Arabin House of Representatives
Arabin House of Representatives | |
|---|---|
| 93rd Arabin Congress | |
| Type | |
| Type | of the Arabin Congress |
Term limits | None |
| History | |
| Founded | January 10, 1839 |
New session started | January 5, 2023 |
| Leadership | |
James Young (R) since January 5, 2023 | |
Majority Leader | Charles Lee (R) since January 5, 2023 |
Minority Leader | Ethan Pratt (D) since January 5, 2023 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 195 voting members 1 non-voting member 98 for a majority 130 for a 2/3 majority |
 | |
Political groups | Majority (102)
Minority (93)
|
Length of term | 2 years |
| Elections | |
| Plurality | |
Last election | December 3, 2022 (195 seats) |
Next election | December 7, 2024 (195 seats) |
| Meeting place | |
| Arabin Capitol Building, District of Arabi | |
The Arabin House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arabin Congress, the Senate being the upper house. Together they make up the national bicameral legislature of Arabi.
The composition of the House is established by Article I of the Arabin Constitution. The House is composed of representatives from congressional districts that are located in each of the 16 states on a basis of the population as determined by the Arabin Census, with each district being entitled to one representative. Representatives are elected by popular vote. Article I, Section II, Clause I of the Constitution established one representative per every 375,000 citizens, this however was changed by the ratification of the 16th Amendment, permanently setting the number of seats to 195. The amendment went into effect in 2021 at the start of the 92nd Congress. In addition to 195 voting members, there is one non-voting member, bringing the total membership to 196 or fewer in the case of vacancies. As of the 2020 Census, the state with the most representatives is New Cambridge, with 39 representatives. The states with the least amount of representatives are Burberry and Terranova, with only four representatives each.
The House is entrusted with the passage of federal legislation, know as bills, which after concurrence by the Senate, are sent to the president for consideration. The House is also entrusted with the power to initiate bills related to revenue, the impeachment of federal officers, who are sent to trial before the Senate, and in cases where no candidate receives a majority of electors for president, the duty falls to the House to elect one of the candidates, with each state getting one vote. The House meets in the east wing of the Arabin Capitol.
The presiding officer is the speaker of the House, who is elected by the representatives (and is usually the leader of the controlling party). The current Speaker is James Young (R.
History
Membership
Qualifications
Article I, Section II, Clause II, states that in order to be a member of the House of Representatives must: (1) be twenty-one years of age, (2) be a citizen of Arabi for at least five years, and (3) be a resident within the state they are elected.
Apportionment
The 16th Amendment was ratified on July 5, 2011, set the new number of seats in the House to 195 starting after the next re-apportionment of congressional districts. Congressional districts are distributed to states by population every ten years based on a new census. No state may have less than one congressional district, guaranteeing every state at least one representative. Previous to the 16th Amendment new seats were added to the House every 10 years after a new census was conducted allowing one representative to represent approximately 375,000 citizens. Due to the increase in citizens over the last two decades an amendment was written to permanently set the number of seats in the House. Several members of Congress agree that every 10 years, after a new census has been conducted, a review should be conducted independently to determine if there are enough representatives to each citizen.