In the
politics of Germany, legislative branch, the
Bundesrat (federal council) is the upper house of the bicameral federal parliament. The Bundesrat has 69 votes; governments of the 16 states (
Bundesland) are directly represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block. The lower house is called
Bundestag.
See the Bundesrat's own website,
http://www.bundesrat.de/