Maine House of Representatives

Maine House of Representatives
Maine State Legislature
Type
Type	Lower house
Term limits	4 Terms (8 years)
History
New session started	December 5, 2012
Leadership
Speaker of the House	Mark Eves (D) Since December 5, 2012
Majority Leader	Jeff McCabe (D) Since December 3, 2014
Minority Leader	Kenneth W. Fredette (R) Since December 5, 2012
Structure
Seats	151
Political groups	Governing party   Democratic (78) Opposition party   Republican (69)   Independent (4)   Non voting (3)
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Article IV, Part First, Maine Constitution
Salary	Session 1: $13,526/year Session 2: $9,661/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 4, 2014 (151 seats)
Next election	November 8, 2016 (151 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place
House of Representatives Chamber Maine State House Augusta, Maine
Website
Maine House of Representatives

The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 members (excluding three nonvoting members) representing an equal amount of districts across the state. Each voting member of the House represents around 8,800 citizens of the state. Because it is a part-time position, members of the Maine House of Representatives usually have outside employment as well. Members are limited to four consecutive terms of two years each, but may run again after two years.

The House meets at the Maine State House in Augusta.

Leadership of the House

The Speaker of the House presides over the House of Representatives. The Speaker is elected by the majority party caucus followed by confirmation of the full House through the passage of a House Resolution. 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 101st and current Speaker is Democrat Mark Eves of North Berwick. The Majority Leader is Jeff McCabe of Skowhegan. The Minority Leader is Republican Kenneth Fredette of Newport.

Composition of the 127th Maine House of Representatives

127th Legislature - 2015-2016

Nonvoting members of the House

The three nonvoting members within the House represent the Penobscot Nation, the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Maliseet Tribe. The special Representatives can sponsor legislation relating specifically to the Tribes or in relation to Tribal - State land claims, as well as co-sponsor any other legislation brought before the House, but do not cast a legislative vote due to their unique tribal status representing their tribal members only. The Penobscot, Passamaquoddy and Maliseet tribal representatives are also entitled to sit as members of joint standing committees during hearings and deliberations, where they do cast votes, which can be very important with respect to specific legislative proposals.

Starting with the 126th Legislature, the Houlton Band of Maliseets was given a legislative seat in the House of Representatives. The first elected occupant of the seat is Henry John Bear. After being sworn in by Governor Paul LePage, Bear stated he would introduce legislation to give the Micmac people of Maine a nonvoting seat.^[10]

The Passamaquoddy and Penobscots announced at a State House rally on May 26, 2015 that they would withdraw their representatives from the Legislature, citing disputes over tribal fishing rights, jurisdictional issues, and a lack of respect for tribal sovereignty. They further cited an executive order by Governor Paul LePage that rescinded a prior order requiring consultation with the tribes on state issues that affected them as a reason for their decision. Subsequently, Matthew Dana II of the Passamaquoddy and Wayne Mitchell of the Penobscot left the legislature leaving Henry John Bear of the Maliseet the only non-voting tribal representative. In response, Speaker Eves said that the tribal representatives, are always welcome in the House.^[11]

Independents and other parties

Due to the independent political tradition in the state, the Maine House of Representatives has been an entry ground for several of the state's prominent Independent politicians. From 2002 to 2006, Representative John Eder of Portland (District 118), of the Maine Green Independent Party, served in the Legislature and as the highest elected Green politician in U.S. politics. Eder secured recognition as a one-member Green Party caucus in the House, receiving a dedicated staff person assigned to him, something individual legislators in the Maine House do not have. In the 2006 elections, Eder lost his seat to a Democratic challenger.

Officers

Members of the Maine House of Representatives

Districts are currently numbered starting with 1 from south to north. This is reversed after each decennial redistricting, which will next occur in 2021 and will go into effect beginning with the 2022 primary and general elections. The current district lines, which were drawn in 2013 and were first used in the 2014 primary and general elections, will only be in effect for 8 years rather than the usual 10 as Maine adjusts its legislative redistricting cycle to conform with most other states.

See also

• Maine State House
• Maine Legislature
• Maine Senate

References

External links

• Maine House of Representatives