Massachusetts House of Representatives#Leadership

Any person seeking to get elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives must meet the following qualifications:https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/Candidates-Guide-generic.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}

• 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

Originally,{{when|date=June 2018}} 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.The Massachusetts State House, p. 110, 111. Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Boston, 1953. The original distribution was changed to the current regional population system in the 20th century. Until 1978, there were 240 members of the house,[http://www.lwvma.org/legislature.shtml League of Women Voters of Massachusetts] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061025200114/http://www.lwvma.org/legislature.shtml |date=October 25, 2006 }} a number in multi-member districts; today there are 160 in single-member districts.See Amendment CI of the Massachusetts Constitution, adopted by voters in 1974

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.

File:USA State House 2 MA.jpg

Within the House's debating chamber hangs the Sacred Cod of Massachusetts. The {{convert|5|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} 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.{{cite web |url=https://www.massmoments.org/moment-details/the-sacred-cod-moves-to-the-new-state-house.html |title=The 'Sacred' Cod Moves to the New State House |website=Mass Moments |date=January 11, 2008 |publisher=Mass Humanities |access-date=June 7, 2020 }}

The Democrats hold a supermajority in the House.

{{cite web|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Massachusetts_House_of_Representatives#Historical_party_control|title=Massachusetts House of Representatives|website=Ballotpedia|access-date=January 5, 2023}}

{{further|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.

{{main|2023–2024 Massachusetts legislature#Leadership}}

{{main|2023–2024 Massachusetts legislature#Members}}

{{main|2023–2024 Massachusetts legislature#Committees}}

{{main|Political party strength in Massachusetts}}

{{multiple image

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| image1 = 107th MA-House composition.png

| caption1 = Composition by municipality in the 187th General Court.

| image2 = 108th MA-House composition.png

| caption2 = Composition by municipality in the 188th General Court.

| image3 = 189th MA-House composition.png

| caption3 = Composition by municipality in the 189th General Court.

| image4 = 190th MA-House composition.png

| caption4 = Composition by municipality at the beginning of the 190th General Court.

| image5 = Massachusetts 191st General Court House Composition January 2019.svg

| caption5 = Composition by municipality at the beginning of the 191st General Court.

}}

• 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

{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.mass.gov/legis/repdis03.htm Representative Districts], accessed April 9, 2006
• [http://www.mass.gov/legis/memmenuh.htm House Members of the General Court]

• {{cite book |chapter-url= https://archive.org/stream/publicofficersof19451946bost#page/76/mode/2up |title= Public Officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: 1945-1946 |chapter=General Court of Massachusetts: House |year=1945 }}
• {{cite book |chapter-url= https://archive.org/stream/publicofficersof19471948bost#page/80/mode/2up |title= Public Officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: 1947-1948 |chapter=House of Representatives of the General Court of Massachusetts |year=1947 }}
• [https://archive.org/stream/publicofficersof19511952bost#page/80/mode/2up 1951], [https://archive.org/stream/publicofficersof19571958bost#page/80/mode/2up 1957], [https://archive.org/stream/publicofficersof19611962bost#page/80/mode/2up 1961], [https://archive.org/stream/publicofficersof19671968bost#page/78/mode/2up 1967], [https://archive.org/stream/publicofficersof19711972bost#page/78/mode/2up 1971], [https://archive.org/stream/publicofficersof19771978bost#page/78/mode/2up 1977], [https://archive.org/stream/publicofficersof19811982bost#page/78/mode/2up 1981], [https://archive.org/stream/publicofficersof19871988bost#page/80/mode/2up 1987], [https://archive.org/stream/publicofficersof19931994bost#page/78/mode/2up 1993], [https://archive.org/stream/publicofficersof19971998bost#page/78/mode/2up 1997], [https://archive.org/stream/publicofficersof20012002bost#page/78/mode/2up 2001], [https://archive.org/stream/publicofficersof20032004bost#page/78/mode/2up 2003], [https://archive.org/stream/publicofficersof20052006bost#page/78/mode/2up 2005], [https://archive.org/stream/publicofficersof20072008bost#page/78/mode/2up 2007]
• {{cite book |chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/manualforuseofge199394mass/page/276/mode/2up/ |chapter= Representative Districts |title=Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Manual for the Use of the General Court for 1993-1994 |year= 1993 |location=Boston }} (Per Chapter 11, Acts of 1988. Based on 1985 census)

• {{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/maps/sldl/st25_ma.html |title= Massachusetts - State Legislative District Maps (Lower Chamber) |publisher=United States Census Bureau }}

{{Massachusetts legislative districts}}

{{Massachusetts government}}

{{Massachusetts House of Representatives}}

{{United States legislatures}}

{{MA General Courts}}

{{Authority control}}

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House of Representatives

Category:State lower houses in the United States