Florida House of Representatives

Members of the House of Representatives are referred to as representatives. Because this shadows the terminology used to describe members of U.S. House of Representatives, constituents and the news media often refer to members as state representatives to avoid confusion with their federal counterparts.

Article III of the Florida Constitution defines the terms for state legislators.

The Constitution requires state representatives to be elected for two-year terms.

Upon election, legislators take office immediately.

On November 3, 1992, almost 77 percent of Florida voters backed Amendment 9, the Florida Term Limits Amendment, which amended the state Constitution, to enact eight-year term limits on federal and state officials. Under the Amendment, former members can be elected again after a break.[3] In 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could not enact congressional term limits, but ruled that the state level term limits remain.[4]

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.[5]

Each year during which the Legislature meets constitutes a new legislative session.

The Florida House is authorized by the Florida Constitution to create and amend the laws of the U.S. state of Florida, subject to the governor's power to veto legislation. To do so, legislators propose legislation in the forms of bills drafted by a nonpartisan, professional staff. Successful legislation must undergo committee review, three readings on the floor of each house, with appropriate voting majorities, as required, and either be signed into law by the governor or enacted through a veto override approved by two-thirds of the membership of each legislative house.[10]

Its statutes, called "chapter laws" or generically as "slip laws" when printed separately, are compiled into the Laws of Florida and are called "session laws".[11] The Florida Statutes are the codified statutory laws of the state.[11]

In 2009, legislators filed 2,138 bills for consideration. On average, the Legislature has passed about 300 bills into law annually.[12]

In 2013, the Legislature filed about 2,000 bills. About 1,000 of these are "member bills." The remainder are bills by committees responsible for certain functions, such as budget. In 2016, about 15% of the bills were passed.[13] In 2017, 1,885 lobbyists registered to represent 3,724 entities.[13]

The House also has the power to propose amendments to the Florida Constitution. Additionally, the House has the exclusive power to impeach officials, who are then tried by the Senate.

*Elected in a special election.

From 1874 to 1996, the Democratic Party held majorities in 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).

• C. A. Roberts (1903–1973), Florida state legislator

• Florida Democratic Party
• Elections in Florida
• Florida State Capitol
• Government of Florida
• List of speakers of the Florida House of Representatives
• Republican Party of Florida
• The Florida Channel

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Florida House of Representatives.

• Official Site Florida House
• Official Site Florida Elections Division
• The House Journal, the official record of actions taken by the House and its committees, full text online in the University of Florida's Digital Collections