Kentucky House of Representatives
The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts 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.[1] Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits. The Kentucky House of Representatives convenes at the State Capitol in Frankfort.
Kentucky House of Representatives | |
---|---|
Kentucky General Assembly | |
Type | |
Type | |
Term limits | None |
History | |
New session started | January 7, 2020 |
Leadership | |
Speaker of the House | |
Speaker pro Tempore | |
Majority Leader | |
Minority Leader | |
Structure | |
Seats | 100 |
Political groups | Majority
Minority |
Length of term | 2 years |
Authority | The Legislative Department, Section 29, Kentucky Constitution |
Salary | $186.73/day + per diem |
Elections | |
Last election | November 6, 2018 |
Next election | November 3, 2020 (100 seats) |
Redistricting | Legislative Control |
Meeting place | |
House of Representatives Chamber Kentucky State Capitol Frankfort, Kentucky | |
Website | |
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission |
History
The first meeting of the Kentucky House of Representatives was in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1792, shortly after statehood. During the first legislative session, legislators chose Frankfort, Kentucky to be the permanent state capital.
After women gained suffrage in Kentucky, Mary Elliott Flanery was elected as the first female member of the Kentucky House of Representative. She took her seat January 1922 and was the first female legislator elected south of the Mason–Dixon line.[2]
In 2017, the Republican party became the majority party in the House.[3][4]
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
Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) |
Total | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Democratic | Vacant | ||
End of previous legislature | 61 | 39 | 100 | 0 |
Begin 2017 | 64 | 36 | 100 | 0 |
End 2018 | 63 | 37 | 100 | 0 |
Begin 2019 | 61 | 39 | 100 | 0 |
Latest voting share | 61% | 39% |
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[5]
Position | Name | Party | Residence | District |
---|---|---|---|---|
Speaker of the House | David Osborne | Republican | Prospect | 59 |
Speaker Pro Tempore | David Meade | Republican | Stanford | 80 |
Majority Floor Leader | John "Bam" Carney | Republican | Campbellsville | 51 |
Majority Whip | Chad McCoy | Republican | Bardstown | 50 |
Majority Caucus Chair | Suzanne Miles | Republican | Owensboro | 7 |
Minority Floor Leader | Joni Jenkins | Democratic | Shively | 44 |
Minority Whip | Vacant | Democratic | ||
Minority Caucus Chair | Derrick Graham | Democratic | Frankfort | 57 |
Current membership
District | Representative | Party | Hometown | County(ies) | Since | Committee Chairship | Vice Chairship |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Steven Rudy | Rep | West Paducah | Ballard, Carlisle, Hickman, Fulton, McCracken | 2005 | Appropriations & Revenue[6] | |
2 | Richard Heath | Rep | Mayfield | Graves, McCracken | 2012 | Agriculture | |
3 | Randy Bridges | Rep | Paducah | McCracken | 2019 | ||
4 | Lynn Bechler | Rep | Marion | Caldwell, Crittenden, Livingston, McCracken | 2013 | ||
5 | Larry Elkins | Rep | Murray | Calloway, Trigg | 2019 | ||
6 | Chris Freeland | Rep | Benton | Lyon, Marshall, McCracken | 2019 | ||
7 | Suzanne Miles† | Rep | Owensboro | Daviess, Henderson, Union | 2014 | ||
8 | Walker Thomas | Rep | Hopkinsville | Christian, Trigg | 2017 | Transportation | |
9 | Myron Dossett | Rep | Pembroke | Christian | 2007 | ||
10 | Dean Schamore | Dem | Hardinsburg | Breckinridge | 2015 | ||
11 | Rob Wiederstein | Dem | Henderson | Henderson | 2019 | ||
12 | Jim Gooch | Rep | Providence | Daviess, Hopkins, McLean, Webster | 1995 | Natural Resources & Energy | |
13 | Jim Glenn | Dem | Owensboro | Daviess | 2019 | ||
14 | Scott Lewis | Rep | Maceo | Daviess, Ohio | 2019 | Elections, Const. Amendments & Intergovernmental Affairs | |
15 | Melinda Gibbons Prunty | Rep | Belton | Christian, Hopkins, Muhlenberg | 2017 | Health and Family Services | |
16 | Jason Petrie | Rep | Elkton | Logan, Todd | 2017 | Judiciary | |
17 | Steve Sheldon | Rep | Bowling Green | Warren, Butler | 2019 | State Government | |
18 | Tim Moore | Rep | Hardinsburg | Breckinridge, Hancock, Hardin | 2007 | Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection | |
19 | Michael Meredith | Rep | Brownsville | Edmonson, Hart, LaRue | 2011 | Local Government | |
20 | Patti Minter | Dem | Bowling Green | Warren | 2019 | ||
21 | Bart Rowland | Rep | Tompkinsville | Hardin (Part), Hart, Metcalfe,
Monroe |
2012 | Banking & Insurance | |
22 | Wilson Stone | Dem | Scottsville | Allen, Simpson, Warren | 2009 | ||
23 | Steve Riley | Rep | Glasgow | Barren, Warren | 2017 | Education | |
24 | Brandon Reed | Rep | Hodgenville | Larue, Marion, Pulaski | 2017 | ||
25 | Jim DuPlessis | Rep | Elizabethtown | Hardin | 2015 | ||
26 | Russell Webber | Rep | Elizabethtown | Hardin | 2013 | Economic Development & Workforce Investment | |
27 | Nancy Tate | Rep | Brandenburg | Bullitt, Meade, Hardin | 2019 | ||
28 | Charles Miller | Dem | Louisville | Jefferson | 1998 | ||
29 | Kevin Bratcher | Rep | Louisville | Jefferson | 1997 | Elections, Const. Amendments & Intergovernmental Affairs | State Government |
30 | Tom Burch | Dem | Louisville | Jefferson | 1978 (1972–75) | ||
31 | Josie Raymond | Dem | Louisville | Jefferson | 2019 | ||
32 | Tina Bojanowski | Dem | Louisville | Jefferson | 2019 | ||
33 | Jason Nemes | Rep | Louisville | Jefferson | 2017 | ||
34 | Mary Lou Marzian | Dem | Louisville | Jefferson | 1994 | ||
35 | Lisa Willner | Dem | Louisville | Jefferson | 2019 | ||
36 | Jerry T. Miller | Rep | Louisville | Garrard, Madison | 2015 | State Government | |
37 | Jeffery Donohue | Dem | Fairdale | Jefferson | 2013 | ||
38 | McKenzie Cantrell | Dem | Louisville | Jefferson | 2017 | ||
39 | Russell A. Meyer | Dem | Nicholasville | Jessamine, Fayette | 2015 | ||
40 | Nima Kulkarni | Dem | Shively | Jefferson | 2019 | ||
41 | Attica Scott | Dem | Louisville | Jefferson | 2017 | ||
42 | Reginald Meeks | Dem | Louisville | Jefferson | 2001 | ||
43 | Charles Booker | Dem | Louisville | Jefferson | 2019 | ||
44 | Joni Jenkins | Dem | Shively | Jefferson | 1995 | ||
45 | Stan Lee | Rep | Lexington | Fayette | 2001 | ||
46 | Al Gentry | Dem | Louisville | Jefferson | 2017 | ||
47 | Rick Rand | Dem | Bedford | Carroll, Henry, Oldham, Trimble | 2003 (1991-94) | ||
48 | Maria Sorolis | Dem | Louisville | Jefferson, Oldham | 2019 | ||
49 | Thomas Huff | Rep | Shepherdsville | Bullitt | 2019 | ||
50 | Chad McCoy | Rep | Bardstown | Nelson | 2017 | ||
51 | John "Bam" Carney | Rep | Campbellsville | Adair, Taylor | 2009 | Rules; Enrollment | |
52 | Ken Upchurch† | Rep | Monticello | McCreary, Pulaski, Wayne | 2013 | Transportation | |
53 | James Tipton | Rep | Tompkinsville | Anderson, Bullitt, Spencer | 2015 | ||
54 | Daniel Elliott† | Rep | Gravel Switch | Boyle, Casey | 2016 | Economic Development & Workforce Investment | |
55 | Kim King | Rep | Harrodsburg | Anderson, Mercer, Spencer | 2011 | ||
56 | Joe Graviss | Dem | Versailles | Fayette, Franklin, Woodford | 2019 | ||
57 | Derrick Graham | Dem | Frankfort | Franklin | 2003 | ||
58 | Rob Rothenburger | Rep | Shelbyville | Shelby | 2017 | Local Government | |
59 | David Osborne | Rep | Prospect | Jefferson, Oldham | 2005 | Rules; Committee on Committees | |
60 | Sal Santoro | Rep | Florence | Boone | 2007 | ||
61 | Savannah Maddox | Rep | Dry Ridge | Gallatin, Grant, Owen | 2019 | ||
62 | Philip Pratt | Rep | Georgetown | Fayette, Owen, Scott | 2017 | Appropriations & Revenue | |
63 | Diane St. Onge | Rep | Lakeside Park | Kenton | 2013 | Small Business & Information Technology | |
64 | Kimberly Poore Moser | Rep | Taylor Mill | Campbell, Kenton | 2017 | Health and Family Services | |
65 | Buddy Wheatley | Dem | Covington | Kenton | 2019 | ||
66 | C. Ed Massey | Rep | Burlington | Boone | 2019 | Judiciary | |
67 | Vacant | Campbell | |||||
68 | Joseph Fischer | Rep | Ft. Thomas | Campbell | 1999 | Banking & Insurance | |
69 | Adam Koenig | Rep | Erlanger | Boone, Campbell, Kenton | 2007 | Licensing, Occupations, and Admin Regs | |
70 | John Sims Jr. | Dem | Maysville | Bracken, Fleming, Mason, Robertson | 2017 | ||
71 | R. Travis Brenda | Rep | West Liberty | Menifee, Morgan, Rowan, Wolfe | 2019 | ||
72 | Matthew Koch | Rep | Paris | Bath, Bourbon, Fayette, Nicholas | 2019 | Licensing, Occupations, & Admin Regs | |
73 | Les Yates | Rep | Winchester | Clark, Madison | 2019 | Small Business & Information Technology; Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection | |
74 | David Hale | Rep | Jeffersonville | Menifee, Montgomery, Powell | 2015 | Enrollment | |
75 | Kelly Flood | Dem | Lexington | Fayette | 2009 | ||
76 | Ruth Ann Palumbo | Dem | Lexington | Fayette | 1991 | ||
77 | George Brown Jr. | Dem | Lexington | Fayette | 2015 | ||
78 | Mark Hart | Rep | Cynthiana | Harrison, Pendleton, Scott | 2017 | Agriculture | |
79 | Susan Westrom | Dem | Lexington | Fayette | 1999 | ||
80 | David Meade | Rep | Stanford | Lincoln, Pulaski, Rockcastle | 2013 | Committee on Committees | |
81 | Deanna Frazier | Rep | Richmond | Madison | 2019 | ||
82 | Regina Huff | Rep | Williamsburg | Laurel, Whitley | 2012 | Education | |
83 | Jeff Hoover | Rep | Jamestown | Clinton, Pulaski, Russell | 1997 | ||
84 | Chris Fugate | Rep | Chavies | Harlan, Perry | 2017 | Tourism & Outdoor Recreation | |
85 | Tommy Turner | Rep | Somerset | Laurel, Pulaski | 1997 | Tourism & Outdoor Recreation | |
86 | Jim Stewart | Rep | Flat Lick | Knox, Laurel | 1997 | ||
87 | Adam Bowling | Rep | Middlesboro | Bell, Harlan | 2019 | Natural Resources & Energy | |
88 | Cherlynn Stevenson | Dem | Lexington | Fayette | 2019 | ||
89 | Robert Goforth† | Rep | 2018 | ||||
90 | Derek Lewis | Rep | Hyden | Clay, Harlan, Leslie | 2019 | ||
91 | Cluster Howard | Dem | Beattyville | Breathitt, Estill, Lee | 2019 (2015-16) | ||
92 | John Blanton | Rep | Hindman | Knott, Magoffin, Pike | 2017 | ||
93 | Chris Harris | Dem | Belfry | Pike, Martin | 2015 | ||
94 | Angie Hatton | Dem | Whitesburg | Letcher, Pike | 2017 | ||
95 | Ashley Tackett Laferty | Dem | Prestonsburg | Floyd | 2019 | ||
96 | Kathy Hinkle | Dem | Grayson | Carter, Lewis | 2019 | ||
97 | Bobby McCool | Rep | Wittensville | Floyd, Johnson, Morgan, Wolfe | 2019 | ||
98 | Danny Bentley | Rep | Russell | Boyd, Greenup | 2017 | ||
99 | Richard White | Rep | Elliott, Lawrence, Rowan | 2020 | |||
100 | Terri Branham Clark | Dem | Ashland | Boyd | 2019 | ||
† Winner of a special election
Past composition of the House of Representatives
See also
- Kentucky Legislature
- Kentucky Senate
- Government of Kentucky
References
- Ireland, Robert M. (2011). The Kentucky State Constitution. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 63–64. ISBN 978-0-19-987781-2. OCLC 871172867.
- Powers, James C. (1992). John E. Kleber (ed.). The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky. pp. 323–324. ISBN 0-8131-1772-0. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
- Gerth, Joseph (November 8, 2015). "Ky. Dems guard against efforts to flip House". Courier-Journal. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
- Warren, Michael (November 30, 2016). "Democrats Lose a Southern Holdout". The Weekly Standard. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
- https://legislature.ky.gov/Legislators/Pages/default.aspx
- "Committee Details - Legislative Research Commission". legislature.ky.gov. Retrieved February 23, 2020.