Puerto Rico House of Representatives
| Puerto Rico House of Representatives | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type: | Bicameral |
| Term limits: | None |
| Website: | Official House page |
| Leadership | |
| House Speaker: | Rafael Hernández Montañez |
| Majority Leader: | Angel Matos García |
| Minority Leader: | Carlos Méndez Núñez |
| Structure | |
| Members: | 51 |
| Length of term: | 4 years |
| Authority: | Article III, Puerto Rico Constitution |
| Salary: | $73,775/year |
| Elections | |
| Last election: | November 3, 2020 |
| Next election: | November 5, 2024 |
Meeting place: | |
The Puerto Rico House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Puerto Rico Legislative Assembly. Alongside the Puerto Rico Senate, it forms the legislative branch of the Puerto Rico government and works alongside the governor of Puerto Rico to create laws. Legislative authority and responsibilities of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives include passing bills on public policy matters and having exclusive power to initiate impeachment proceedings.
Article III, Section 2 of the Puerto Rico Constitution provides that the Puerto Rico House of Representatives shall be composed of 51 representatives, except in accordance with Section 7.[1]
Section 7 stipulates that if one political party wins at least two-thirds of the seats in a general election, the number of total representatives can increase by up to but not more than 17 members. Additional members are selected from the minority party or parties, first beginning with at-large candidates in order of obtained votes, followed by district candidates who obtained the highest proportion of total votes in their district. Any district candidates elected in this way are considered at large members of the chamber.[2]
This page contains the following information on the Puerto Rico House of Representatives.
- Which party controls the chamber
- The chamber's current membership
- Elections in the chamber and how vacancies are filled
- Legislative session dates
- A list of standing commissions
Party control
Current partisan control
The table below shows the partisan breakdown of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives as of November 2024:
| Party | As of November 2024 |
| Popular Democratic Party (PPD) | 25 |
| New Progressive Party (PNP) | 21 |
| Citizen Victory Movement | 2 |
| Puerto Rican Independence (PIP) | 1 |
| Project Dignity | 1 |
| Independent | 0 |
| Vacant | 1 |
| Total | 51 |
Members
There are 51 members of the House, including 40 members that represent one district each and 11 members that are elected at large. Click here for a list of current House members.
Out of the members that represent individual districts, each member represents an average of 82,146 citizens, as of the 2020 Census.[3]
Leadership
The speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the body, and the speaker pro tempore is the second-ranking officer of the body. Duties of the speaker include naming all permanent and special commissions of the House, convening special sessions of the House, and residing over all joint commissions, among other responsibilities.[4]
Leadership and members
- Speaker of the House: Rafael Hernández Montañez (PPD)
- Majority leader: Angel Matos García (PPD)
- Minority leader: Carlos Méndez Núñez (PNP)
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Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
As of 2013, members of the Puerto Rico House received an annual salary of $73,775. However, the Vice Presidents of each House received $84,841, the Presidents of each Chamber received $110,663, the Speakers of all political parties received $84,841, and the Presidents of the Finance and Government Committees of the Senate and House received $84,841[5]
Swearing in dates
Puerto Rico legislators assume office on the second day of January immediately following the date of the general election in which they were elected.[6]
Membership qualifications
Members of the House are required to read and write in the Spanish or English language. He or she must be a citizen of the United States and of Puerto Rico, and must reside in Puerto Rico for at least two years prior to the date of the election or appointment. A member must be at least 25 years of age. Candidates for election or appointment as representatives of a district must also reside in that district for at least one year immediately prior to an election or appointment.[7]
Term limits
Elected officials are not subjected to term limits.
Elections
Elections by year
Puerto Rico representatives serve four-year terms, with all seats up for election every four years. Puerto Rico holds elections for its legislature in even years (2016, 2020, 2024, etc.).
Puerto Rico joins lower house officials in five states (Alabama, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, and North Dakota) with four-year terms. The majority of state legislatures abide by the model set in place by the U.S. House of Representatives, which are two-year terms.
2024
Elections for the office of Puerto Rico House of Representatives took place in 2024. The general election was held on November 5, 2024. The primary was June 2, 2024. Candidates had to submit 50% of their signatures by January 31, 2024, and 100% of their signatures by February 15, 2024.
2022
A special election for Puerto Rico House of Representatives District 3 was called for December 4, 2022. The candidate filing deadline was October 15, 2022.[8][9]
2020
Elections for the office of Puerto Rico House of Representatives took place in 2020. The general election was held on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for August 9, 2020. The filing deadline was December 30, 2019.
Heading into the election, the New Progressive Party (PNP) held 32 seats and the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) held 14 seats. The chamber had one independent member and four vacancies.
The New Progressive Party lost 11 seats in the 2020 election. After the 2020 election, the Popular Democratic Party held 26 seats, the New Progressive Party held 21 seats, the Citizen Victory Movement Party held two seats, the Puerto Rican Independence Party held one seat, and the Project Dignity Party held one seat.
| Puerto Rico House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 3, 2020 | After November 4, 2020 | |
| Popular Democratic Party (PPD) | 14 | 26 | |
| New Progressive Party (PNP) | 32 | 21 | |
| Citizen Victory Movement (MVC) | 0 | 2 | |
| Puerto Rican Independence (PIP) | 0 | 1 | |
| Project Dignity (PD) | 0 | 1 | |
| Independent | 1 | 0 | |
| Vacancy | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 51 | 51 | |
Vacancies
Prior to the 15 months preceding the date of a general election, if a vacancy occurs in the House, the governor must call a special election in the particular district within 30 days following the vacancy. The election must occur no later than 90 days after the governor's call, and the person elected will hold office for the rest of the unexpired term of his or her predecessor.[10]
Sessions
Article III, Section 10 of the Constitution of Puerto Rico stipulates that the duration of regular sessions are to be prescribed by law.[11]
The Puerto Rico Legislative Assembly convenes in regular sessions on the second Monday in January. The Legislative Assembly is considered a continuous body during the term for which its members are elected, and the periods of time for the introduction and consideration of bills are prescribed by law.[11]
The governor of Puerto Rico can call the Legislative Assembly into a special session when the governor judges the public interest requires it.[12]The session may only consider matters specified in the governor's call or special message sent to the Assembly by the governor during the session. Special sessions cannot continue longer than 20 calendar days.[11]
Standing commissions
Every state legislature and state legislative chamber in the country contains several legislative committees. The different types of committees include standing committees, select or special, and joint.
- Standing committees are generally permanent committees, the names of which sometimes change from session to session.
- Select or special committees are temporary committees formed to deal with specific issues such as recent legislation, major public policy or proposals, or investigations.
- Joint committees are committees that feature members of both chambers of a legislature.
Rather than committees, the Puerto Rico House of Representatives has legislative commissions. Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico stipulates that no bill can become law unless it has been printed, read, and referred to a commission and returned with a written report.
The House has 38 permanent legislative commissions. Click here for a list of the House's current commissions.
See also
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Puerto Rico House of Representatives (in Spanish)
- Puerto Rico Office of Legislative Services (in Spanish)
Footnotes
- ↑ welcome.topuertorico.org, "Constitution of Puerto Rico," accessed August 9, 2023(Article III, Section 2)
- ↑ welcome.topuertorico.org, "Constitution of Puerto Rico," accessed August 9, 2023(Article III, Section 7)
- ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "Quick Fact Puerto Rico," accessed August 9, 2023
- ↑ aldia.microjuris.com, "CÁMARA DE REPRESENTANTES R. de la C. 161" (in Spanish)," accessed August 9, 2023
- ↑ lexjuris.com, "Act No. 24 of May 29, 2013," accessed August 9, 2023
- ↑ welcome.topuertorico.org, "Constitution of Puerto Rico," accessed August 9, 2023(Article III, Section 8)
- ↑ welcome.topuertorico.org, "Constitution of Puerto Rico," accessed August 9, 2023(Article III, Section 5 and 6)
- ↑ Comisión Estatal de Elecciones de Puerto Rico, "Elección Especial para cubrir la vacante de Representante Distrito Núm. 3," accessed October 14, 2022
- ↑ Comisión Estatal de Elecciones de Puerto Rico, "Proclama de la Comisión Especial para cubrir la vacante de Representante por el Distrito Representativo de San Juan (3) del Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP)," October 12, 2022
- ↑ welcome.topuertorico.org, "Constitution of Puerto Rico," accessed August 9, 2023(Article III, Section 8)
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 welcome.topuertorico.org, "Constitution of Puerto Rico," accessed August 9, 2023
- ↑ welcome.topuertorico.org, "Constitution of Puerto Rico," accessed August 9, 2023(Article IV, Section 4)
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