Should legislation be capitalized?
Christopher Pierce
Updated on March 03, 2026
Constitution: Capitalize references to the U.S. Constitution, with or without the “U.S.” Place “constitutional” in lowercase. Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, First Amendment, and other legislation and treaties are capitalized. Earth: Generally put in lowercase, but capitalize when used as a proper name.
What is the state’s legislature?
A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states the legislature is simply called the Legislature or the State Legislature, while in 19 states the legislature is called the General Assembly.
Is Washington state legislature capitalized?
Capitalize in all references to both houses of Washington state government, even when the state name is dropped: Washington Legislature. Both houses of the Legislature adjourned today. Also capitalize in such constructions as: the 100th Legislature, the state Legislature.
When should state be capitalized?
The word “state” should be capitalized when it comes after the name of a state. For example, “Michigan State.” It seems pretty easy to understand but for residents of Washington State and New York State, it can get confusing.
Do you capitalize act and scene?
If you can suggest how we can make CMOS 8.184 more clear, we’ll try to do better in the next edition: “Words denoting parts of long poems or acts and scenes of plays are usually lowercased, neither italicized nor enclosed in quotation marks . . . act 3, scene 2.”
Should state Senate be capitalized?
When using the term “Senate,” capitalize all specific references to governmental legislative bodies, regardless of whether the name of the state or nation is used: the U.S. Senate, the Senate, the Virginia Senate, the state Senate, the Senate.
What does a state’s legislative branch do?
Legislative Branch All 50 states have legislatures made up of elected representatives, who consider matters brought forth by the governor or introduced by its members to create legislation that becomes law. The legislature also approves a state’s budget and initiates tax legislation and articles of impeachment.
Is State capitalized in state of?
When referring to the physical location, both the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style indicate that the word “state” is not capitalized in cases like “the state of California” and “the state of Missouri.” The word “state” would be capitalized, however, when referring to the governmental body …
Should states and territories be Capitalised?
States and territories Use initial capitals for words in the formal name. Use lower case for generic or plural references.
Should state constitution be capitalized?
The phrase “US Constitution” (or “United States Constitution,” though the form with initials alone is sufficient) should be capitalized as such, as should names of state constitutions (“the California Constitution,” for example), but the word on its own is lowercased even as a subsequent reference to a specific document.
Should the state be capitalized?
State is generally not capitalized when it is used in place of the state name, as in “This is a new state program” or “He is a state employee.”. States is capitalized when it refers to the United States.
Does state need to be capitalized?
According to the Gregg Reference Manual , “state” should be capitalized: When it is part of the full name of the state as in the State of Arizona When the word it modifies in capitalized as in the State Corrections Director When referring to the state as a party to litigation or a governmental actor as in “The State filed a Motion to Dismiss”
Do you capitalize state and federal in a sentence?
Capitalization ● Do not capitalize federal, state, department, division, board, program, section, unit, etc., unless the word is part of a formal name. Capitalize common nouns such as party, river and street when they are part of a proper name.