Massachusetts House of Representatives

Massachusetts House of Representatives
193rd General Court of Massachusetts
Type
Type	Lower house of the Massachusetts General Court
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 4, 2023
Leadership
Speaker	Ron Mariano (D) since December 30, 2020
Speaker pro tempore	Kate Hogan (D) since February 11, 2021
Majority Leader	Michael Moran (D) since February 10, 2023
Minority Leader	Bradley Jones (R) since November 21, 2002
Structure
Seats	160
Political groups	Majority (133)   Democratic (132)   Independent (1) Minority (25)   Republican (25) Vacant (2)   Vacant (2)
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Chapter 1 of the Massachusetts Constitution
Salary	$70,537/year; set to increase every two years equal to the increase in the median salary of Massachusetts. [1] All members receive office stipends, and chairs of committees and party leaders receive additional stipends.
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	November 5, 2024
Next election	November 3, 2026
Redistricting	Legislative control
Meeting place
House of Representatives Chamber Massachusetts State House Boston, Massachusetts
Website
Massachusetts House of Representatives
Rules
Rules of the Massachusetts House of Representatives

The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature 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, the state capital of Massachusetts.

Qualifications

Any person seeking to get elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives must meet the following qualifications: ^[2]

• Be at least 18 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. ^[3] The original distribution was changed to the current regional population system in the 20th century. Until 1978, there were 240 members of the house, ^[4] a number in multi-member districts; today there are 160 in single-member districts. ^[5]

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. ^[6]

Composition

The Democrats hold a supermajority in the House.

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Total
	Democratic	Unenrolled	Republican		Vacant
187th (2011–2012)	128	0	32	160	0
188th (2013–2014)	131	0	29	160	0
189th (2015–2016)	127	0	35	160	0
190th (2017–2018)	125	0	35	160	0
191st (2019–2020)	127	1	32	160	0
192nd (2021–2022)	128	1	30	159	1
Begin 193rd (2023–2024)	132	1	26	159	1
End 193rd			24	157	3
Begin 194th (2025–2026)	134	1	25	160	0
Latest voting share	84%		16%

^[7]

Leadership

Further information: List of speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives

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.

Current leaders

Main article: 2023–2024 Massachusetts legislature § Leadership

Current members and districts

Main article: 2023–2024 Massachusetts legislature § Members

Current committees and members

Main article: 2023–2024 Massachusetts legislature § Committees

Past composition of the House of Representatives

Main article: Political party strength in Massachusetts

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.

See also

• 2023–2024 Massachusetts legislature
• List of current Massachusetts House of Representatives committees
• List of speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
• Massachusetts State House
• Massachusetts Senate
• Massachusetts General Court
• List of former districts of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
• List of members of the colonial Massachusetts House of Representatives
• List of Massachusetts General Courts
• Massachusetts Government

References

1. Lisinski, Chris, and Sam Doran (February 5, 2023). "The bucks don't stop for Mass. legislators with raises set to kick in". State House News Service.
2. "A Candidate's Guide to State Elections" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 20, 2015.
3. The Massachusetts State House, p. 110, 111. Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Boston, 1953.
4. League of Women Voters of Massachusetts Archived October 25, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
5. See Amendment CI of the Massachusetts Constitution, adopted by voters in 1974
6. "The 'Sacred' Cod Moves to the New State House". Mass Moments. Mass Humanities. January 11, 2008. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
7. "Massachusetts House of Representatives". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 5, 2023.

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

Further reading

• "General Court of Massachusetts: House". Public Officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: 1945-1946. 1945.
• "House of Representatives of the General Court of Massachusetts". Public Officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: 1947-1948. 1947.
  • 1951, 1957, 1961, 1967, 1971, 1977, 1981, 1987, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007
• "Representative Districts". Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Manual for the Use of the General Court for 1993-1994. Boston. 1993. (Per Chapter 11, Acts of 1988. Based on 1985 census)

External links

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