Maine Legislature | |
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Type | |
Type | |
Leadership | |
Senate Majority Leader
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House Majority Leader
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Structure | |
Seats | 186 35 senators 151 representatives |
Senate political groups
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House of Representatives political groups
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Elections | |
Senate last election
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November 8, 2016 |
Meeting place | |
Maine State House, Augusta | |
Website | |
http://janus.state.me.us/legis/ |
The Maine Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a bicameral body composed of the lower house Maine House of Representatives and the upper house Maine Senate. The Legislature convenes at the State House in Augusta, where it has met since 1832.
The House of Representatives consists of 151 members, each chosen from single-member constituencies, as well as three non-voting members. The House is one of the few state legislative bodies in the U.S. to set aside special seats for Native Americans, where there are three nonvoting Representatives from the Penobscot Nation, the Passamaquoddy Tribe, and the Houlton Band of Maliseets. The Senate includes a varying number of members, which may under the Maine Constitution be 31, 33, or 35; the present number is 35.
In 1922, Dora Pinkham became the first woman elected to the Maine Legislature, serving first in the House, and then in the Senate.
In order to be a member of the Legislature, one must be at least 21 years of age, have to have been a citizen of the U.S. for five years, have been a resident of Maine for one year, and for the 3 months next preceding the time of this person's election shall have been, and, during the period for which elected, continue to be, a resident in the district represented.
Legislative elections are held in November of every even-numbered year, during the state's general election. The terms for both houses are two years. Since 1996, members of both the House and Senate are limited to four two-year terms; this is a consecutive, rather than lifetime, limit. Members who have served the limit are re-eligible for election after two years.