The

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

House of Representatives is the lower house of the

Kentucky General Assembly The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets annually in ...

. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from

single-member district A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes called single-winner vo ...

s throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a House district, except when necessary to preserve the principle of equal representation. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits. The Kentucky House of Representatives convenes at the

State Capitol This is a list of state and territorial capitols in the United States, the building or complex of buildings from which the government of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia and the organized territories of the United States, exercise its ...

in Frankfort.

History

The first meeting of the Kentucky House of Representatives was in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County. By population, it is the second-largest city in Kentucky and 57th-largest city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 28th-largest ...

, in 1792, shortly after statehood. During the first legislative session, legislators chose Frankfort, Kentucky to be the permanent state capital. After women gained

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

in Kentucky,

Mary Elliott Flanery Mary Elliott Flanery (April 27, 1867 – July 19, 1933) was an American progressive era social reformer, suffragist, politician, and journalist who is best remembered as the first woman elected to the Kentucky General Assembly and first woman e ...

was elected as the first female member of the Kentucky House of Representatives. She took her seat in January 1922, and was the first woman elected to a

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

state legislature. In 2017, the Republican Party became the majority party in the House.

Powers and legislative process

Section 47 of the Kentucky Constitution stipulates that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House of Representatives.

Membership

Current composition

Terms and qualifications

According to Section 32 of the Kentucky Constitution, a state representative must: be a citizen of Kentucky, be at least 24 years old at the time of election, have resided in the state at least 2 years and the district at least 1 year prior to election. Per section 30 of the Kentucky Constitution, representatives are elected every two years in the November following a regular session of the General Assembly.

Leadership

The speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives is the chief presiding officer of the Kentucky House. The speaker's official duties include maintaining order in the House, recognizing members during debate, appointing committee chairs and determining the composition of committees, and determining which committee has jurisdiction over which bill. Traditionally, the speaker has also served as chair of the Rules Committee and the Committee on Committees. When the speaker is absent from the floor or otherwise unavailable, the speaker pro tempore fills in as the chief presiding officer of the House. In addition to the speaker and speaker pro tem, each party caucus elects a floor leader, a whip, and caucus chair.

Leaders

List of current representatives

Past composition of the House of Representatives

References

External links

Legislative Research Commission
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