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Massachusetts
House of Representatives
Massachusetts; House of Representatives
2021-2022 Massachusetts legislature
Type
Type	Lower house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 6, 2021
Leadership
Speaker	Ronald Mariano (D) ; since December 30, 2020
Speaker pro tempore	Kate Hogan (D) ; since February 11, 2021
Majority Leader	Vacant ; since January 18, 2022
Minority Leader	Bradley Jones Jr. (R) ; since November 21, 2002
Structure
Seats	160
Political groups	Majority Democratic (129) Independent (1) 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
	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.

Qualifications

Any person seeking to get elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives must meet the following qualifications:^[1]

Be at least eighteen years of age
Be a registered voter in Massachusetts
Be an inhabitant of the district for at least one year prior to election
Receive at least 150 signatures on nomination papers

Representation

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.

Representatives' desk with microphone and voting buttons (yea/nay)

The Sacred Cod

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]

Composition

2020 composition by municipality

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%

^[8]

Leadership

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.

Leaders

^[9]

Position	Representative	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
Second Assistant Majority Leader (Deputy Whip)	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
Third Assistant Minority Leader	F. Jay Barrows	Mansfield

The most recent election of members was held on November 3, 2020. Representatives serve two-year terms.

Committees

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

Current members and districts

Past composition of the House of Representatives

Composition by municipality in the 187th General Court.

Composition by municipality in the 188th General Court.

Composition by municipality in the 189th General Court.

Composition by municipality at the beginning of the 190th General Court.

Composition by municipality at the beginning of the 191st General Court.

References

^ https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/Candidates-Guide-generic.pdf^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ The Massachusetts State House, p. 110, 111. Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Boston, 1953.
^ League of Women Voters of Massachusetts Archived October 25, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ See Amendment CI of the Massachusetts Constitution, adopted by voters in 1974
^ "The 'Sacred' Cod Moves to the New State House". Mass Moments. Mass Humanities. Retrieved 2020.
^ "House members". The 192nd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. April 7, 2021. Retrieved 2021.
^ "House Members". The 192nd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. September 24, 2021. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved 2021.
^ "Massachusetts House of Representatives". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2021.
^ "House Leadership". The 192nd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 2021. Retrieved 2021.

Representative Districts, accessed April 9, 2006
House Members of the General Court

External links

"Massachusetts - State Legislative District Maps (Lower Chamber)". United States Census Bureau.

[1] ttps://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/Candidates-Guide-generic.pdf^{[bare URL PDF]}

[2] The Massachusetts State House, p. 110, 111. Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Boston, 1953.

[3] League of Women Voters of Massachusetts Archived October 25, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

[4] See Amendment CI of the Massachusetts Constitution, adopted by voters in 1974

[5] "The 'Sacred' Cod Moves to the New State House". Mass Moments. Mass Humanities. Retrieved 2020.

[6] "House members". The 192nd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. April 7, 2021. Retrieved 2021.

[7] "House Members". The 192nd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. September 24, 2021. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved 2021.

[8] "Massachusetts House of Representatives". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2021.

[9] "House Leadership". The 192nd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 2021. Retrieved 2021.

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