Chamber of Emissaries (Cartadania)

The Cartadaniaan House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Cartadanian National Congress which, along with the Senate, composes the legislature of Cartadania. The composition and powers of the House are established by the Constitution. The House is composed of representatives who sit in congressional districts which are allocated to each of the 32 states, four territories, and capital city on a basis of population as measured by the Cartadanian Census, with each district entitled one representative at minimum. Since its inception in 1680, all representatives are elected popularly. The total number of voting representatives is fixed by law at 475. As of the 2030 Census, the largest delegation is that of Verona, with 101 representatives; the smallest is that of the states of Calajara, Genova, Lipora, and the three territories of Providência, Santa Elena, and The Solemias, with one representative each.

The House is charged with the passage of federal legislation, known as bills, which, after concurrence by the Senate, are sent to the President for consideration. In addition to this basic power, the House has certain exclusive powers which include the power to initiate all bills related to revenue, the impeachment of federal officers, who are sent to trial in the Senate, and in cases wherein no candidate receives a majority of electors for President, the duty falls upon the House to elect one of the top three recipients of electors for that office, with one vote given to each state for that purpose.

The presiding officer is the Speaker of the House, who is elected by the members thereof and is therefore traditionally the leader of the controlling party. He or she and other floor leaders are chosen by the Social Democracy Caucus or the Conservative Conferences, depending on whichever party has more voting members. The House meets in the south wing of the Cartadanian Capitol.

Contents

 * 1 History
 * 2 Membership, qualifications and apportionment
 * 2.1 Apportionment
 * 2.2 Redistricting
 * 2.3 Qualifications
 * 2.4 Elections
 * 2.5 Non-voting delegates
 * 2.6 Terms
 * 3 Comparison to the Senate
 * 4 Salary and benefits
 * 4.1 Salaries
 * 4.2 Titles
 * 4.3 Pension
 * 4.4 Tax deductions
 * 4.5 Health benefits
 * 4.6 Personnel, mail and office expenses
 * 4.7 Travel allowance
 * 5 Officers
 * 5.1 Member officials
 * 5.1.1 Leadership and partisanship
 * 5.2 Non-member officials
 * 6 Procedure
 * 6.1 Daily procedures
 * 6.2 Passage of legislation
 * 7 Committees
 * 8 Legislative functions
 * 9 Checks and balances
 * 10 Latest election results and current party standings
 * 10.1 Current standing
 * 10.2 End of previous Congress
 * 11 See also