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House of Representatives of Puerto Rico Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico
Type
Type	Lower house
Leadership
Speaker of the House	Jennifer González, (PNP) since January 12, 2009
Majority Leader	Rolando Crespo, (PNP) since 2009
Minority Leader	Héctor Ferrer, (PDP) since 2009
Structure
Members	51
Political groups	New Progressive Party Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico
Election
Last election	November 4, 2008
Meeting place
House Chamber, Puerto Rico Capitol, San Juan, PR, US
Website
http://www.camaraderepresentantes.org/

Puerto Rico

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Puerto Rico

Constitution United States Constitution Puerto Rico Constitution Executive Government Governor: Luis Fortuño (PNP)(R) Executive departments Public corporations Legislature Legislature: 16th Senate President of the Senate: Thomas Rivera Schatz President pro Tempore: Margarita Nolasco Majority Leader: Roberto Arango Minority Leader: Jose Luis Dalmau Santiago House of Representatives Speaker: Jennifer González Majority Leader: Rolando Crespo Minority Leader: Héctor Ferrer Ríos Judiciary Judiciary Supreme Court Elections Elections Political Parties New Progressive Party Popular Democratic Party Political party strength Divisions Municipalities Federal Relations Federal representation United States House of Representatives Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Pedro Pierluisi (PNP)(D) Politics of the United States Insular Cases

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The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico (Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico) is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico. the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House is composed of 40 district representatives and eleven representatives elected at-large.

The House convenes in the Capitol Building in San Juan.

History

Created in 1900 as the House of Delegates under the Foraker Act, the lower body of the Puerto Rico Legislative Assembly was the only elected body until the Senate was created in 1917 under the Jones-Shafroth Act, creating a bicameral legislature.

In 1969, the House was controlled by the New Progressive Party, which also controlled the governorship, but not the Senate, Puerto Rico's first experiment with "split" governments. Angel Viera Martinez, a former prosecutor and freshman representative was elected to the first of three stints as Speaker.

In 1973, the Popular Democratic Party reacquired control of the House but was ousted as the majority party in the 1976 elections, won by the NPP. Viera Martinez was elected in 1977 to his second stint as Speaker.

As a result of the 1980 elections, the new House in 1981 was tied, unable to elect a Speaker, as required, by an absolute majority. House Secretary Cristino Bernazard, who normally would have presided over the House until it elected its new Speaker in its inaugural session, became the first unelected Acting Speaker of the House until, after political wrangling, the House elected Viera Martinez once again as Speaker for the remainder of 1981 and maverick PDP Rep. Severo Colberg as Speaker for the remainder of the term until 1984. During Bernazard's incumbency, he appointed co-chairs to the House standing committees and required that all House decisions and legislation be approved by consensus.

Jose Ronaldo "Rony" Jarabo, served as Speaker from 1985 to 1992 and was succeeded by the first woman Speaker, Zaida Hernandez Torres, who served until 1996.

Edison Misla Aldarondo, Hernandez' Speaker pro Tempore, became Speaker in 1997. After he left office in 2000 he was convicted of corruption charges in federal and state courts. He was succeeded in office by Carlos Vizcarrondo during the 2001-2004 term.

In 2005, as a PDP governor took office but the NPP controlled the Senate and the House, José Aponte Hernández, a loyalist of NPP President Pedro Rossello, was elected as Speaker of the House. In addition to the tension with the executive branch, Aponte's term has been tinged with greater-than-average tension with the Senate, in which his support for Rossello's bid to oust Senate President Kenneth McClintock, whom he has called a "traitor" to his party, took him to lead over 20 NPP representatives to converge on the Senate floor in opposition to McClintock's permanence as Senate President, considered by many the all-time historical low-point in Senate-House relations.

Composition

In order to elect the members of the House, Puerto Rico is divided into forty representative districts. Article VIII of the Constitution of Puerto Rico divides Puerto Rico into eight senatorial districts, each one of them composed of five of the aforementioned representative districts.

For each one of the constituent representative districts, the people of Puerto Rico elect one representative. In addition, the people are allowed to vote for one representative at-large of their preference. The eleven at-large representatives serve alongside district representatives, which totals 51 members.

Article III, Section 5 of the Constitution of Puerto Rico states that no person shall be a member of the Senate unless he:

• is capable of reading and writing in either Spanish or English;
• is a citizen of the United States;
• has resided in Puerto Rico for at least two years immediately prior to the date of his election or appointment;
• is over twenty-five years of age.

Leadership

Current composition

Members of the House of Representatives

Speakers of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

External links

• Puerto Rico House of Representatives