The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 districts, each of which elects one Senator and two members of the House. They are elected to separate positions with the top-two primary system. All members of the House are elected to a two-year term without term limits. The House meets at the State Capitol in Olympia.

Leadership of the House of Representantatives

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 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 Speaker of the House during the first session of the 65th legislature (2019) was Democrat Frank Chopp ( D-

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

) of the 43rd Legislative District. He stepped down at the end of the session and John Lovick ( D- Mill Creek) of the 44th Legislative District served as speaker pro tempore until the second session, when

Laurie Jinkins Laurie A. Jinkins (born August 1964) is an American politician, attorney, and public health official from Tacoma, Washington who serves as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 27th district. A Democrat, she has served as S ...

(D-Tacoma) was elected speaker. The Majority Leader is Pat Sullivan ( D- Covington) of the 47th Legislative District. The

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Minority Leader is J.T. Wilcox ( R-

Roy Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

) of the 2nd Legislative District.

Composition

Members (2021-2023, 67th Legislature)

: *Originally appointed : #Sworn in early to fill vacant seat : †Had previous tenure in Washington House of Representatives : ^Redistricted during current tenure : ‡Originally elected in special election : §Member of no caucus

Notable former members

The first women elected were

Frances Cleveland Axtell Frances Sevilla Cleveland Axtell (June 12, 1866 – May 27, 1953) was one of the first female legislators in the United States of America, elected to the Washington House of Representatives in 1912. Early life Cleveland was born to William and ...

and Nena Jolidon Croake in 1912.

Past composition of the House of Representatives

References

External links

Washington House of RepresentativesMap of Legislative Districts
{{Coord, 47.0358, -122.9054, type:landmark_region:US-WA, display=title Washington State Legislature State lower houses in the United States