The General Court of New Hampshire is the

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

of the U.S. state of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. The

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

is the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 204 legislative district ...

with 400 members. The

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

is the New Hampshire Senate with 24 members. This ratio of 1 Senate seat for every 16.67 House seats makes New Hampshire's ratio of upper house to lower house seats the largest in the country. During the 2018–2020 session, the New Hampshire General Court was controlled by Democrats, with a 14–10 majority in the Senate and a 230–156–1 majority in the House, with 13 vacant seats at the end of the session. On November 3, 2020,

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

won control of the New Hampshire General Court by winning a 14–10 majority in the Senate and a 213–187 majority in the House. The General Court convenes in the

New Hampshire State House The New Hampshire State House, located in Concord at 107 North Main Street, is the state capitol building of New Hampshire. The capitol houses the New Hampshire General Court, Governor, and Executive Council. The building was constructed on a ...

in downtown

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

. The State House opened in 1819. The House of Representatives continues to meet in its original chambers, making Representatives Hall the oldest chamber in the United States still in continuous legislative use. When numbered seats were installed in Representatives Hall, the number thirteen was purposely omitted in deference to

triskaidekaphobia Triskaidekaphobia ( , ; ) is fear or avoidance of the number . It is also a reason for the fear of Friday the 13th, called ''paraskevidekatriaphobia'' () or ''friggatriskaidekaphobia'' (). The term was used as early as in 1910 by Isador Coria ...

. The annual pay for legislators is set by law at $100.00.

House of Representatives

The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 204 districts across the state created from divisions of the state's counties, each making up about 3,000 residents for every one legislator. Unlike many legislative chambers, there is no central "aisle" to cross. Instead, there are five sections with aisles between them. Party seating location is not enforced, as seating is often decided on the personal preference of the legislator, except in the case of the sixth section, which is the speaker's seat at the head of the hall.

Composition of the House of Representatives

As of September 2021, the composition of the House of Representatives is:

New Hampshire Senate

The New Hampshire Senate has been meeting since 1784. It consists of 24 members representing Senate districts based on population. As of the 2021-22 legislative session, there will be 14 Republicans and 10 Democrats in the Senate.

Composition of the Senate

Media coverage

The New Hampshire State House press covers the New Hampshire State House for

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

s, news services and other news-gathering operations. The New Hampshire General Court website has calendars and journals for both the House and the Senate.

Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...

in 2014 reported New Hampshire had one of the nation's smallest statehouse press corps, with five full-time reporters and an additional nine part-time reporters.

References

External links

* {{Authority control General Court Bicameral legislatures