Vermont House of Representatives

Vermont House of Representatives
Vermont General Assembly
Type
Type	Lower house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 5, 2015
Leadership
Speaker of the House	Shap Smith (D) Since January 8, 2009
Majority Leader	Sarah Copeland-Hanzas (D) Since January 7, 2015
Minority Leader	Donald H. Turner (R) Since January 5, 2011
Progressive Leader	Christopher Pearson (P) Since January 5, 2011
Structure
Seats	150
Political groups	Governing parties   Democratic (85)   Progressive (6)   Independent (6) Opposition party   Republican (53)
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Section 7, Legislative Department, Vermont Constitution
Salary	$636/week + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 4, 2014 (150 seats)
Next election	November 1, 2016 (150 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place

The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives are elected to a two-year term without term limits.

The House meets in Representatives Hall at the Vermont State House in Montpelier.

Leadership

The Speaker of the House presides over the House of Representatives. The Speaker is elected by the full House by Australian Ballot. If there is only one candidate for Speaker it is commonly a voice vote for the election of the Speaker. In addition to presiding over the body, the Speaker is also the chief leadership position, and controls the flow of legislation and committee assignments. 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 chamber.

The current Speaker is Democrat Shap Smith of the Lamoille-Washington-1 District. The Majority Leader is Sarah Copeland-Hanzas of the Orange-2 District. The Minority Leader is Republican Donald H. Turner of the Chittenden-9 District. The current Clerk of the House is Donald Milne, First Assistant Clerk is William MaGill and the Second Assistant Clerk is H. Gwynn Zakov.^[1]

Leadership information

Composition

Seven members of the Democratic Caucus are also affiliated with the Vermont Working Families Party.

Members

† Originally appointed to the House.

Past notable members

Nearly all of the governors of the state, most US representatives and most US senators, were first members of this house. The following were also members:

• Nathaniel Chipman, Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont (1791–1794), U.S. Senator (1797–1803).
• Ray W. Collins, pitcher, Boston Red Sox (1909–1915)
• Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee (2005–2009).
• Lyman Enos Knapp, Governor of the District of Alaska (1889–1893).
• Madeleine M. Kunin, U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland (1996–1999).
• Matthew Lyon, Member of the U.S. House from Vermont (1797–1801) and Kentucky (1803–1811), United States Factor to the Cherokee Nation in Arkansas (1820)
• Edna Beard (1877–1928) was the first woman to be elected to both the Vermont House of Representatives and the Vermont Senate.

Operations

The house typically meets Tuesday through Friday during the session.^[4]

See also

• Vermont State House
• Vermont General Assembly
• Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives
• Vermont Senate
• Members of the Vermont House of Representatives, 2005–2006 session
• Members of the Vermont House of Representatives, 2007–2008 session
• Vermont Representative Districts, 2002–2012

References

1. ^ [2]
2. ^ Republican Gregory Clark (Addison 3) died November 30 in a car crash.
3. ^ Republican Warren Van Wyck appointed to succeed Clark.
4. ^ Remsen, Nancy and Hallenbeck, Teri (January 8, 2009). Following the Legislature. Burlington Free Press. 

External links

• Vermont General Assembly
• Speaker of the House