House of Representatives of Puerto Rico

The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senate, control the legislative branch of the government of Puerto Rico. The structure and responsibilities of the House are defined in Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico, which vests all legislative power in the Legislative Assembly. Every bill must be passed by the Senate and by the House, and signed by the governor in order to become law. The House has exclusive power to initiate impeachments and bring an indictment. The constitution also establishes that the appointment of the Secretary of State and the Comptroller require the advice and consent of the House, with all other appointments confirmed by the Senate alone. Financially, all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. Structurally, the House is normally composed of 51 members. Forty are elected from single-member districts across the commonwealth (with one representative per district), elected through Single-member Plurality while 11 are elected at-large through Single non-transferable voting.