Florida House of Representatives

Majority

Minority

Vacant

Florida Capitol Tallahassee, Florida

The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in 1968, defines the role of the Legislature and how it is to be constituted. The House is composed of 120 members, each elected from a single-member district with a population of approximately 180,000 residents. Legislative districts are drawn on the basis of population figures, provided by the federal decennial census. Representatives' terms begin immediately upon their election.

The Republicans hold a supermajority in the State House with 84 seats; Democrats are in the minority with 33 seats. Three seats are vacant.

Term limits

House members are limited to four consecutive terms. In recent years in the Republican majority caucus, each entering class of House members elects a "speaker-designate" from the class whom the caucus as a whole commits to supporting as Speaker in six years time.

Qualifications

Florida legislators must be at least twenty-one years old, an elector and resident of their district, and must have resided in Florida for at least two years prior to election.

Legislative session

Each year during which the Legislature meets constitutes a new legislative session.

Regular legislative session

The Florida Legislature meets in a 60-day regular legislative session each year. Regular legislative sessions in odd-numbered years must begin on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March. Under the state Constitution, the Legislature can begin even-numbered year regular legislative sessions at a time of its choosing.

Special session

Special legislative sessions may be called by the governor, by a joint proclamation of the Senate president and House speaker, or by a three-fifths vote of all legislators. During any special session the Legislature may only address legislative business that is within the purview of the purpose or purposes stated in the special session proclamation.

Powers and process

Leadership

Composition

Members, 2024–2026

*Elected in a special election.

District map

]]

Past composition of the House of Representatives

Main article: Political party strength in Florida

From 1874 to 1996, the Democratic Party held majorities in the Florida House of Representatives. Following sizable GOP gains in the 1994 election, which significantly reduced the Democratic Party majority in the Florida House, Republicans captured a majority in the 1996 election. The Republican Party has been the majority party since that time in the House.

Additional information on the past composition of the Florida House of Representatives can be found in Allen Morris's The Florida Handbook (various years, published every two years for many years).

Notable former members

• Howell Lancaster (1911–1972), leader of the Pork Chop Gang
• E. Bert Riddle (1893–1979), expelled member of the Florida House
• C. A. Roberts (1903–1973), Lake Butler City Council member and first commissioner elected to the Board of Union County, Florida
• F. Eugene Tubbs (1935–1978), co-creator of Gatorade

Notes

References

References

1. "The 2017 Florida Statutes F.S. 11.13 Compensation of members.". Florida Legislature.
2. "Constitution of the State of Florida". Florida Legislature.
3. Fla. Const. Art. VI, § 4(c).
4. Corcoran, Richard. (2024). "Storming the Ivory Tower: How a Florida College Became Ground Zero in the Struggle to Take Back Our Campuses". Bombardier Books.
5. "CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA". Florida Legislature.
6. "The Florida Constitution". Florida Legislature.
7. (9 December 2024). "Susan Valdés dumps Democrats, joins Republican Party". [[Florida Politics]].
8. (2024-12-27). "Hillary Cassel becomes second House Democrat to swap parties ahead of 2025 Session". [[Florida Politics]].
9. (26 November 2024). "Joel Rudman resigns from Florida House to run for Matt Gaetz's former congressional seat". [[Tallahassee Democrat]].
10. (25 January 2025). "Debbie Mayfield formally submits resignation, Gov. DeSantis calls Special Election for HD 32". [[Florida Politics]].
11. (11 June 2025). "Florida Republicans Earn Clean Sweep in Special Elections". The Floridian.
12. (18 July 2025). "Florida State Rep. Joe Casello dies after having heart attack, state officials confirm". CBS News.
13. Waagmeester, Jay. (2025-08-18). "DeSantis appoints loyalist Rep. Mike Caruso as court clerk". Florida Phoenix.
14. Ogles, Jacob. (2025-04-10). "LaVon Bracy Davis resigns from HD 40 to run for late Geraldine Thompson's Senate seat". Florida Politics.
15. Ogles, Jacob. (2025-09-02). "RaShon Young makes jump from staff to lawmaker with HD 40 Special Election win". Florida Politics.
16. Ogles, Jacob. (2025-08-28). "Lake-Sumter State College taps John Temple as next College President".
17. Hanks, Douglas. (2025-11-18). "Miami-Dade commission appoints GOP lawmaker to open seat, rejecting election".
18. Scheckner, Jesse. (2025-12-09). "Rob Long wins Special Election to succeed late Joe Casello in HD 90".
19. And previous terms of service, if any.
20. (2024-12-10). "Florida lawmaker's party switch increases Republican supermajority in the House".