House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico) is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senate, control the legislative branch of the government of Puerto Rico.
House of Representatives of Puerto Rico Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico | |
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| 31st House of Representatives of Puerto Rico | |
| Type | |
| Type | Lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico |
| Leadership | |
Speaker | Tatito Hernández (PDP) since January 2, 2021 |
Speaker pro tempore | Conny Varela (PDP) since January 2, 2021 |
Majority Leader | Ángel Matos García (PDP) since January 2, 2021 |
Minority Leader | Johnny Méndez (NPP) since January 2, 2021 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 51 |
Political groups | PPD (24) PNP (21) MVC (2) PIP (1) PD (1) Vacant (1) |
| Elections | |
| First-past-the-post for 40 electoral districts seats and Single non-transferable vote for 11 at-large seats | |
Last election | 3 November 2020 |
Next election | 5 November 2024 |
| Meeting place | |
| Capitol of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Politics of Puerto Rico |
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The structure and responsibilities of the House are defined in Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico, which vests all legislative power in the Legislative Assembly. Every bill must be passed by the Senate and by the House, and signed by the governor in order to become law.
The House has exclusive power to initiate impeachments and bring an indictment. The constitution also establishes that the appointment of the Secretary of State and the Comptroller require the advice and consent of the House, with all other appointments confirmed by the Senate alone. Financially, all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House.
Structurally, the House is normally composed of 51 members. Forty are elected from single-member districts across the commonwealth (with one representative per district), elected through Single-member Plurality while 11 are elected at-large through Single non-transferable voting.
The House has been meeting since 1900, after the enactment of the Foraker Act established the body formally.
The House of Representatives, along with its members and staff, is housed in the western half of the Capitol of Puerto Rico, namely in the Ernesto Ramos Antonini House Annex Building, the Antonio R. Barceló Building, and the Luis A. Ferré Building.