Massachusetts House of Representatives | |
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2021-2022 Massachusetts legislature | |
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Type | |
Type | |
Term limits | None |
History | |
New session started | January 6, 2021 |
Leadership | |
Speaker pro tempore | |
Majority Leader | Vacant since January 18, 2022 |
Minority Leader | |
Structure | |
Seats | 160 |
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Political groups | Majority
Democratic (129)
Minority Republican (29) |
Length of term | 2 years |
Authority | Chapter 1 of the Massachusetts Constitution |
Salary | $62,500/year; set to increase every two years equal to the increase in the median salary of Massachusetts. All members receive office stipends, and chairs of committees and party leaders receive additional stipends. |
Elections | |
Last election | November 3, 2020 (160 seats) |
Next election | November 8, 2022 (160 seats) |
Redistricting | Legislative Control |
Meeting place | |
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House of Representatives Chamber Massachusetts State House Boston, Massachusetts | |
Website | |
[1] |
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. The House of Representatives convenes at the Massachusetts State House in Boston.
Any person seeking to get elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives must meet the following qualifications:[1]
Originally,[when?] representatives were apportioned by town. For the first 150 persons, one representative was granted, and this ratio increased as the population of the town increased. The largest membership of the House was 749 in 1812 (214 of these being from the District of Maine); the largest House without Maine was 635 in 1837.[2] The original distribution was changed to the current regional population system in the 20th century. Until 1978, there were 240 members of the house,[3] a number in multi-member districts; today there are 160 in single-member districts.[4]
Today, each Representative represents about 40,000 residents. Their districts are named for the counties they are in and tend to stay within one county, although districts often cross county lines. Representatives serve two-year terms which are not limited.
Within the House's debating chamber hangs the Sacred Cod of Massachusetts. The 5-foot-long (1.5 m) pine carving of the cod was offered by Representative John Rowe in 1784 in commemoration of the state's maritime economy and history. Two previous carvings of the cod existed during the legislature's colonial era; the first destroyed in a fire in 1747, and the second during the American War of Independence. Since 1784, the current Sacred Cod has been present at nearly every House session, and moved to its current location when the House began convening in the State House in 1798.
In 1933, members of the Harvard Lampoon stole the cod carving as part of a prank. The theft sparked a large statewide search by the Boston and Massachusetts State Police. Following outrage from Boston newspapers and the General Court itself, the cod was anonymously handed back.[5]
The Democrats hold a supermajority in the House.
Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Republican | Unenrolled | Vacant | ||
Begin 187th (2011-2012) | 128 | 32 | 0 | 160 | |
Begin 188th (2013-2014) | 131 | 29 | 0 | 160 | |
Begin 189th (2015-2016) | 127 | 35 | 0 | 160 | |
Begin 190th (2017-2018) | 125 | 35 | 0 | 160 | |
Begin 191st (2019-2020) | 127 | 32 | 1 | 160 | |
Begin 192nd (2021-2022) | 128 | 30 | 1 | 159 | 1 |
April 7, 2021[6] | 129 | 30 | 1 | 160 | 0 |
September 15, 2021[7] | 129 | 29 | 1 | 159 | 1 |
Latest voting share | 81.1% | 18.2% | 0.6% |
The Speaker of the House presides over the House of Representatives. The Speaker is elected by the majority party caucus followed by confirmation of the full House through the passage of a House Resolution. As well as presiding over the body, the Speaker is also the chief leader, and controls the flow of legislation. Other House leaders, such as the majority and minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses relative to their party's strength in the House.
The current Speaker of the House is Ronald Mariano of the 3rd Norfolk District.
Position | Representative | Portrait | Municipality | Party |
---|---|---|---|---|
Speaker of the House | Ronald Mariano | ![]() |
Quincy | Democratic |
Majority Leader | ||||
Speaker Pro Tempore | Kate Hogan | ![]() |
Stow | |
Assistant Majority Leader (Whip) | Michael J. Moran | ![]() |
Brighton | |
Second Assistant Majority Leader (Deputy Whip) | Joseph F. Wagner | ![]() |
Chicopee | |
Sarah K. Peake | ![]() |
Provincetown | ||
First Division Chair | James J. O'Day | ![]() |
Worcester | |
Second Division Chair | Ruth B. Balser | ![]() |
Newton | |
Third Division Chair | Frank A. Moran | ![]() |
Lawrence | |
Fourth Division Chair | Thomas A. Golden, Jr. | ![]() |
Lowell | |
House Ways and Means Chair | Aaron Michlewitz | ![]() |
Boston | |
Dean of the House | Kevin Honan | ![]() |
Boston | |
Minority Leader | Bradley H. Jones, Jr. | ![]() |
North Reading | Republican |
Assistant Minority Leader (Whip) | Kimberly N. Ferguson | ![]() |
Holden | |
Second Assistant Minority Leader (Deputy Whip) | Paul K. Frost | ![]() |
Auburn | |
Third Assistant Minority Leader | Susan Williams Gifford | ![]() |
Wareham | |
F. Jay Barrows | ![]() |
Mansfield |
The most recent election of members was held on November 3, 2020. Representatives serve two-year terms.
The current standing committees in the Massachusetts House of Representatives are as follows:
Committee | Chair | Vice Chair | Ranking Minority |
---|---|---|---|
Bills in the Third Reading | Denise C. Garlick | Brian M. Ashe | |
Ethics | Thomas Walsh | David Allen Robertson | Susan Williams Gifford |
Federal Stimulus and Census Oversight | Daniel J. Hunt | John Barrett, III | Nicholas A. Boldyga |
Global Warming and Climate Change | Sean Garballey | Rady Mom | Michael J. Soter |
Human Resources and Employee Engagement | Daniel Cahill | Liz Miranda | Donald R. Berthiaume, Jr. |
Operations, Facilities and Security | Joseph W. McGonagle, Jr. | Jonathan D. Zlotnik | David K. Muradian, Jr. |
Post Audit and Oversight | John J. Mahoney | Gerard J. Cassidy | Peter J. Durant |
Rules | William C. Galvin | Smitty Pignatelli | Donald H. Wong |
Steering, Policy and Scheduling | Kevin G. Honan | Tricia Farley-Bouvier | Susan Williams Gifford |
Ways and Means | Aaron Michlewitz | Ann-Margaret Ferrante Paul J. Donato (Assistant Vice Chair) |
Todd M. Smola |