the Republic (no more than five) "for outstanding merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary field". (Only for the first parliament created following the constitutions implementation) The voting age mandated for both houses is the age of majority: any Italian citizen who is eighteen or older can vote. But the two houses have a different age of candidacy: deputies are required to be twenty-five or older, while elected senators must be forty or older. No explicit age limit is required to be appointed senator for life (but Presidents of the Republic must be 50 or older). Functions of the Parliament The main prerogative of Parliament is the exercise of the legislative power, that is the power to enact laws. For a bill to become law, it must receive the support of both houses independently in the same text. A bill is first introduced in one of the houses, amended, and then approved or rejected: if approved, it is passed to the other house, which can amend it before approving or rejecting it. If approved without amendments, the bill is then promulgated by the President of the Republic and becomes law. If approved with amendments, it goes back to the other house. The process continues until the bill is approved in the same text by both houses (in which case it becomes law after promulgation) or is rejected by one house. The Council of Ministers, which is led by the President of the Council of Ministers and is the national executive of Italy, needs to have the confidence of both houses in order to exercise its power fully. It must receive a vote of confidence by both houses before being officially in power, and Parliament can cast a motion of no confidence at any moment, which forces the President of the Council of Ministers and his/her Cabinet to resign. The President of the Republic can dissolve one or both houses, and new elections are held if a new Prime Minister is unable to receive the support of both houses. Legislative process The process by which the Italian Parliament makes ordinary laws, the iter legis ordinario, is as follows: Proposals can be made by the Government, individual Members of Parliament (who must present their proposal to the Chamber that they are a member of), private citizens (who must present a proposal in the form of a draft law, approved by 50,000