Massachusetts House of Representatives

Massachusetts House of Representatives
General Information
Type:	Lower house
Term limits:	None
2013 session start:	January 2, 2013
Website:	Official House Page
Leadership
House Speaker:	Robert DeLeo, (D)
Majority Leader:	Ronald Mariano, (D)
Minority leader:	Bradley Jones, Jr., (R)
Structure
Members:	160
	Democratic Party (127) Republican Party (30) Vacant (3)
Length of term:	2 years
Authority:	Chapter 1, Massachusetts Constitution
Salary:	$61,133/year + per diem
Elections
Last Election:	November 6, 2012 (160 seats)
Next election:	November 4, 2014 (160 seats)
Redistricting:	Massachusetts legislature has control

The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court. 160 members serve in the lower house of the General Court and meet at the State Capitol in Boston. Each member represents an average of 40,923 residents, as of the 2010 Census. After the 2000 Census, each member represented approximately 39,682 residents.

As of May 2013, Massachusetts is one of 12 Democratic state government trifectas.

Sessions

The Massachusetts Constitution contains provisions regarding when the Massachusetts General Court, which the House is a part of, is to meet. This subject has been the focus of several amendments to the Constitution. Originally, Chapter 1 of the Massachusetts Constitution called for the General Court to convene on the last Wednesday of May. Then, Amending Article X called for legislative sessions to convene yearly on the first Wednesday of January. Later, Amending Article LXXII called for the General Court to meet once every two years, but Amending Article LXXV repealed that amendment. Therefore, the rules that currently govern when the General Court is to meet are in Amending Article X.

Article X calls for the General Court to convene its regular session on the first Wednesday of January. The session does not dissolve until a new regular session convenes in the next year. Article X specifies that it does not prevent the General Court from meeting at any time that it judges necessary.

2013

See also: Dates of 2013 state legislative sessions

In 2013, the General Court will be in session from January 2 to a date to be determined.

Major issues

As lawmakers settle in for the legislature's 188th session, they'll address revenue shortfalls, transportation financing, gun control, and health care costs.

2012

See also: Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions

In 2012, the House was in session formally from January 4 through July 31.

Major issues

Leading the agenda was a crackdown on abuses at special education collaboratives in the state. Other issues included controlling health costs and a sentencing bill that would bar parole for prisoners convicted of more than two violent crimes.

2011

In 2011, the House was in session from January 5 through a date not yet decided by the Legislature.

2010

In 2010, the House convened its session on January 6th, and it remained in session throughout the 2010.

Elections

2012

See also: Massachusetts House of Representatives elections, 2012

Elections for the office of Massachusetts House of Representatives were held in Massachusetts on November 6, 2012. All 160 seats were up for election.

The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was May 29, 2012. The primary election day will be September 18, 2012.

The following table details the 10 districts with the smallest margin of victory in the November 6 general election.

2012 Margin of Victory, Massachusetts House of Representatives
District	Winner	Margin of Victory	Total Votes	Top Opponent
Second Frankllin District	Denise Andrews	1.1%	18,311	Susannah Lee
Fourth Middlesex District	Danielle Gregoire	1.2%	18,056	Steven Levy
Second Worcester District	Jonathan Zlotnik	1.9%	16,712	Richard Bastien
Eighteenth Essex District	James Lyons, Jr.	2.2%	23,111	Barbara L'Italien
Eighth Worcester District	Kevin Kuros	2.5%	20,463	Robert DuBois
Second Essex District	Leonard Mirra	4.5%	24,246	Barry Fogel
Eighth Plymouth District	Angelo D'Emilia	4.6%	17,750	Marilee Kenney Hunt
Tenth Norfolk District	Jeffery Roy	8.5%	21,847	Richard Eustis
Seventh Plymouth District	Geoff Diehl	8.5%	20,174	Robert Toomey, Jr.
Sixth Plymouth District	Josh Cutler	10.1%	22,577	Karen Barry

2010

See also: Massachusetts House of Representatives elections, 2010

Elections for the office of Massachusetts House of Representatives were held in Massachusetts on November 2, 2010. The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was May 4, 2010 for partisan and was August 3 for Independents. The primary election day was on September 14, 2010.

In 2010, the candidates running for state house raised a total of $13,713,787 in campaign contributions. The top 10 donors were:

2010 Donors, Massachusetts House of Representatives
Donor	Amount
Massachusetts Democratic Party	$181,529
Retired Public Employees	$65,150
Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts	$50,700
Adams, Paul	$50,350
1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East	$44,500
Cutler, Josh S	$43,976
Massachusetts Federation of Teachers	$43,400
Massachusetts Association of Realtors	$37,600
Schmid, Paul	$36,543
Hanlon, John F	$34,258

Qualifications

Article LXXI of the Massachusetts Constitution states: Every representative, for one year at least immediately preceding his election, shall have been an inhabitant of the district for which he is chosen and shall cease to represent such district when he shall cease to be an inhabitant of the commonwealth.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

How Vacancies are filled in State Legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the House, a special election must be conducted to fill the vacant seat. The election must be held on the next regularly scheduled date on the election calendar. Local governments who conduct special elections receive reimbursement from the State Treasurer's office for all costs incurred.

Redistricting

In Massachusetts, the state legislature has control over the redistricting process. In 2011, the state legislature adopted a Special Joint Committee on Redistricting, which includes seven senators and 21 representatives. The partisan composition was 23 Democrats and 5 Republicans.

2010

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Massachusetts experienced a 3.1 percent increase in population between 2000 and 2010. Specifically, the population rose from approximately 6.35 million to 6.55 million. However, the nation as a whole saw a population increase of 9.7 percent, a much faster rate than Massachusetts, and Massachusetts lost a Congressional seat as a result of the relatively slow growth.

The Special Joint Committee on Redistricting was generally recognized as a relatively open process compared to past redistricting efforts. Some towns petitioned for having one representative, rather than being split between two state legislative districts. Other citizen groups expressed strong interests in having more minority-majority districts. In October 2011, the Committee produced and approved a map that increased the number of minority-majority districts in the state house from ten to twenty, and consolidated the town of Lexington into one state house district.

Representatives

Partisan composition

See also: Partisan composition of state houses

Party		As of May 2013
	Democratic Party	127
	Republican Party	30
	Vacancy	3
Total		160

The chart below shows the partisan composition of the Massachusetts State House of Representatives from 1992-2013.

Leadership

The House elects its Speaker, who then appoints majority floor leaders. The minority party elects its leaders in a party caucus.

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

As of 2013, members of the Massachusetts General Court are paid $61,133/year. Legislators receive between $10/day to $100/day per diem, depending on distance from the state house. Compensation is vouchered and set by the legislature.

When sworn in

See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

Massachusetts legislators assume office the first Wednesday in January after the election.

Current members

Current members, Massachusetts House of Representatives
District	Representative	Party	Assumed office
First Barnstable	Cleon Turner	Democratic	2005
Second Barnstable	Brian Mannal	Democratic	2013
Third Barnstable	David Vieira	Republican	2011
Fourth Barnstable	Sarah Peake	Democratic	2007
Fifth Barnstable	Randy Hunt	Republican	2011
Barnstable, Dukes, Nantucket	Timothy Madden	Democratic	2009
First Berkshire	Gailanne Cariddi	Democratic	2011
Second Berkshire	Paul Mark	Democratic	2011
Third Berkshire	Patricia Farley-Bouvier	Democratic	2011
Fourth Berkshire	William Pignatelli	Democratic	2003
First Bristol	Fred Barrows	Republican	2007
Second Bristol	Paul Heroux	Democratic	2013
Third Bristol	Shaunna O'Connell	Republican	2011
Fourth Bristol	Steven Howitt	Republican	2011
Fifth Bristol	Patricia Haddad	Democratic	2001
Sixth Bristol	Vacant
Seventh Bristol	Alan Silvia	Democratic	2013
Eighth Bristol	Paul Schmid III	Democratic	2011
Ninth Bristol	Christopher Markey	Democratic	2011
Tenth Bristol	William Straus	Democratic	1993
Eleventh Bristol	Robert Koczera	Democratic	1989
Twelfth Bristol	Keiko Orrall	Republican	[2011
Thirteenth Bristol	Antonio Cabral	Democratic	1991
Fourteenth Bristol	Elizabeth Poirier	Republican	1999
First Essex	Michael Costello	Democratic	2003
Second Essex	Leonard Mirra	Republican	2013
Third Essex	Brian Dempsey	Democratic	1991
Fourth Essex	Bradford Hill	Republican	1999
Fifth Essex	Ann-Margaret Ferrante	Democratic	2009
Sixth Essex	Jerry Parisella	Democratic	2011
Seventh Essex	John Keenan, Jr.	Democratic	2005
Eighth Essex	Lori Ehrlich	Democratic	2009
Ninth Essex	Donald Wong	Republican	2011
Tenth Essex	Robert Fennell	Democratic	1995
Eleventh Essex	Steven Walsh	Democratic	2003
Twelfth Essex	Leah Cole	Republican	2013
Thirteenth Essex	Theodore Speliotis	Democratic	1997
Fourteenth Essex	Diana DiZoglio	Democratic	2013
Fifteenth Essex	Linda Campbell	Democratic	2007
Sixteenth Essex	Marcos Devers	Democratic	2010
Seventeenth Essex	Frank Moran	Democratic	2013
Eighteenth Essex	James Lyons, Jr.	Republican	2011
First Franklin	Stephen Kulik	Democratic	1993
Second Franklin	Denise Andrews	Democratic	2011
First Hampden	Todd Smola	Republican	2005
Second Hampden	Brian Michael Ashe	Democratic	2009
Third Hampden	Nicholas Boldyga	Republican	2011
Fourth Hampden	Donald Humason, Jr.	Republican	2003
Fifth Hampden	Aaron Vega	Democratic	2013
Sixth Hampden	Michael Finn	Democratic	2011
Seventh Hampden	Thomas Petrolati	Democratic	1987
Eighth Hampden	Joseph Wagner	Democratic	1993
Ninth Hampden	Sean Curran	Democratic	2005
Tenth Hampden	Cheryl Coakley-Rivera	Democratic	1999
Eleventh Hampden	Benjamin Swan, Sr.	Democratic	1995
Twelfth Hampden	Angelo Puppolo, Jr.	Democratic	2007
First Hampshire	Peter Kocot	Democratic	2003
Second Hampshire	John Scibak	Democratic	2003
Third Hampshire	Ellen Story	Democratic	1993
First Middlesex	Sheila Harrington	Republican	2011
Second Middlesex	James Arciero	Democratic	2009
Third Middlesex	Kate Hogan	Democratic	2009
Fourth Middlesex	Danielle Gregoire	Democratic	2013
Fifth Middlesex	David Linsky	Democratic	1999
Sixth Middlesex	Chris Walsh	Democratic	2011
Seventh Middlesex	Tom Sannicandro	Democratic	2005
Eighth Middlesex	Carolyn Dykema	Democratic	2009
Ninth Middlesex	Thomas Stanley	Democratic	2001
Tenth Middlesex	John Lawn	Democratic	2011
Eleventh Middlesex	Kay Khan	Democratic	1995
Twelfth Middlesex	Ruth Balser	Democratic	1999
Thirteenth Middlesex	Thomas Conroy	Democratic	2007
Fourteenth Middlesex	Cory Atkins	Democratic	1999
Fifteenth Middlesex	Jay Kaufman	Democratic	1995
Sixteenth Middlesex	Thomas Golden, Jr.	Democratic	1995
Seventeenth Middlesex	David Nangle	Democratic	1999
Eighteenth Middlesex	Kevin Murphy	Democratic	1997
Nineteenth Middlesex	James Miceli	Democratic	1977
Twentieth Middlesex	Bradley Jones, Jr.	Republican	1995
Twenty-first Middlesex	Kenneth I. Gordon	Democratic	2013
Twenty-second Middlesex	Marc Lombardo	Republican	2011
Twenty-third Middlesex	Sean Garballey	Democratic	2009
Twenty-fourth Middlesex	David M. Rogers	Democratic	2013
Twenty-fifth Middlesex	Marjorie Decker	Democratic	2013
Twenty-sixth Middlesex	Timothy Toomey, Jr.	Democratic	1993
Twenty-seventh Middlesex	Denise Provost	Democratic	2006
Twenty-eighth Middlesex	Wayne A. Matewsky	Democratic	2013
Twenty-ninth Middlesex	Jonathan Hecht	Democratic	2009
Thirtieth Middlesex	James Dwyer	Democratic	2009
Thirty-first Middlesex	Jason Lewis	Democratic	2009
Thirty-second Middlesex	Paul Brodeur	Democratic	2011
Thirty-third Middlesex	Christopher Fallon	Democratic	1997
Thirty-fourth Middlesex	Carl Sciortino, Jr.	Democratic	2005
Thirty-fifth Middlesex	Paul Donato, Sr.	Democratic	2001
Thirty-sixth Middlesex	Colleen Garry	Democratic	1995
Thirty-seventh Middlesex	Jennifer Benson	Democratic	2009
First Norfolk	Bruce Ayers	Democratic	1999
Second Norfolk	Tackey Chan	Democratic	2011
Third Norfolk	Ronald Mariano	Democratic	1993
Fourth Norfolk	James Murphy	Democratic	2001
Fifth Norfolk	Mark Cusack	Democratic	2011
Sixth Norfolk	William Galvin	Democratic	1991
Seventh Norfolk	Walter Timilty	Democratic	1999
Eighth Norfolk	Louis Kafka	Democratic	1991
Ninth Norfolk	Daniel Winslow	Republican	1991
Tenth Norfolk	Jeffery Roy	Democratic	2013
Eleventh Norfolk	Paul McMurtry	Democratic	2007
Twelfth Norfolk	John Rogers	Democratic	1993
Thirteenth Norfolk	Denise Garlick	Democratic	2011
Fourteenth Norfolk	Alice Peisch	Democratic	2003
Fifteenth Norfolk	Frank Smizik	Democratic	2001
First Plymouth	Viriato deMacedo	Republican	1989
Second Plymouth	Susan Gifford	Republican	2003
Third Plymouth	Garrett Bradley	Democratic	2001
Fourth Plymouth	James Cantwell	Democratic	2009
Fifth Plymouth	Rhonda Nyman	Democratic	2011
Sixth Plymouth	Josh Cutler	Democratic	2013
Seventh Plymouth	Geoff Diehl	Republican	2011
Eighth Plymouth	Angelo D'Emilia	Republican	2011
Ninth Plymouth	Michael Brady	Democratic	2009
Tenth Plymouth	Christine Canavan	Democratic	1993
Eleventh Plymouth	Claire Cronin	Democratic	2013
Twelfth Plymouth	Thomas Calter, III	Democratic	2007
First Suffolk	Carlo Basile	Democratic	2007
Second Suffolk	Eugene O'Flaherty	Democratic	1997
Third Suffolk	Aaron Michlewitz	Democratic	2009
Fourth Suffolk	Nicholas Collins, Sr.	Democratic	2011
Fifth Suffolk	Carlos Henriquez	Democratic	2011
Sixth Suffolk	Russell Holmes	Democratic	2011
Seventh Suffolk	Gloria Fox	Democratic	1985
Eighth Suffolk	Vacant
Ninth Suffolk	Byron Rushing	Democratic	1983
Tenth Suffolk	Edward Coppinger	Democratic	2011
Eleventh Suffolk	Elizabeth Malia	Democratic	1999
Twelfth Suffolk	Linda Forry	Democratic	2005
Thirteenth Suffolk	Martin Walsh	Democratic	1997
Fourteenth Suffolk	Angelo Scaccia	Democratic	1981
Fifteenth Suffolk	Jeffrey Sánchez	Democratic	2003
Sixteenth Suffolk	Kathi-Anne Reinstein	Democratic	1999
Seventeenth Suffolk	Kevin Honan	Democratic	1987
Eighteenth Suffolk	Michael Moran	Democratic	2005
Nineteenth Suffolk	Robert DeLeo	Democratic	1991
First Worcester	Kimberly Ferguson	Republican	2011
Second Worcester	Jonathan Zlotnik	Democratic	2013
Third Worcester	Stephen DiNatale	Democratic	2007
Fourth Worcester	Dennis Rosa	Democratic	2009
Fifth Worcester	Anne Gobi	Democratic	2001
Sixth Worcester	Peter Durant	Republican	2011
Seventh Worcester	Paul Frost	Republican	1997
Eighth Worcester	Kevin Kuros	Republican	2011
Ninth Worcester	George Peterson, Jr.	Republican	1995
Tenth Worcester	John Fernandes	Democratic	2007
Eleventh Worcester	Matthew Beaton	Republican	2011
Twelfth Worcester	Harold Naughton, Jr.	Democratic	1995
Thirteenth Worcester	John Mahoney	Democratic	2011
Fourteenth Worcester	James O'Day	Democratic	2007
Fifteenth Worcester	Mary S. Keefe	Democratic	2013
Sixteenth Worcester	Vacant
Seventeenth Worcester	John Binienda, Sr.	Democratic	1987
Eighteenth Worcester	Ryan Fattman	Republican	2011

Standing committees

The Massachusetts House has the following nine standing committees:

• Bills in the Third Reading
• Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets
• Ethics
• Global Warming and Climate Change
• Personnel and Administration
• Post Audit and Oversight
• Rules
• Steering, Policy and Schedule
• Ways and Means

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

See also: Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States and Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States, Massachusetts’’

Partisan breakdown of the Massachusetts legislature from 1992-2013

During every year from 1992-2013, the Democratic Party was the majority in the Massachusetts State House of Representatives. The Massachusetts State House of Representatives is one of 18 state Houses that was Democratic for more than 80 percent of the years between 1992-2013. During the last seven years of the study Massachusetts was under Democratic trifectas.

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 Massachusetts, the Massachusetts State Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1992-2013.

External links

• Official Website of the Massachusetts State Legislature
• Official list of the current members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
• Massachusetts House of Representatives on Wikipedia
• Boston Globe 2010 election results, House of Representatives