Massachusetts General Court
|
|
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is a bicameral body. The upper house is the Massachusetts Senate which is composed of 40 members. The lower body, the Massachusetts House of Representatives, has 160 members.
The President of the Senate is Robert Travaglini, and the Speaker of the House is Salvatore DiMasi. Both chambers are overwhelmingly controlled by the Democratic party.
The General Court was established in 1630 when the Massachusetts Bay Colony obtained a new charter. It existed in its colonial form until the first Massachusetts state constitution was ratified in 1780.
The General Court meets in the Massachusetts State House in Boston, Massachusetts.
House of Representatives
Each Massachusetts Representative represents about 39,682 residents. Representative districts are named for the counties and former counties they are in, and tend to stay within one county, although districts occasionally cross county lines. The following lists the number of representatives, roughly by county:
- Barnstable County: 5
- 1st Barnstable - Thomas George (R - Yarmouth)
- 2nd Barnstable - Demetrius Atsalis (D - Barnstable)
- 3rd Barnstable - Matthew Patrick (D - Falmouth)
- 4th Barnstable - Shirley Gomes (R - Harwich)
- 5th Barnstable - Jeffrey Davis Perry (R - Sandwich)
- Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket Counties: 1 (shared by Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and a portion of Falmouth in Barnstable County)
- Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket - Eric Turkington (D - Falmouth)
- Berkshire County: 4
- 1st Berkshire - Daniel Bosley (D - North Adams)
- 2nd Berkshire - Shaun Kelly (R - Dalton)
- 3rd Berkshire - Peter Larkin (D - Pittsfield)
- 4th Berkshire - William Smitty Pignatelli (D - Lenox)
- Bristol County: 14
- 1st Bristol - Michael Coppola (R - Foxborough)
- 2nd Bristol - John Lepper (R - Attleboro)
- 3rd Bristol - James H. Fagan (D - Taunton)
- 4th Bristol - Philip Travis (D - Rehoboth)
- 5th Bristol - Patricia Haddad (D - Somerset)
- 6th Bristol - David B. Sullivan (D - Fall River)
- 7th Bristol - Robert Correia (D - Fall River)
- 8th Bristol - Michael Rodrigues (D - Westport)
- 9th Bristol - John F. Quinn (D - Dartmouth)
- 10th Bristol - William Straus (D - Mattapoisset)
- 11th Bristol - Robert Koczera (D - New Bedford)
- 12th Bristol - Stephen Canessa (D - Lakeville)
- 13th Bristol - Antonio Cabral (D - New Bedford)
- 14th Bristol - Elizabeth Poirier (R - North Attleborough)
- Essex County: 18
- 1st Essex - Michael Costello (D - Newburyport)
- 2nd Essex - Harriett Stanley (D - West Newbury)
- 3rd Essex - Brian Dempsey (D - Haverhill)
- 4th Essex - Bradford Hill (R - Ipswich)
- 5th Essex - Anthony Verga (D - Gloucester)
- 6th Essex - Mary E. Grant (D - Beverly)
- 7th Essex - J. Michael Ruane (D - Salem)
- 8th Essex - Douglas Petersen (D - Marblehead)
- 9th Essex - Mark Falzone (D - Saugus)
- 10th Essex - Robert Fennell (D - Lynn)
- 11th Essex - Steven Myles Walsh (D - Lynn)
- 12th Essex - Joyce Spiliotis (D - Peabody)
- 13th Essex - Theodore Speliotis (D - Danvers)
- 14th Essex - David Torrisi (D - North Andover)
- 15th Essex - Arthur Broadhurst (D - Methuen)
- 16th Essex - William Lantigua (U - Lawrence)
- 17th Essex - Barry Finegold (D - Andover)
- 18th Essex - Barbara L'Italien (D - Andover)
- Franklin County: 2
- 1st Franklin - Stephen Kulik (D - Worthington)
- 2nd Franklin - Christopher Donelan (D - Orange)
- Hampden County: 12
- 1st Hampden - Reed Hillman (R - Sturbridge)
- 2nd Hampden - Mary Rogeness (R - Longmeadow)
- 3rd Hampden - Daniel Keenan (D - Southwick)
- 4th Hampden - Donald Humason, Jr. (R - Westfield)
- 5th Hampden - Michael Kane (D - Holyoke)
- 6th Hampden - James T. Welch (D - West Springfield)
- 7th Hampden - Thomas Petrolati (D - Ludlow)
- 8th Hampden - Joseph Wagner (D - Chicopee)
- 9th Hampden - Sean Curran (D - Springfield)
- 10th Hampden - Cheryl Rivera (D - Springfield)
- 11th Hampden - Benjamin Swan (D - Springfield)
- 12th Hampden - Gale Candaras (D - Wilbraham)
- Hampshire County: 3
- 1st Hampshire - Peter Kocot (D - Northampton)
- 2nd Hampshire - John Scibak (D - South Hadley)
- 3rd Hampshire - Ellen Story (D - Amherst)
- Middlesex County: 37
- 1st Middlesex - Robert Hargraves (R - Groton)
- 2nd Middlesex - Geoffrey Hall (D - Westford)
- 3rd Middlesex - Patricia Walrath (D - Stow)
- 4th Middlesex - Stephen LeDuc (D - Marlborough)
- 5th Middlesex - David Paul Linsky (D - Natick)
- 6th Middlesex - Deborah Blumer (D - Framingham)
- 7th Middlesex - Karen Spilka (D - Ashland)
- 8th Middlesex - Paul J. P. Loscocco (R - Holliston)
- 9th Middlesex - Thomas M. Stanley (D - Waltham)
- 10th Middlesex - Peter Koutoujian (D - Newton)
- 11th Middlesex - Kay Khan (D - Newton)
- 12th Middlesex - Ruth Balser (D - Newton)
- 13th Middlesex - Susan Pope (R - Wayland)
- 14th Middlesex - Cory Atkins (D - Concord)
- 15th Middlesex - Jay R. Kaufman (D - Lexington)
- 16th Middlesex - Thomas Golden, Jr. (D - Lowell)
- 17th Middlesex - David Nangle (D - Lowell)
- 18th Middlesex - Kevin J. Murphy (D - Lowell)
- 19th Middlesex - James Miceli (D - Wilmington)
- 20th Middlesex - Bradley Jones, Jr. (R - North Reading)
- 21st Middlesex - Charles A. Murphy (D - Burlington)
- 22nd Middlesex - William Greene, Jr. (D - Billerica)
- 23rd Middlesex - J. James Marzilli, Jr. (D - Arlington)
- 24th Middlesex - Anne Paulsen (D - Belmont)
- 25th Middlesex - Alice Wolf (D - Cambridge)
- 26th Middlesex - Timothy Toomey, Jr. (D - Cambridge)
- 27th Middlesex - Patricia Jehlen (D - Somerville)
- 28th Middlesex - Edward Connolly (D - Everett)
- 29th Middlesex - Rachel Kaprielian (D - Watertown)
- 30th Middlesex - Carol Donovan (D - Woburn)
- 31st Middlesex - Paul C. Casey (D - Winchester)
- 32nd Middlesex - Michael Festa (D - Melrose)
- 33rd Middlesex - Christopher Fallon (D - Malden)
- 34th Middlesex - Vincent Ciampa (D - Somerville)
- 35th Middlesex - Paul Donato (D - Medford)
- 36th Middlesex - Colleen Garry (D - Dracut)
- 37th Middlesex - James B. Eldridge (D - Acton)
- Norfolk County: 15
- 1st Norfolk - Bruce J. Ayers (D - Quincy)
- 2nd Norfolk - A. Stephen Tobin (D - Quincy)
- 3rd Norfolk - Ronald Mariano (D - Quincy)
- 4th Norfolk - James M. Murphy (D - Weymouth)
- 5th Norfolk - Joseph C. Sullivan (D - Braintree)
- 6th Norfolk - William Galvin (D - Canton)
- 7th Norfolk - Walter Timilty (D - Milton)
- 8th Norfolk - Louis Kafka (D - Sharon)
- 9th Norfolk - Richard J. Ross (R - Wrentham
- 10th Norfolk - James Vallee (D - Franklin)
- 11th Norfolk - Robert Coughlin (D - Dedham)
- 12th Norfolk - John H. Rogers (D - Norwood)
- 13th Norfolk - Lida Harkins (D - Needham)
- 14th Norfolk - Alice Hanlon Peisch (D - Wellesley)
- 15th Norfolk - Frank Smizik (D - Brookline)
- Plymouth County: 12
- 1st Plymouth - Viriato Manuel deMacedo (R - Plymouth)
- 2nd Plymouth - Susan Williams Gifford (R - Wareham)
- 3rd Plymouth - Garrett Bradley (D - Hingham)
- 4th Plymouth - Frank Hynes (D - Marshfield)
- 5th Plymouth - Robert Nyman (D - Hanover)
- 6th Plymouth - Daniel K. Webster (R - Hanson)
- 7th Plymouth - Kathleen Teahan (D - Whitman)
- 8th Plymouth - David Flynn (D - Bridgewater)
- 9th Plymouth - Thomas P. Kennedy (D - Brockton)
- 10th Plymouth - Christine Canavan (D - Brockton
- 11th Plymouth - Geraldine Creedon (D - Brockton)
- 12th Plymouth - Thomas J. O'Brien (D - Kingston)
- Suffolk County: 19
- 1st Suffolk - Anthony Petruccelli (D - Boston)
- 2nd Suffolk - Eugene O'Flaherty (D - Chelsea)
- 3rd Suffolk - Salvatore DiMasi (D - Boston) - Speaker of the House
- 4th Suffolk - Brian Wallace (D - Boston)
- 5th Suffolk - Marie St. Fleur (D - Boston)
- 6th Suffolk - Shirley Owens-Hicks (D - Boston)
- 7th Suffolk - Gloria Fox (D - Boston)
- 8th Suffolk - Paul Demakis (D - Boston)
- 9th Suffolk - Byron Rushing (D - Boston)
- 10th Suffolk - Michael Rush (D - Boston)
- 11th Suffolk - Elizabeth Malia (D - Boston)
- 12th Suffolk - Thomas Finneran (D - Boston)
- 13th Suffolk - Martin Walsh (D - Boston)
- 14th Suffolk - Angelo Scaccia (D - Boston)
- 15th Suffolk - Jeffrey Sanchez (D - Boston)
- 16th Suffolk - Kathi-Anne Reinstein (D - Revere)
- 17th Suffolk - Kevin Honan (D - Boston)
- 18th Suffolk - Brian Paul Golden (D - Boston)
- 19th Suffolk - Robert A. DeLeo (D - Winthrop)
- Worcester County: 18
- 1st Worcester - Lewis Evangelidis (R - Holden)
- 2nd Worcester - Brian Knuuttila (D - Gardner)
- 3rd Worcester - Emile Goguen (D - Fitchburg)
- 4th Worcester - Mary Jane Simmons (D - Leominster)
- 5th Worcester - Anne Gobi (D - Spencer)
- 6th Worcester - Mark Carron (D - Southbridge)
- 7th Worcester - Paul Frost (R - Auburn)
- 8th Worcester - Paul Kujawski (D - Webster)
- 9th Worcester - George Peterson, Jr. (R - Grafton)
- 10th Worcester - Marie Parente (D - Milford)
- 11th Worcester - Karyn Polito (R - Shrewsbury)
- 12th Worcester - Harold Naughton, Jr. (D - Clinton)
- 13th Worcester - Robert Spellane (D - Worcester)
- 14th Worcester - James Leary (D - Worcester)
- 15th Worcester - Vincent Pedone (D - Worcester)
- 16th Worcester - John Fresolo (D - Worcester)
- 17th Worcester - John Binienda (D - Worcester)
- 18th Worcester - Jennifer Callahan (D - Sutton)
NOTE: The preceding names are not yet up-to-date; they probably are current through 2004.
Senate
There are 40 Senatorial Districts in Massachusetts, named for the counties and former counties that they represent. At present, they are:
- Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin - Andrea Nuciforo, Jr. (D - Pittsfield)
- Bristol and Norfolk - James Timility (D - Walpole)
- 1st Bristol and Plymouth - Joan Menard (D - Somerset)
- 2nd Bristol and Plymouth - Mark Montigny (D - New Bedford)
- Cape and Islands - Robert O'Leary (D - Barnstable)
- 1st Essex - Steven Baddour (D - Methuen)
- 2nd Essex - Frederick Berry (D - Peabody)
- 1st Essex and Middlesex - Bruce Tarr (R - Gloucester)
- 2nd Essex and Middlesex - Susan Tucker (D - Andover)
- 3rd Essex and Middlesex - Thomas McGee (D - Lynn)
- Hampden - Stephen Buoniconti - (D - W. Springfield)
- 1st Hampden and Hampshire - Brian Lees (R - East Longmeadow)
- 2nd Hampden and Hampshire - Michael Knapik (R - Westfield)
- Hampshire and Franklin - Stanley Rosenberg (D - Amherst)
- 1st Middlesex - Steven Panagiotakos (D - Lowell)
- 2nd Middlesex - vacant
- 3rd Middlesex - Susan Fargo (D - Lincoln)
- 4th Middlesex - Robert Havern III (D - Arlington)
- Middlesex and Essex - Richard Tisei (R - Wakefield)
- 1st Middlesex and Norfolk - Cynthia Stone Creem (D - Newton)
- 2nd Middlesex and Norfolk - Karen Spilka (D - Ashland)
- Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex - Jarrett Barrios (D - Cambridge)
- Middlesex and Worcester - Pamela Resor (D - Acton)
- Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth - Brian Joyce (D - Milton)
- Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex - Scott P. Brown (R - Wrentham)
- Norfolk and Plymouth - Michael Morrissey (D - Quincy)
- Plymouth and Barnstable - Therese Murray (D - Plymouth)
- 1st Plymouth and Bristol - Marc Pacheco (D - Taunton)
- 2nd Plymouth and Bristol - Robert Creedon, Jr. (D - Brockton)
- Plymouth and Norfolk - Robert Hedlund (R - Weymouth)
- 1st Suffolk - John Hart, Jr. (D - Boston)
- 2nd Suffolk - Dianne Wilkerson (D - Boston)
- 1st Suffolk and Middlesex - Robert Travaglini (D - Boston) *Senate President
- 2nd Suffolk and Middlesex - Steven Tolman (D - Boston)
- Suffolk and Norfolk - Marian Walsh (D - Boston)
- 1st Worcester - Harriette Chandler (D - Worcester)
- 2nd Worcester - Edward Augustus, Jr. (D - Worcester)
- Worcester Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin - Stephen Brewer (D - Barre)
- Worcester and Middlesex - Robert Antonioni (D - Leominster)
- Worcester and Norfolk - Richard T. Moore (D - Uxbridge)
The current composition of the Senate is 33 Democrats and six Republicans, with one vacant seat.
External links
- General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (http://www.mass.gov/legis)
- Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (http://www.mass.gov/legis/const.htm)
- dKosopedia: Massachusetts General Court (http://www.dkosopedia.com/index.php/Massachusetts_General_Court)