Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Pennsylvania General Assembly
Type
Type	Lower house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 5, 2015
Leadership
Speaker of the House	Mike Turzai (R) Since January 6, 2015
Majority Leader	Dave Reed (R) Since January 6, 2015
Minority Leader	Frank Dermody (D) Since January 4, 2011
Structure
Seats	203
Political groups	Governing party   Republican (119) Opposition party   Democratic (84)
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Article II, section 1, Pennsylvania Constitution
Salary	$85,338.65/year[1]
Elections
Last election	November 6, 2014 (203 seats)
Next election	November 8, 2016 (203 seats)
Meeting place
House of Representatives Chamber Pennsylvania State Capitol Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Website
Pennsylvania House of Representatives

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts.^[2][3]

Following the 2014 elections, the house consisted of 119 Republicans and 84 Democrats. Republican Mike Turzai was elected Speaker of the House on January 6, 2015. In 2012, a State Representative district had an average population of 60,498 residents.

The house is the largest full-time state legislature in the United States (the New Hampshire House of Representatives is larger but only serves part-time).

Hall of the House

The Hall of the House contains important symbols to Pennsylvania history and the work of legislators.

• Speaker's Chair: a throne-like chair of rank that sits directly behind the Speaker's rostrum. Architect Joseph Huston designed the chair in 1906, the year the Capitol was dedicated.
• Mace: the House symbol of authority, peace, order and respect for law rests in a pedestal to the right of the Speaker. Its base is solid mahogany, intricately carved and capped by a brass globe engraved with the Pennsylvania coat of arms. An American Eagle perches on top. The tradition of the mace may date to the Roman Republic when attendants of Roman consuls carried bundles of sticks wrapped around an axe to enforce order. The tradition is common may also come directly from Pennsylvania's English heritage.
• Murals: a colorful panorama of Pennsylvania history appear in murals by Edwin Austin Abbey. The most commanding of the series hangs behind the Speaker's rostrum and dominates the wall behind the Speaker. It is called The Apotheosis of Pennsylvania
• Ceiling: a work of art in itself with its ornate geometry of gold leaf buttoned at the center by a charming painted illustration. In "The Hours", Abbey represents the passage of time in the form of 24 maidens revolving in an endless circle amidst the moon, the sun and the stars of the Milky Way.^[4]

Speaker of the House

The speakership is the oldest elected statewide office in the Commonwealth. Since its first session in 1682—presided over by William Penn—over 130 house members have been elevated to the speaker's chair. The house cannot hold an official session in the absence of the speaker or his designated speaker pro tempore. Speaker Leroy Irvis was the first African American elected speaker of any state legislature in the United States since Reconstruction. Speaker Dennis O'Brien was the only minority-party Speaker known in Pennsylvania and only the second known nationwide. Pennsylvania has never had a female speaker.

Composition

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
End of previous legislature	91	111	203
Begin[5]	83	119	202	1
April 13, 2015[6]		120	203	0
April 30, 2015[7]		118	201	2
June 1, 2015[8]	82		200	3
June 8, 2015[9]	81		199	4
June 9, 2015[10]	80		198	5
August 4, 2015[11]	81	119	200	3
August 11, 2015[12]	84		203	0
December 16, 2015[13]	83		202	1
December 31, 2015[14]	82	118	200	3
April 5, 2016[15]	84	119	203	0
Latest voting share	41.4%	58.6%		0%

Gender Composition

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives has only 38 women out of 203 total representatives in 2016.^[16] This is only 18.7%, which is below the national average of 23.1% women in all statewide legislative positions.

House of Representatives Leadership

As of January 6, 2015

Speaker of the House of Representatives: Mike Turzai (R)

Majority Party (R)	Leadership Position	Minority Party (D)
Dave Reed	Floor Leader	Frank Dermody
Bryan Cutler	Whip	Mike Hanna
Sandra Major	Caucus Chairperson	Dan Frankel
Donna Oberlander	Caucus Secretary	Rosita Youngblood
Bill Adolph	Appropriations Committee Chairman	Joe Markosek
Brian Ellis	Caucus Administrator	Neal Goodman
Kerry Benninghoff	Policy Committee Chairman	Mike Sturla

Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives

See also

• Pennsylvania State Senate
• Project Vote Smart (Pennsylvania State Legislative information and voting records is the link to the Pennsylvania section.)

Notes

1. https://ballotpedia.org/Comparison_of_state_legislative_salaries
2. Article II, section 2, Pennsylvania Constitution.
3. Article II, section 16, Pennsylvania Constitution.
4. http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/VC/visitor_info/our_house/what.htm
5. Democrat Brendan Boyle (District 170) resigned prior to the session start to take a seat in the 114th Congress.
6. Republican Martina White (District 170) seated after winning the special election to succeed Boyle.
7. Republicans Glenn Grell (District 87) and Joe Hackett (District 161) resigned to take other jobs.
8. Democrat Ronald Waters (District 191) resigned after pleading guilty to accepting bribes.
9. Democrat Michelle Brownlee (District 195) resigned after pleading guilty to conflict of interest in connection with a lobbying scandal.
10. Democrat John Sabatina (District 174) resigned after being elected to the State Senate in a special election.
11. Republican Greg Rothman (District 87) and Democrat Leanne Krueger-Braneky (District 161) were elected to succeed Republicans Grell and Hackett, respectively.
12. Democrats Ed Nielson (District 174), Joanna McClinton (District 191) and Donna Bullock (District 195) were elected to succeed Sabatina, Waters and Brownlee, respectively.
13. Democrat Louise Williams Bishop pleads guilty and resigns.
14. Democrat Cherelle Parker joins Philadelphia City Council; Republican Tim Krieger becomes Westmoreland County judge.
15. Republican Eric Nelson (District 57) and Democrats Lynwood Savage (District 192) and Tonyelle Cook-Artis (District 200) take oath of office.
16. Members of the House

References

• Trostle, Sharon, ed. (2009). The Pennsylvania Manual 119. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Department of General Services. ISBN 0-8182-0334-X.

External links

• Pennsylvania House of Representatives
• State House of Pennsylvania information and voting records This link leads to information about elected officials and candidates in Pennsylvania on the website "Project Vote Smart." This web site provides such information for all states in the US.

Coordinates: 40°15′53″N 76°52′59″W / 40.26469°N 76.88315°W