Virginia General Assembly

Virginia General Assembly

Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate House of Delegates
History
Founded	July 30, 1619 (1619-07-30)
Leadership
President of the Senate/Lt. Governor	Ralph Northam (D) Since January 11, 2014
President Pro Tem of the Senate	Stephen Newman (R) Since June 12, 2014
Senate Majority Leader	Tommy Norment (R) Since June 12, 2014
Speaker of the House	William J. Howell (R) Since January 8, 2003
House Majority Leader	Kirk Cox (R) Since December 5, 2010
Structure
Seats	140
Political groups	Democratic Party Independent Republican Party
Elections
Last election	November 3, 2015
Meeting place

Virginia State Capitol, Richmond
Website
http://virginiageneralassembly.gov

The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members, and an upper house, the Senate of Virginia, with 40 members. Combined together, the General Assembly consists of 140 elected representatives from an equal number of constituent districts across the commonwealth. The House of Delegates is presided over by the Speaker of the House, while the Senate is presided over by the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. The House and Senate each elect a clerk and sergeant-at-arms. The Senate of Virginia's clerk is known as the "Clerk of the Senate" (instead of as the "Secretary of the Senate," the title used in the federal Senate).

The Republican Party currently holds the majority in both the House of Delegates and the Senate.

Capital

The General Assembly meets in Virginia's capital of Richmond. When sitting in Richmond, the General Assembly holds sessions in the Virginia State Capitol, designed by Thomas Jefferson in 1788 and expanded in 1904. During the American Civil War, the building was used as the capitol of the Confederate States of America, housing the Congress of the Confederate States. The building was renovated between 2005 and 2006. Senators and Delegates have their offices in the General Assembly Building across the street directly north of the Capitol. The Governor of Virginia lives across the street directly east of the Capitol in the Virginia Executive Mansion.

History

The Virginia General Assembly is described as "the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World."^[1] Its existence dates from the establishment of the Virginia Governor's Council and the House of Burgesses at Jamestown on July 30, 1619. At various times it may have been referred to as the Grand Assembly of Virginia. ^[2] The General Assembly met in Jamestown from 1619 until 1699, when it moved to Williamsburg, Virginia and met in the colonial Capitol building. It became the General Assembly in 1776 with the ratification of the Virginia Constitution. The government was moved to Richmond in 1780 during the administration of Governor Thomas Jefferson.

Salary and qualifications

The annual salary for senators is $18,000.^[3] The annual salary for delegates is $17,640.^[4]

Under the Constitution of Virginia, Senators and Delegates must be 21 years of age at the time of the election, residents of the district they represent, and qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly. Under the Constitution, "a senator or delegate who moves his residence from the district for which he is elected shall thereby vacate his office."^[5]

The state constitution specifies that the General Assembly shall meet annually, and its regular session is a maximum of 60 days long in even-numbered years and 45 days long in odd-numbered years, unless extended by a two-thirds vote of both houses. The governor of Virginia may convene a special session of the General Assembly "when, in his opinion, the interest of the Commonwealth may require" and must convene a special session "upon the application of two-thirds of the members elected to each house."^[6]

References

↑ "About the General Assembly". Virginia's Legislature. State of Virginia. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
↑ , Annual Reports of Officers, Boards and Institutions of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Report of the State Librarian, Volume II, p. 543
↑ "General Information: Senate."
↑ "General Information: House of Delegates."
↑ Constitution of Virginia, Art. IV, s. 4.
↑ Constitution of Virginia, Art. IV, s. 6.

External links

Members of the Senate of Virginia

President of the Senate: Ralph Northam (D)
President pro Tempore: Steve Newman (R)
Republican Leader: Tommy Norment (R)
Democratic Leader: Richard L. Saslaw (D)

John Miller (D)
Mamie Locke (D)
Tommy Norment (R)
Ryan McDougle (R)
Kenneth Cooper Alexander (D)
Lynwood Lewis (D)
Frank Wagner (R)
Bill DeSteph (R)
A. Donald McEachin (D)
Glen Sturtevant (R)

Amanda Chase (R)
Siobhan Dunnavant (R)
Dick Black (R)
John Cosgrove (R)
Frank Ruff (R)
Rosalyn Dance (D)
Bryce Reeves (R)
Louise Lucas (D)
David Suetterlein (R)
Bill Stanley (R)

John S. Edwards (D)
Thomas Garrett, Jr. (R)
Stephen Newman (R)
Emmett Hanger (R)
Creigh Deeds (D)
Mark Obenshain (R)
Jill Holtzman Vogel (R)
Richard Stuart (R)
Jeremy McPike (D)
Adam Ebbin (D)

Members of the Virginia House of Delegates

Speaker of the House: William J. Howell (R) Majority Leader: Kirk Cox (R) Minority Leader: David Toscano (D)

Terry Kilgore (R) Mark Dudenhefer (D) Will Morefield (R) Todd Pillion (R) Israel O'Quinn (R) Jeff Campbell (R) Nick Rush (R) Greg Habeeb (R) Charles Poindexter (R) Randy Minchew (R) Sam Rasoul (D) Joseph Yost (R) Bob Marshall (R) Danny Marshall (R) Todd Gilbert (R) Les Adams (R) Chris Head (R) Michael Webert (R) Terry Austin (R) Richard Bell (R) Ron Villanueva (R) Kathy Byron (R) Scott Garrett (R) Ben Cline (R) Steve Landes (R) Tony Wilt (R) Roxann Robinson (R) Bill Howell (R) Christopher Collins (R) Nicholas Freitas (R) Scott Lingamfelter (R) Tag Greason (R) Dave LaRock (R) Kathleen Murphy (D) Mark Keam (D) Ken Plum (D) David Bulova (D) Kaye Kory (D) Vivian Watts (D) Tim Hugo (R) Eileen Filler-Corn (D) Dave Albo (R) Mark Sickles (D) Paul Krizek (D) Mark Levine (D) Charniele Herring (D) Patrick Hope (D) Rip Sullivan (D) Alfonso Lopez (D) Jackson Miller (R) Richard Anderson (R) Luke Torian (D) Marcus Simon (D) Bobby Orrock (R) Buddy Fowler (R) Peter Farrell (R) David Toscano (D) Rob Bell (R) Matt Fariss (R) James E. Edmunds (R) Tommy Wright (R) Riley Ingram (R) Lashrecse Aird (D) Rick Morris (R) Lee Ware (R) Kirk Cox (R) James LeMunyon (R) Manoli Loupassi (R) Betsy B. Carr (D) Delores McQuinn (D) Jenn McClellan (D) Jimmie Massie (R) John O'Bannon (R) Lamont Bagby (D) Roslyn Tyler (D) Chris Jones (R) Lionell Spruill (D) Jay Leftwich (R) Stephen Heretick (D) Matthew James (D) Barry Knight (R) Jason Miyares (R) Chris Stolle (R) Glenn Davis (R) Bob Tata (R) Jennifer Boysko (D) John Bell (D) Mark Cole (R) Daun Hester (D) Joe Lindsey (D) Gordon Helsel (R) Jeion Ward (D) Monty Mason (D) David Yancey (R) Marcia Price (D) Brenda Pogge (R) Chris Peace (R) Keith Hodges (R) Margaret Ransone (R) Robert Bloxom, Jr. (R)

Republican (66) Democratic (34) Virginia General Assembly Virginia House of Delegates Virginia State Senate

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Coordinates: 37°32′23″N 77°26′03″W / 37.53961°N 77.43426°W / 37.53961; -77.43426

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 155923339 LCCN: n79022913 GND: 14937-8

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