Mississippi House of Representatives

The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected for four-year terms. To qualify as a member of the House candidates must be at least 21 years old, a resident of Mississippi for at least four years, and a resident in the district for at least two years. Elections are held the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

Mississippi House of Representatives
Mississippi Legislature
Type
Type	Lower house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 2, 2024
Leadership
Speaker	Jason White (R) since January 2, 2024
Speaker pro tempore	Manly Barton (R) since January 2, 2024
Minority Leader	Robert Johnson III (D) since January 7, 2020
Structure
Seats	122
Political groups	Republican (79)   Democratic (41)   Independent (2)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article IV, Mississippi Constitution
Salary	$10,000/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 7, 2023 (122 seats)
Next election	November 2, 2027 (122 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place
House of Representatives Chamber Mississippi State Capitol Jackson, Mississippi
Website
Mississippi House of Representatives
Rules
House of Representatives Rules

Membership, qualifications, and apportionment

Article 4, Section 36 of the Mississippi Constitution specifies that the state legislature must meet for 125 days every four years and 90 days in other years. The Mississippi House of Representatives has the authority to determine rules of its own proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and expel a member with a two-thirds vote of its membership.^[1] Bills must undergo three readings in each house, unless two-thirds of the house dispenses with the rules.^[1] They cannot be amended to a new purpose.^[1] Amendments to bills must be approved by both houses.^[1]

The governor has the power to veto legislation, but legislators can override the veto with a two-thirds decision.^[1] From 1890 to 2020, State representatives were authorized under the Mississippi Constitution to elect the Governor of Mississippi if no candidate had received 62 of the 122 electoral votes (one per district) and more than 50% of the popular vote. This occurred only once, in 1999, when Ronnie Musgrove had the most votes statewide, but was one electoral vote and 2936 votes (0.38%) shy of a majority: Musgrove was elected on the first ballot.^[2]

Leadership

The permanent position of Speaker pro tempore was established in a House vote on January 9, 1987.^[3] (It had been previously used in temporary situations if the Speaker was not available.)^[4] The Speaker Pro Tempore acts as Speaker in the Speaker's absence.^[5] The Speaker Pro Tempore also serves ex officio as the Chair of the House Management Committee and as a member of the House Rules Committee.^[5] The current Speaker pro tempore is Republican Manly Barton.^[6]

Salary

State representatives earn $23,500 per year.^[7]

Current composition

The following composition reflects the balance of power after the 2023 elections. Republicans secured a majority for the fourth time since 2011, the first year when Republicans won the majority of seats in the State House since 1870.^[8][9] The 2023 elections were marked by new leadership, as the past speaker Phillip Gunn retired, allowing his chief lieutenant, then-Speaker Pro Tempore Jason White to become the new speaker.^[9] The 2023 elections saw the seating of 25 new members.^[9]

State representatives are elected every four years by the qualified electors of the district for which they are running.^[10] Candidates are required to be at least 21 years of age and a resident of the state and district for which they are campaigning.^[11]

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Total
	Democratic	Republican	Independent		Vacant
End of previous legislature (2023)	40	76	3	119	3
Start of current legislature (2024)	41	79	2	122	0
Latest voting share	33.6%	64.8%	1.6%

List of members

Main article: 2024-2028 Mississippi Legislature

List of speakers

The House has elected a speaker 63 times since 1817:^[12][a]

	Name		Party	County/District	Term	Session
01		Thomas Barnes		Claiborne	October 6, 1817 – February 8, 1818	1st
02		Edward Turner		Adams	January 4, 1819 – February 1819	2nd
				Adams (Natchez)	January 3, 1820 – February 12, 1820	3rd
03		Beverly R. Grayson		Adams	January 1, 1821 – February 12, 1821	4th
04		Cowles Mead		Jefferson	November 5, 1821 – June 30, 1822	5th
05		Gerard C. Brandon		Wilkinson	December 23, 1822 – January 21, 1823	6th
06		Cowles Mead		Jefferson	December 22, 1823 – January 23, 1824	7th
					January 3, 1825 – February 4, 1825	8th
07		Isaac R. Nicholson		Copiah	January 2, 1826 – January 31, 1826	9th
					January 1, 1827 – February 8, 1827	10th
08		Charles B. Green[13]		Adams	January 7, 1828 – February 16, 1828	11th
09		William L. Sharkey		Warren	January 5, 1829 – February 6, 1829	12th
10		Joseph Dunbar		Jefferson	January 4, 1830 – February 13, 1830	13th
11		M. F. Degrafenreid		Wilkinson	1832–1833
12		David Pembel		Adams	1833–1834
13		A. L. Bingaman		Adams	1834–1836
14		John Irvin		Carroll	1836–1837
15		William Vannerson		Lawrence	1837–1838
16		J. W. King		Rankin	1838–1840
17		Jesse Speight	Democratic	Lowndes	1840–1841
18		James A. Ventress		Wilkinson	1841–1842
19		Robert W. Roberts	Democratic	Scott	1842–1844
20		J. L. Totten	Democratic	Marshall	1844–1846
21		James Whitfield	Democratic	Lowndes	1846–1848
22		John J. McRae	Democratic	Clarke	1848–1852
23		William S. Patton		Lauderdale	1852–1854
24		Hiram Cassedy		Franklin	1854–1856
25		William S. Barry	Democratic	Lowndes	1856–1858
26		James L. Autry		Marshall	1858–1859
27		J. A. P. Campbell		Attala	1859–1861
28		William A. Lake		Warren	1861–1862
29		J. P. Scales	Democratic	Carroll	1862–1863
30		Lock E. Houston		Monroe	1863–1865
31		Samuel J. Gholson	Democratic	Monroe	1865–1866
32		Freeman E. Franklin	Republican	Yazoo	1870
33		Henry Waterman Warren	Republican	Leake	1871–1872
34		John R. Lynch	Republican	Adams	1872–1873
35		Hugh M. Street	Democratic	Prentiss	1873–1874
36		Isaac D. Shadd		Warren	1874–1876
37		Hugh M. Street	Democratic	Prentiss	1876–1878
38		William A. Percy	Democratic	Washington	1878–1880
39		Benjamin F. Johns	Democratic	Amite	1880–1882
40		W. H. H. Tison	Democratic	Lee	1882
41		William M. Inge	Democratic	Alcorn	1884–1886
42		Jacob H. Sharp		Lowndes	1886–1888
43		Charles B. Mitchell	Democratic	Pontotoc	1888–1890
44		James S. Madison	Democratic	Noxubee	1890–1892
45		Hugh M. Street	Democratic	Lauderdale	January 5, 1892 – January 2, 1894	1892–1896
46		J. K. Vardaman	Democratic	Leflore	January 2, 1894 – February 10, 1894
47		James F. McCool	Democratic	Attala	January 7, 1896 – February 11, 1898	1896–1900
48		A. J. Russell	Democratic	Lauderdale	January 2, 1900 – March 5, 1902	1900–1904
49		Emmet Thomas	Democratic	Washington	1904–1908
50		Hugh M. Street	Democratic	Lauderdale	1908–1912
51		Hillrie M. Quin	Democratic	Hinds	1912–1916
52		Mike Conner	Democratic	Covington	January 1916 – March 1918	1916–1920
					1920–1924
53		Thomas L. Bailey	Democratic		1924–1936
54		Horace Stansel	Democratic	Sunflower	1936–1936
55		Fielding L. Wright	Democratic		1936–1940
56		Samuel Lumpkin	Democratic	Lee	1940–1944
57		Walter Sillers Jr.	Democratic	Bolivar	1944–1966
58		John R. Junkin	Democratic	Adams	1966–1976
59		Buddie Newman	Democratic		1976–1988
60		Tim Ford	Democratic	18	January 5, 1988 – December 20, 1991	1988–1992
					1992–2004
61		William J. McCoy	Democratic	3	January 6, 2004 – May 18, 2007	2004–2008
					2008–2012
62		Philip Gunn	Republican	56	January 3, 2012 – April 5, 2015	2012–2016
					January 6, 2016 – March 29, 2019	2016–2020
					January 2, 2020 – April 2, 2023	2020–2024
63		Jason White	Republican	48	January 2, 2024 – Present	2024–2028

List of speakers pro tempore

Source for session dates:^[5]

Before the position was made permanent, Buddie Newman served as Speaker pro tempore in three different stints between 1974 and 1975.^[14][15]

	Name		Party	County/District	Term	Session
1st		Cecil L. Simmons	Democratic	37th[16][17]	January 14, 1987[18][16] – August 29, 1987	1984–1988
					January 5, 1988 – December 20, 1991	1988–1992
2nd		Robert G. Clark Jr.[19][20][21]	Democratic	47th[22]	January 7, 1992 – September 16, 1992	1992
					January 5, 1993 – April 11, 1995	1993–1996
					January 2, 1996 – July 22, 1999	1996–2000
					January 4, 2000 – April 16, 2003	2000–2004
3rd		J. P. Compretta[23][5]	Republican	122nd	January 6, 2004 – May 18, 2007	2004–2008
					January 8, 2008 – 2012	2008–2012
4th		Greg Snowden[24][25]	Republican	83rd	January 3, 2012 – April 5, 2015	2012–2016
					January 6, 2016 – March 19, 2019	2016–2020
5th		Jason White[26]	Republican	48th	January 2, 2020 – April 2, 2023	2020–2024
6th		Manly Barton	Republican	109th[6]	January 2, 2024 – Present	2024–2028

Past composition of the House of Representatives

Main article: Mississippi Legislature § See also

See also

• Mississippi State Senate
• Mississippi State Capitol
• Mississippi Legislature
• List of Mississippi state legislatures

Notes

1. It is 62 speakers with the most recent election of Jason White.