Massachusetts House of Representatives

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox legislature 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:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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,Template: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.<ref>The Massachusetts State House, p. 110, 111. Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Boston, 1953.</ref> The original distribution was changed to the current regional population system in the 20th century. Until 1978, there were 240 members of the house,<ref>League of Women Voters of Massachusetts Template:Webarchive</ref> a number in multi-member districts; today there are 160 in single-member districts.<ref>See Amendment CI of the Massachusetts Constitution, adopted by voters in 1974</ref>

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.

The Sacred Cod

Within the House's debating chamber hangs the Sacred Cod of Massachusetts. The Template:Convert 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Composition

The Democrats hold a supermajority in the House.

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Total
	style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|
	Democratic	Unenrolled	Republican		Vacant
187th (2011–2012)	Template:Party shading/Democratic\|128	0	32	160	0

188th (2013–2014)	Template:Party shading/Democratic\|131	0	29	160	0

189th (2015–2016)	Template:Party shading/Democratic\|127	0	35	160	0

190th (2017–2018)	Template:Party shading/Democratic\|125	0	35	160	0

191st (2019–2020)	Template:Party shading/Democratic\|127	Template:Party shading/Independent\|1	32	160	0

192nd (2021–2022)	Template:Party shading/Democratic\|128	Template:Party shading/Independent\|1	30	159	1

Begin 193rd (2023–2024)	rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Democratic\|132	rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Independent\|1	26	159	1
End 193rd	24	157	3

Begin 194th (2025–2026)	Template:Party shading/Democratic\|134	Template:Party shading/Independent\|1	25	160	0
Latest voting share	colspan=2 Template:Party shading/Democratic \| Template:Percentage	Template:Percentage

<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Leadership

Template:Further 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.