New Hampshire House of Representatives
| New Hampshire House of Representatives | |
 | |
| General Information | |
| Type: | Lower house |
| Term limits: | None |
| 2013 session start: | January 2, 2013 |
| Website: | Official House Page |
| Leadership | |
| House Speaker: | Terie Norelli, (D) |
| Majority Leader: | Steve Shurtleff, (D) |
| Minority leader: | Gene Chandler, (R) |
| Structure | |
| Members: | 400 |
| Democratic Party (218) Republican Party (179) Vacant (3) | |
| Length of term: | 2 years |
| Authority: | Part Second, New Hampshire Constitution |
| Salary: | $200/two-year term |
| Elections | |
| Last Election: | November 6, 2012 (400 seats) |
| Next election: | November 4, 2014 (400 seats) |
| Redistricting: | Legislature has control |
Contents |
As of June 2013, New Hampshire is one of 13 states that is under divided government and do not have state government trifectas.
Sessions
The Second Part of the New Hampshire Constitution establishes when the New Hampshire General Court, of which the House is a part, is to be in session. Article 3 of the Second Part states that the General Court is to convene annually on the first Wednesday after the first Tuesday in January. Additionally, in even-numbered years, the General Court is to meet on the first Wednesday of December for organizational purposes.
2013
- See also: Dates of 2013 state legislative sessions
In 2013, the General Court will be in session from January 2 to late June.
Major issues
The state's budget deficit will top the list of issues in New Hampshire in 2013. Additionally lawmakers will consider education funding, state pensions, and abortion, among other topics.[5]
2012
- See also: Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions
In 2012, the House was in session from January 4 through June 27.
Major issues
Major issues on the agenda included economic development, job creation, same-sex marriage, and gambling.[6]
2011
In 2011, the House was in session from January 5 through July 1. [7]
2010
In 2010, the House was in session from January 6 to July 1.[8]
Transparency
The Sunlight Foundation released an "Open Legislative Data Report Card" in March 2013. New Hampshire was given a grade of A in the report. The report card evaluated how adequate, complete and accessible legislative data is to the general public. A total of 10 states received an A -- Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Kansas, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington.[9]
Elections
2012
Elections for the office of New Hampshire House of Representatives were held in New Hampshire on November 6, 2012. All 400 seats were up for election.
The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was June 15, 2012. Additionally, nomination papers must be filed by September 5, 2012.[10]
This chamber was mentioned in a November 2012 Pew Center on the States article that addressed supermajorities at stake in the 2012 election. Supermajority generally means a party controls two-thirds of all seats. While it varies from state to state, being in this position gives a party much greater power. Going into the election, Republicans in the New Hampshire House currently have a supermajority, which Democrats are seeking to cut into.[11]
2010
Elections for the office of New Hampshire's state house representatives were held in New Hampshire on November 2, 2010.
The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was June 11, 2010. The primary election day was September 14, 2010.
In 2010, the candidates for state house raised a total of $489,484 in campaign contributions. The top 10 donors were: [12]
| 2010 Donors, New Hampshire House of Representatives | |
|---|---|
| Donor | Amount |
| New Hampshire House Republican Victory PAC | $7,660 |
| Total of All General Election Receipts in this Report (Uncoded) | $4,997 |
| Difroscia, A R | $4,637 |
| Abrami, Patrick | $4,463 |
| New Hampshire Society of Eye Physicians & Surgeons | $4,350 |
| Jackman, Norma Roth | $4,293 |
| Obrien, William L | $4,109 |
| Pillsbury, Leland & Mary | $4,000 |
| Peckham, Michele | $3,731 |
| Nashua Republican City Cmte | $3,608 |
Qualifications
Article 14 of Part 2 of the New Hampshire Constitution states, "Every member of the house of representatives shall be chosen by ballot; and, for two years, at least, next preceding his election shall have been an inhabitant of this state; shall be, at the time of his election, an inhabitant of the town, ward, place, or district he may be chosen to represent and shall cease to represent such town, ward, place, or district immediately on his ceasing to be qualified as aforesaid."
Vacancies
| How Vacancies are filled in State Legislatures |
 |
If there is a vacancy in the House, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat. It's up to the Governor to call for an election and to set an election date as soon as possible. There are no deadlines set by the state constitution on special elections[13] [14].
Redistricting
- See also: Redistricting in New Hampshire
Redistricting in New Hampshire is handled by the General Court, with the Governor wielding veto power.
2010 census
New Hampshire received its local Census data on March 22, 2011. The state's population increased 6.5 percent, with Coos County being the only county to face a decrease (-0.2 percent). Growth in the larger cities was mild: Manchester grew by 2.4 percent, Nashua decreased by 0.1 percent, Concord grew by 4.9 percent, Derry decreased by 2.7 percent, and Dover grew by 11.5 percent.[15]
At the time of redistricting, Republicans controlled the General Court, and the Democrats controlled the governorship. On March 23, 2012, Gov. John Lynch (D) signed into law a new Senate plan but vetoed the House map, citing a lack of representation in towns that exceed 3,000, which automatically merit their own representative; the Legislature overrode the veto on March 28, 2012. The Department of Justice -- which has the duty of pre-clearing New Hampshire redistricting maps under the Voting Rights Act -- approved the maps in May 2012. On June 19, 2012, several lawsuits regarding the House map were thrown out by the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
Representatives
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
As of 2013, members of the New Hampshire General Court are paid $200/two-year term. There is no per diem.[16]
Pension
New Hampshire does not provide pensions for legislators.[17]
When sworn in
New Hampshire legislators assume office the month after elections (December).
Partisan composition
- See also: Partisan composition of state houses
| Party | As of June 2013 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 218 | |
| Republican Party | 179 | |
| Vacancy | 3 | |
| Total | 400 | |
The chart below shows the partisan composition of the New Hampshire State House of Representatives from 1992-2013.
Leadership
The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the body. Duties of the Speaker include preserving order, enforcing and interpreting parliamentary rules, making committee appointments, and referring bills to the appropriate committee for review. The Speaker only votes in the case of a tie.[18]
Current leadership
| Current Leadership, New Hampshire House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Office | Representative | Party |
| Speaker of the House | Terie Norelli |  Democratic
|
| House Majority Leader | Steve Shurtleff | Democratic
|
| House Minority Leader | Gene Chandler |  Republican
|
Current members
Note: In New Hampshire, a member of the state legislature can be designated as being a member of more than one party. If a candidate runs on one ticket and the opposing party fields no candidate, and if the candidate gets a certain number of write-in votes on the opposing party ticket, then as an elected official, that politician is defined as belonging to both parties.
As of the 2012 elections, there is one member listed as being of both parties: Janet Wall. The New Hampshire House of Representatives keeps an official online list of all members of the chamber. On that list, representatives who have more than one party designation by custom have the party that could be considered their true party listed first. On that list, Wall is considered a Democrat first. The list below follows that practice.
Standing committees
Bills are first referred to committees arranged by subject matter. The committee holds hearings on the bills and makes recommendation for action to the House. For 2011, one committee has been dissolved (Local and Regulated Revenues Committee); and two new committees have been established: Constitutional Review & Statutory Recodification and Petitions for Redress & Grievances.[19][20]
The New Hampshire House has the following 24 standing committees:
- Children and Family Law
- Commerce and Consumer Affairs
- Criminal Justice and Public Safety
- Education
- Election Law
- Environment and Agriculture
- Executive Departments and Administration
- Finance
- Fish and Game and Marine Resources
- Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs
- Judiciary
- Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services
- Legislative Administration
- Municipal and County Governments
- Public Works and Highways
- Resources, Recreation and Development
- Rules
- Science, Technology and Energy
- State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs
- Transportation
- Ways and Means
History
Partisan balance 1992-2013
From 1992-2013, the Democratic Party was the majority in the New Hampshire State House of Representatives for five years while the Republicans were the majority for 17 years.
Across the country, there were 577 Democratic and 483 Republican State Houses of Representatives from 1992 to 2013.
Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states have divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.
The chart below shows the partisan composition of the Office of the Governor of New Hampshire, the New Hampshire State Senate and the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1992-2013.
.PNG)
External links
- Official website of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
- Official list of the current members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
References
- ↑ NH House of Representatives, House Fast Fact!!
- ↑ Population in 2010 of the American states
- ↑ Population in 2000 of the American states
- ↑ "Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund" New Hampshire State Constitution, March 5, 2009
- ↑ Sentinel Source, "After a shake-up, N.H. legislators have new issues to tackle.," January 4, 2013
- ↑ Concord Monitor, "House GOP: Jobs the focus," January 4, 2012
- ↑ 2011 Legislative Sessions Calendar, NCSL
- ↑ 2010 session dates for New Hampshire legislature
- ↑ Sunlight Foundation Ten Principles for Opening Up Government Information, accessed June 16, 2013
- ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State "How to file by nomination papers"
- ↑ Stateline, "In Legislative Elections, Majorities and Supermajorities at Stake," November 2, 2012
- ↑ Follow the Money: "New Hampshire House 2010 Campaign Contributions"
- ↑ State of New Hampshire "State Constitution-House of Representatives"(Referenced Sections, Sections 12 and 16)
- ↑ State of New Hampshire "State Constitution-Senate"(Referenced Sections, Section 34)
- ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "U.S. Census Bureau Delivers New Hampshire's 2010 Census Population Totals, Including First Look at Race and Hispanic Origin Data for Legislative Redistricting"
- ↑ NCSL.org, "2012 State Legislator Compensation and Per Diem Table," accessed March 18, 2013
- ↑ USA Today, "State-by-state: Benefits available to state legislators," September 23, 2011
- ↑ House Leadership
- ↑ Informatin verified by House Clerk on December 15, 2010
- ↑ New Hampshire House of Representatives Standing Committee page]
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
State of New Hampshire Concord (capital) |
|---|---|
| Ballot Measures |
List of New Hampshire ballot measures | Local measures | School bond issues | Ballot measure laws | History of direct democracy | Campaign Finance Requirements | Recall process | |
| Government |
New Hampshire State Constitution | House of Representatives | Senate | Auditor | |
| State executive officers |
Governor | Attorney General | Secretary of State | Treasurer | Commissioner of Education | Commissioner of Insurance | Commissioner of Agriculture | Executive Director of Fish and Game | Commissioner of Labor | Chairman of Public Utilities | |
| Judiciary |
New Hampshire Supreme Court | Superior Court | Probate Courts | Family Courts | Judicial Nominating Commission | Judicial news | Judicial activist organizations | |
| Transparency Topics |
Right to Know Law | Transparency Checklist | Government corruption reports | Transparency Legislation | Open Records procedures | Transparency Advocates | Transparency blogs | State budget | Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations | |
| Divisions |
State |
List of Counties |
List of Cities |
List of Towns |
List of School Districts | |
