state territories and one federal district with local legislative branches, which are also listed below. Among the states, the Nebraska Legislature is the lone unicameral body, although three other areas (the District of Columbia, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands) also have unicameral bodies.
Hung parliament In a parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament is an expression used to describe a state of a parliament when no single political party (or bloc of allied parties) has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament (legislature) and therefore has no legitimate mandate to form a government. It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament[1][2] or a legislature under no overall control.[3][4][5] If the legislature is bicameral, and the government is responsible only to the lower house, then "hung parliament" is used only with respect to that chamber. It is the objective of parliamentary systems for the parliament to be able to form a stable government, preferably one that lasts until the next election. This requires the government to be able to muster up sufficient votes in parliament to pass important legislation, especially the government's budget. It also needs sufficient votes to defeat votes of no-confidence in the government. If the state of the parliament is such that a majority government cannot be formed, the government may be referred to as a "minority government". The term hung parliament is used mainly in systems with two parties or two party blocs. Most general elections in such a system will result in one or other party having an absolute majority and thus quickly forming a new government; a "hung parliament" is an exception to this pattern, and may by some be considered anomalous or undesirable, and by others ideal as it blocks the dangers of absolute power. One or both main parties may seek to form a coalition government with smaller third parties, or a minority government relying on confidence and supply support from third parties or independents. If these efforts fail, a dissolution of parliament and a fresh election may be the last resort.