7-657: Minority The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature , the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida , the Florida Senate being the upper house . Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida , adopted in 1968, defines the role of the Legislature and how it is to be constituted. The House is composed of 120 members, each elected from
14-499: A parliamentary system , the lower house: In a presidential system , the lower house: The lower house: Members of the lower house: The government of the day is usually required to present its budget to the lower house, which must approve the budget. It is a widespread practice for revenue (appropriation) bills to originate in the lower house. A notable exception to this is the West Virginia House of Delegates in
21-789: A single-member district with a population of approximately 180,000 residents. Legislative districts are drawn on the basis of population figures, provided by the federal decennial census. Representatives' terms begin immediately upon their election. The Republicans hold a supermajority in the State House with 85 seats; Democrats are in the minority with 35 seats. In 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could not enact congressional term limits. Florida legislators must be at least twenty-one years old, an elector and resident of their district, and must have resided in Florida for at least two years prior to election. Each year during which
28-409: Is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature , where the other chamber is the upper house . Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise exert significant political influence. In comparison with the upper house, lower houses frequently display certain characteristics (though they vary by jurisdiction). In
35-784: The Florida House of Representatives. Following sizable GOP gains in the 1994 election, which significantly reduced the Democratic Party majority in the Florida House, Republicans captured a majority in the 1996 election. The Republican Party has been the majority party since that time in the House. Additional information on the past composition of the Florida House of Representatives can be found in Allen Morris's The Florida Handbook (various years, published every two years for many years). Lower house A lower house
42-490: The Legislature meets constitutes a new legislative session. The Florida Legislature meets in a 60-day regular legislative session each year. Regular legislative sessions in odd-numbered years must begin on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March. Under the state Constitution, the Legislature can begin even-numbered year regular legislative sessions at a time of its choosing. Special legislative sessions may be called by
49-455: The governor, by a joint proclamation of the Senate president and House speaker, or by a three-fifths vote of all legislators. During any special session the Legislature may only address legislative business that is within the purview of the purpose or purposes stated in the special session proclamation. *Elected in a special election. From 1874 to 1996, the Democratic Party held majorities in
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