AFAIK there aren't any other major examples of directly elected governing bodies who don't have the power of legislative initiative. There are more examples if

AFAIK there aren't any other major examples of directly elected governing bodies who don't have the power of legislative initiative. There are more examples if you count indirectly elected bodies like the German Bundesrat. The core governance issue isn't so much about the ability to propose new bills as it is about not being able to function as a true counterbalance. I think if the European Parliament simply had the power to propose repeal of legislation (even if they didn't get the power to initiate legislation), that would go a long way to improving the usefulness of the EP as an institution.