Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Pennsylvania General Assembly
Type
Type	Lower house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 1, 2019
Leadership
Speaker	Bryan Cutler (R) since June 22, 2020
Majority Leader	Kerry Benninghoff (R) since June 22, 2020
Minority Leader	Joanna McClinton (D) since November 12, 2020
Structure
Seats	203
Political groups	Majority Republican (112) Minority Democratic (90) Vacant (1)
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Article II, section 1, Pennsylvania Constitution
Salary	$87,180/year[1]
Elections
Last election	November 3, 2020 (203 seats)
Next election	November 8, 2022 (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]

Republican Bryan Cutler was elected Speaker of the House on June 22, 2020, replacing outgoing speaker Mike Turzai, who had resigned to take a job with a Pittsburgh-based natural gas company.^[4] In 2012, a State Representative district had an average population of 60,498 residents.

It is the largest full-time state legislature in the country. (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 of 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 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.^[5]

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

Partisan Breakdown

As of January 5, 2021:

Leadership

Speaker of the House of Representatives: Bryan Cutler (R)

Membership, 2021–2022

Past composition of the House of Representatives

Map of partisan composition of legislative districts for state house as of the first session on January 1, 2019:

 Republican representative

 Democratic representative

 Seat vacant

Committees

^[9]

See also

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

Notes

References

Specific

General

• Trostle, Sharon, ed. (2009). The Pennsylvania Manual. 119. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Department of General Services. ISBN 978-0-8182-0334-3.

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.