A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for the purpose of lawmaking, usually being a smaller division of the entire time between two elections. In each country the procedures for opening, ending, and in between sessions differs slightly.
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Historically, each session of a parliament would last less than one year, ceasing with a prorogation during which legislators could return to their constituencies. In more recent times, development in transportation technology has permitted these individuals to journey with greater ease and frequency from the legislative capital to their respective ridings for short periods, meaning that parliamentary sessions typically last for more than one year, though the length of sessions varies. Legislatures plan their business within a legislative calendar, which lays out how Bills will proceed before a session ceases, though related, but unofficial, affairs may be conducted by legislators outside a session or during a session on days in which parliament is not meeting.
While a parliament is prorogued, between two legislative sessions, the legislature is still constituted – i.e. no general election takes place and all Members of Parliament thus retain their seats. All orders of the body, however – bills, motions, etc. – are expunged.[1] Prorogations should thus not be confused with recesses, adjournments, or holiday breaks from legislation, after which bills can resume exactly where they left off. In the United Kingdom, however, the practice of terminating all bills upon prorogation has slightly altered; Public Bills may be carried over from one legislative session to the next. This break takes place so as to prevent the upper house from sitting during an election campaign and to purge all upper chamber business before the start of the next legislative session. It is not uncommon for a session of parliament to be put into recess during holidays and then resumed a few weeks later exactly where it left off. Governments today end sessions whenever it is most convenient, and often, a new session will begin on the same day that the previous session ended. In most cases, when parliament reconvenes for a new legislative session, the head of state, or a representative thereof, will address the legislature in an opening ceremony.
In both parliamentary and presidential systems, sessions are referred to by the name of the body and an ordinal number – for example, the 2nd Session of the 39th Canadian Parliament or the 1st Session of the 109th United States Congress.
In Commonwealth realms, legislative sessions can last from a few weeks to over a year; between general elections, there are usually anywhere from one to six sessions of parliament before a dissolution by either the Crown-in-Council or the expiry of a legally mandated term limit. Each session begins with a speech from the throne, read to the members of both legislative chambers either by the reigning sovereign or a viceregal or other representative. Houses of parliament in some realms will, following this address, introduce a pro forma bill as a symbol of the right of paliament to give priority to matters other than the monarch and his or her words (always written by the cabinet of the day).[2] Bills are numbered within each session; in Canada, for example, each period's government House Bills are numbered from C-2 to C-200 (for the House of Commons and S-1 to S-200 (for the Senate), returning again to C-2 and S-2 following a prorogation (C-1 and S-1 always being the aforementioned pro-forma bill).
In the parliament of the United Kingdom, prorogation is immediately preceeded by a speech to both legislative chambers, with procedures similar to the Throne Speech. The monarch usually approves the oration – which recalls the prior legislative session, noting major bills passed and other functions of the government[3] – but rarely delivers it in person, Queen Victoria being the last to do so. Instead, the speech is presented by the Lords Commissioners and read by the Lord Chancellor. When King Charles I dissolved the Parliament of England in 1628, after the Petition of Right, he gave a prorogation speech that effectively cancelled all future meetings of the legislature, at least until he again required finances.
In the British and Canadian parliamentary systems, the legislature is typically prorogued upon the completion of the agenda set forth in the Speech from the Throne, called in the UK the legislative programme, and remain in recess until the monarch, Governor-General, Lieutenant Governor, or Governor summons parliamentarians again. In Canada, however, prorogations have triggered speculation that they were advised by the sitting Prime Minister for political purposes; the first two of the 40th Parliament, for example, which Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition and pundits argued were implemented by the government in order to put off the will of parliament.
In the United States, some state legislatures meet only part of the year. If business arises that must be addressed before the next regular session, the chief executive (like the governor) may call a special session.
  | Canada. House of Commons. Procedure Online - Prorogation of Parliament — Detailed Article — Compendium of Procedure — House of Commons • Canada |
| | GG agrees to suspend Parliament until January - GG agrees to suspend Parliament until January |
| | Video of Prorogation - BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Prorogation of Parliament 2008 |
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