Iowa House of Representatives facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Iowa House of Representatives
Iowa General Assembly
Type
Type	Lower house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 10, 2011
Leadership
Speaker of the House	Kraig Paulsen (R) Since January 10, 2011
Speaker pro tempore	Jeff Kaufmann (R) Since January 10, 2011
Majority Leader	Linda Upmeyer (R) Since January 10, 2011
Minority Leader	Kevin McCarthy (D) Since January 10, 2011
Structure
Seats	100
Political groups	Republican Party (60) Democratic Party (40)
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Legislative Department, Section 3, Iowa Constitution
Salary	$25,000/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 2, 2010 (100 seats)
Next election	November 2, 2012 (100 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Service Agency makes plan Iowa General Assembly passes plan
Meeting place
House of Representatives Chamber Iowa State Capitol Des Moines, Iowa
Website
Iowa General Assembly

The Iowa House of Representatives is like one of the two main groups that make laws for Iowa. It's part of the Iowa General Assembly, which is Iowa's law-making body. The House is often called the "lower house" because it works with the Iowa Senate, which is the "upper house."

There are 100 members, called "representatives," in the House. Each representative is chosen from a different area of Iowa called a "district." Every district has about 29,750 people living in it. The House of Representatives meets at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.

Unlike the Iowa Senate, members of the House serve for two years. All 100 members are elected at the same time during even-numbered years. There are no rules about how many times a person can be elected to the House.

Who Leads the House?

The Speaker of the House is the main leader of the Iowa House of Representatives. This person is like the chairperson for all meetings. The Speaker also helps decide which new laws will be discussed and puts representatives on different committees. Committees are smaller groups that study specific topics.

The Speaker is usually chosen by the political party that has the most members in the House. Then, all the representatives vote to elect the Speaker. Other important leaders, like the majority leader and minority leader, are chosen by the members of their own political parties.

Important Leaders

How Many Members from Each Party?

Iowa House districts for 2012-2022

The Iowa House has 100 members. These members belong to different political parties. The party with the most members is called the "majority party." The other main party is called the "minority party." The number of members from each party can change after elections.

For example, in April 2019, the House had:

• 53 members from the Republican Party
• 47 members from the Democratic Party

This means the Republican Party was the majority party at that time.

Famous Past Members

Many people who served in the Iowa House of Representatives went on to do other important things. Here are a few examples:

• William S. Beardsley was the Governor of Iowa from 1949 to 1954.
• Terry Branstad served as Governor of Iowa for many years, from 1983 to 1999, and again from 2011.
• Chuck Grassley became a U.S. Senator in 1981 and is still serving today.
• Frank Merriam later became the Governor of California from 1934 to 1939.
• James Wilson was the United States Secretary of Agriculture for a long time, from 1897 to 1913.

Related Pages

• Iowa Senate

• Iowa House of Representatives at Ballotpedia

Images for kids

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  House of Representatives seating chart detail from 1882 Iowa Redbook