# Will we ever disband the legislature? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 16, 2016, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-disband-the-legislature/768779 "2016-10-16T22:38:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-disband-the-legislature/768779/1 "2016-10-16T22:38:34Z")
Crazy question, I know. But do you think we will ever get to a point in time where we collectively say, “the law has everything covered, we have no use for new laws,” and thus, no need for a lawmaking body? If so, how far in the future do you think this would be? ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-disband-the-legislature/768779/2 "2016-10-16T23:02:41Z")
Unless we figure out a way to start society from changing I don’t see how we could get away from making new laws to cover the negative consequences of those changes. That being said I think in populations off less then 300 it’s theorized that laws aren’t necessary so I’d guess the period after nuclear annihilation wouldn’t need a legislative body. That or having a dictatorship rise would also solve the problem so I’ll guess never. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-disband-the-legislature/768779/3 "2016-10-16T23:11:42Z")
The legislature does far more than just pass laws. There are budgets, procurement, hiring, oversight, etc. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-disband-the-legislature/768779/4 "2016-10-17T01:05:50Z")
Right – budgeting (including revenue provisions and authorizations to use public credit) and oversight (hearings, investigations, impeachments) are functions that are not ever done with forever. As it is most legislative bodies are seldom passing brand new ex-nihilo laws but instead passing amendments to update or expand existing laws or remove obsolete provisions or provide for things that were not around when the extant law was passed (e.g. online activities); creating or merging public departments and agencies and defining court jurisdictions comes under this updating function. Similarly proposing constitutional amendments. Also, existing laws may contain “sunset” provisions and need to be reauthorized (e.g. the Farm Bill). You also have appointment confirmations to deal with (and at the national level Treaty ratifications). OTOH depending on the structure of your government you may not need to have _a permanently meeting “full time” legislative_. In the US system for instance, at the least-use end you have a few states whose legislatures’ Regular Session is merely a few months every 2 years, where the main point is to pass a two-year budget and the key proposals on which they ran in the last election. Then for the rest of the term it’s the committees that do their work following up on the oversight role, and if something needs to be passed right away or someone can’t be appointed in recess and has to be confirmed to take office, the legislative body can be called into Special Session. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-disband-the-legislature/768779/5 "2016-10-17T01:37:40Z")
I find it more likely that decision making will be ceded to an AI. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-disband-the-legislature/768779/6 "2016-10-17T05:45:18Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > I find it more likely that decision making will be ceded to an AI. Couple that with computerized instant-voting so the AI can weight its decisions based on public demand, without the need for representatives. Of course, there’s always the alternative that the legislature will be abolished by a fascist dictator. It’s not like we lack historical examples.