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Leadership Chart

Senate	Overview	House
President of the Senate Majority Leader President Pro Tempore Assistant Majority Leader Senate Majority Whip Assistant Majority Whip Senate Ways and Means Chair Minority Leader Assistant Minority Leader Minority Whip Senate Ways & Means Ranking Member	The President of the Senate is elected by the members of the body to lead the Senate and set the agenda and priorities for the session. Once elected, the President of the Senate sets the session calendar of legislation to be considered, presides over sessions, interprets rules, answers Parliamentary questions and inquiries, and preserves order and decorum of the Chamber. The Speaker of the House of Representatives is elected each legislative session by House members. Presiding over the House, the Speaker appoints leadership members and committee chairs, sets priorities for the session, steers the flow of legislation, provides guidance in the interpretation of House rules and ensures that protocol is observed within the Chamber. The Senate is comprised of 40 members, with each Senator elected to represent a district consisting of approximately 159,000 people. The Massachusetts House of Representatives is comprised of 160 members, each representing a district of approximately 40,000 people. As required by the Massachusetts Constitution, the House meets every 72 hours, year-round, in either formal or informal session to consider legislation. The Massachusetts House is led by the Speaker of the House who is elected by the members of the body at the beginning of each two-year legislative session. The Massachusetts Legislature, known as the General Court, has been meeting since 1713. President of the Senate Therese Murray Democrat Plymouth The President of the Senate is elected by the members of the body to lead the Senate and set the agenda and priorities for the session. Once elected, the President of the Senate sets the session calendar of legislation to be considered, presides over sessions, interprets rules, answers Parliamentary questions and inquiries, and preserves order and decorum of the Chamber. Senator Therese Murray currently serves as the President of the Massachusetts Senate. She was first elected to the position in March 2007, and was re-elected to lead the Senate in 2009. Elected to the Massachusetts Senate in 1993, she is the first woman in the history of the Commonwealth to be elected President of the Massachusetts Senate. She represents the Plymouth and Barnstable District which includes the communities of Bourne, Falmouth, Kingston, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Sandwich and part of Barnstable. Majority Leader Stanley C. Rosenberg Democrat Amherst President Pro Tempore Richard T. Moore Democrat Uxbridge Assistant Majority Leader Harriette L. Chandler Democrat Worcester Senate Majority Whip Karen Spilka Democrat Ashland Assistant Majority Whip Mark C. Montigny Democrat New Bedford Senate Ways and Means Chair Stephen M. Brewer Democrat Barre Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr Republican Gloucester Assistant Minority Leader Robert L. Hedlund Republican Weymouth Minority Whip Richard J. Ross Republican Wrentham Senate Ways & Means Ranking Member Michael R. Knapik Republican Westfield Speaker of the House Robert A. DeLeo Democrat Winthrop The House of Representatives is led by the Speaker of the House, who is elected by House members at the beginning of the first year of each two-year session of the General Court. The Speaker appoints a leadership team comprised of the Speaker pro Tempore, the Majority Floor Leader, Assistant Majority Floor Leader, and Second Assistant Majority Floor Leader. The Speaker’s appointments are subject to ratification of a majority party caucus vote. The Speaker similarly appoints House committee chairpersons. Representative Robert A. DeLeo currently serves as Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He was elected to the position in January, 2009. Elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1991, he previously served as Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means. He represents the Nineteenth Suffolk District, including the town of Winthrop and a portion of the city of Revere. Majority Leader Ronald Mariano Democrat Quincy Speaker Pro Tempore Patricia A. Haddad Democrat Somerset Majority Whip Byron Rushing Democrat Boston (South End) Second Assistant Majority Leader Kathi-Anne Reinstein Democrat Revere Division Chair Garrett J. Bradley Democrat Hingham Division Chair Michael J. Moran Democrat Brighton Division Chair Paul J. Donato Democrat Medford Division Chair Ellen Story Democrat Amherst House Ways and Means Chair Brian S. Dempsey Democrat Haverhill Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr Republican North Reading Assistant Minority Leader George N. Peterson, Jr Republican Grafton Second Assistant Minority Leader Bradford Hill Republican Ipswich Third Assistant Minority Leader Elizabeth A. Poirier Republican North Attleborough	Speaker of the House Majority Leader Speaker Pro Tempore Majority Whip Second Assistant Majority Leader Division Chair Division Chair Division Chair Division Chair House Ways and Means Chair Minority Leader Assistant Minority Leader Second Assistant Minority Leader Third Assistant Minority Leader