How many legislators in each state

Amongst all state houses, California's assembly members also represent the most residents, , per representative, while New Hampshire representatives represent the fewest, 3, residents per representative. Since representation tracks exactly with population growth, Utah saw the largest increase in the ratio of residents to representatives.

Utah had the 12th-largest population growth, but has the 10th-fewest state legislators. Illinois , Mississippi , and West Virginia , the only states with shrinking populations, saw the only decreases in this ratio.

Minnesota has the largest state senate with 67 members, and New Hampshire has the largest state house with members. On average, the 5, state representatives served 61, Americans as of the census, while each of the 1, state senators represented , Americans. The following table represents the number of seats in each legislative chamber, each state's total population following each census and how many citizens a state representative and state senator represent based on the census data.

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In odd-numbered years -- the budget year -- the Legislature meets for days, and in even-numbered years for 60 days. If necessary, the Governor can call legislators in for a special session for a day period. Legislators can call themselves into special session with a two-thirds vote of the two bodies. Similarly, states with term limits that exhibit more turnover will place less emphasis on leadership than states with unlimited terms.

On the other hand, a single-party ruled state will likely have more entrenched leadership. Despite the similarities named above, legislatures do differ in some key ways that will affect your advocacy strategy:.

Each state legislature meets for different lengths of time , ranging from 30 days every other year to year-round. The rest of the states meet part-time with some states like Montana, Nevada, Texas, North Dakota only meeting in odd-numbered years.

The legislative process is different for each state. Bills can usually originate in either chamber, and then cross over to the other house.

However, in some states, bills that increase or decrease revenue must start in the lower house and then move to the upper house.

Some legislatures have internal deadlines within their session for bills to pass out of committee or cross over to the second house. Others have no internal deadlines and the process is a free-for-all.

Each state has different numbers of representatives. A single legislative chamber could have as few as 20 members, as many as , or anywhere in between. Each state varies in the amount of resources and staff that legislators have. Legislators in California have tons of resources and each legislator has multiple staff and aides, while legislators from New Hampshire may be lucky to even have one paid staff person and may be entirely staffed by volunteers.

Similarly, legislators in some states may have offices in their home districts as well as at the state capital, while in other states, they may only have capital offices. Your state may have other unique features.

Look for other things that may make your state particularly unique. Does your state have a lame duck session? Does your state have a rule that every bill introduced must have a hearing? Does your state have rules for bills that require appropriation of money? How important is the budget process in your state? Each state has its own idiosyncrasies so learn yours. Find your state legislators, their official websites, and their office contact info. Every legislator has an e-newsletter.

Find out where your legislators stand on the issues of the day in your community. Review their voting history and their biggest campaign contributors. Research on Google News what local reporters have written about your legislators. Find and follow those reporters on Twitter, and build relationships. Before you attend or plan an event, reach out and explain why your group is protesting, and provide them with background materials and a quote.

Journalists on deadline — even those who might not agree with you — appreciate when you provide easy material for a story. What dates is my state legislature in session? Does my state legislature have specific deadlines to meet as legislation moves through the process? How many members are in each chamber of my legislature and what is the party composition of those chambers? Who is my Governor? Who is part of the state legislative leadership? Start Date. End Date.

New Hampshire. North Carolina. South Carolina. West Virginia. To learn more about the ins and outs of your particular state, it can be helpful to connect with experts partners, legislators, legislative staff and pick their brains to learn what goes on behind the scenes of the legislative process.