History:
The
Washington State Legislature traces its ancestry to the creation of the Washington Territory in 1853, following
successful arguments from settlers north of the Columbia River to the U.S. federal
government to
legally separate from the Oregon Territory. The Washington Territorial Assembly, as the newly
created area's bicameral legislature, convened the following year. The
legislature represented settlers from the Strait of Juan de
Fuca to modern Montana.
Structure:
The Washington House of Representatives is the lower
house of the Washington State Legislature. The upper house i.e. Washington
State Senate together with lower house makes up the legislation of the US State
of Washington. It comprises of 98 representatives from 49 districts each of
which elects one Senator and two members of the house. Without any term limit,
each member of the house is selected for 2 years. Washington has a democratic
state government trifecta. A trifecta exists when one political party
simultaneously holds the governor's office and majorities in both state
legislative chambers. There are currently 36 trifectas (14 Democratic and 22
Republicans). As
a result of the 2018 elections, Democrats increased their trifecta total with a
net gain of six trifectas, and Republicans lost a net of four trifectas.
Redistricting:
Redistricting is the process by which new congressional
and state legislative district boundaries are drawn. Each of Washington's
10 United States Representatives and 123 state legislators are elected from
political divisions called districts. United States Senators are not elected by
districts, but by the states at large. District lines are redrawn every 10
years following completion of the United States census. The federal government
stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not
discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.
The leadership of the House:
The Speaker of the House presides over the House of
Representatives. The Speaker and the Speaker Pro Tem are
nominated by the majority party caucus followed by a vote of the full House. As
well as presiding over the body, the Speaker is also the chief leadership
position and controls the flow of legislation. In the absence of the Speaker
Pro Tem assumes the role of Speaker. Other House leaders, such as the majority and minority leaders,
are elected by their respective party caucuses relative to their party's
strength in the House. The current Speaker of the House is Democrat Frank Chopp (D-Seattle) of
the 43rd Legislative
District. The
Speaker Pro Tempore is John Lovick (D-Mill Creek) of the 44th Legislative
District.
