{{short description|State legislature of Virginia}} {{Hatnote|This article reflects the upcoming 164th assembly. For information on the previous assembly, see [[163rd Virginia General Assembly]].}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Use American English|date=July 2022}} {{Infobox legislature | background_color = {{party color|Democratic Party (US)}} | name = Virginia General Assembly | legislature = [[164th Virginia General Assembly]] | coa_pic = Seal of Virginia.svg | foundation = {{Start date|1619|7|30}} | session_room = 2015 Virginia State House - Richmond, Virginia 01.JPG | house_type = Bicameral | houses = [[Virginia Senate|Senate]]
[[Virginia House of Delegates|House of Delegates]] | house1 = Senate | house2 = House of Delegates | structure1 = Virginia Senate (November 2023).svg | structure1_res = 250px | structure2 = Virginia House of Delegates after 2025 elections.svg | structure2_res = 250px | term_length = Senate: 4 years
House of Delegates: 2 years | term_limits = None | leader1_type = [[Lieutenant Governor of Virginia|Senate President]] | leader1 = [[Ghazala Hashmi]] | party1 = ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]) | election1 = January 17, 2026 | leader2_type = [[President pro tempore of the Senate of Virginia|Senate President pro tempore]] | leader2 = [[L. Louise Lucas]] | party2 = ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]) | election2 = January 8, 2020 | leader3_type = [[List of Speakers of the Virginia House of Delegates|House Speaker]] | leader3 = [[Don Scott (Virginia politician)|Don Scott]] | party3 = (D) | election3 = January 10, 2024 | last_election1 = [[2023 Virginia Senate election|November 7, 2023]] | last_election2 = [[2025 Virginia House of Delegates election|November 4, 2025]] | next_election1 = [[2027 Virginia Senate election|November 2, 2027]] | members = '''140'''
40 senators
100 delegates | political_groups1 = {{Unbulleted list|class=nowrap |{{Color box|#0000FF|border=darkgray}} [[Democratic Party of Virginia|Democratic]] (21) |{{Color box|#FF0000|border=darkgray}} [[Republican Party of Virginia|Republican]] (19) }} | political_groups2 = {{Unbulleted list|class=nowrap |{{Color box|#0000FF |border=darkgray}} [[Democratic Party of Virginia|Democratic]] (64) |{{Color box|#FF0000 |border=darkgray}} [[Republican Party of Virginia|Republican]] (36) }} | meeting_place = [[Virginia State Capitol]]
[[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]] | session_res = 275px | next_election2 = [[2027 Virginia House of Delegates election|November 2, 2027]] | redistricting = Commission of eight lawmakers and eight citizens | website = {{URL|https://virginiageneralassembly.gov}} }} The '''Virginia General Assembly''' is the [[State legislature (United States)|state legislature]] of the [[Virginia|Commonwealth of Virginia]]. Established on July 30, 1619, it is the oldest [[legislature]] in the [[Americas]].{{cite web|url=https://vga.virginia.gov/about/virginias-legislature/|title=Virginia’s Legislature | Virginia General Assembly|website=[[Virginia General Assembly]] | [[Government of Virginia]]}}{{Cite web |title=House History |url=https://history.house.virginia.gov/ |access-date=May 9, 2022 |website=[[Virginia House of Delegates]] | [[Government of Virginia]] |archive-date=June 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622044159/https://history.house.virginia.gov/ |url-status=live }} The General Assembly is a [[bicameralism|bicameral legislature]] consisting of a [[lower house]], the [[Virginia House of Delegates]], with 100 members, and an [[upper house]], the [[Senate of Virginia]], with 40 members. Senators serve terms of four years, and delegates serve two-year terms. Combined, 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 [[List of Speakers of the Virginia House of Delegates|speaker of the House]], while the Senate is presided over by the [[Lieutenant Governor of Virginia|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 by the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]]). Following the [[2019 Virginia elections|2019 election]], the [[Democratic Party of Virginia|Democratic Party]] held a majority of seats in both the House and the Senate for the first time since 1996. They were sworn into office on January 8, 2020, at the start of the [[161st Virginia General Assembly|161st session]].{{cite web |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/usa_newly-empowered-virginia-democrats-promise-action/6182299.html |title=Newly-Empowered Virginia Democrats Promise Action |date=January 8, 2020 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |publisher=[[Voice of America]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111000244/https://www.voanews.com/usa/newly-empowered-virginia-democrats-promise-action |archive-date=January 11, 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=April 23, 2020 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.chron.com/espanol/news/article/Asombra-diversidad-etnica-de-nueva-Legislatura-14959623.php |title=Asombra diversidad étnica de nueva Legislatura de Virginia |date=January 8, 2020 |publisher=Chron |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200108230543/https://www.chron.com/espanol/news/article/Asombra-diversidad-etnica-de-nueva-Legislatura-14959623.php |archive-date=January 8, 2020 |url-status=dead |language=es }} In the [[2021 Virginia House of Delegates election|2021 election]], the [[Republican Party of Virginia|Republican Party]] recaptured a majority in the House of Delegates, then lost it after the [[2023 Virginia House of Delegates election|2023 election]], when the Democratic Party secured majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly. ==Capitol== The General Assembly meets in Virginia's capital of [[Richmond, Virginia|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|Confederate States]], housing the [[Congress of the Confederate States|Confederate Congress]]. 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, which have been rebuilt and opened in 2023.{{Cite web |title=General Assembly Building Webcams |url=https://virginiageneralassembly.gov/GABwebcam.html |access-date=June 3, 2022 |website=virginiageneralassembly.gov |archive-date=June 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220618225721/https://virginiageneralassembly.gov/GABwebcam.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=General Assembly Building — Robert A.M. Stern Architects, LLP |url=https://www.ramsa.com/projects/project/general-assembly-building |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=Robert A.M. Stern Architects, LLP |language=en}} 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."{{cite web |title=About the General Assembly |url=http://virginiageneralassembly.gov/virginiaLegislature.php?secid=20&activesec=2#!hb=1&mainContentTabs=4&content=4,includes/contentTemplate.php%3Ftid%3D52%26ctype%3Db%26cid%3D31 |work=Virginia's Legislature |publisher=State of Virginia |access-date=June 5, 2013 |archive-date=May 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527023704/http://virginiageneralassembly.gov/virginiaLegislature.php?secid=20&activesec=2#!hb=1&mainContentTabs=4&content=4,includes/contentTemplate.php%3Ftid%3D52%26ctype%3Db%26cid%3D31 |url-status=live }} Its existence dates to its establishment at [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]] on July 30, 1619, by instructions from the [[London Company|Virginia Company of London]] to the new governor Sir [[George Yeardley]]. It was initially a [[Unicameralism|unicameral]] body composed of the company-appointed governor and [[Virginia Governor's Council|Council of State]], plus 22 burgesses elected by the settlements and Jamestown.{{Cite book |title=A Little Parliament; The Virginia General Assembly in the Seventeenth Century |last1=Billings |last2=Warren |first2=M. |publisher=The Library of Virginia, in partnership with Jamestown 2007/Jamestown Yorktown Foundation |year=2004 |location=Richmond }} In 1642, the Assembly became bicameral upon the formation of the [[House of Burgesses]]. The Assembly had a judicial function of hearing cases both original and [[appellate]].Barradall, Edward, and Randolph, John. ''Virginia Colonial Decisions.'' United States, Boston book Company, 1909. v. 1, p. 63. At various times, it was referred to as the Grand Assembly of Virginia.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qSRNAAAAMAAJ&q=%22grand+assembly+of+virginia%22&pg=PA543 |title=Annual Reports of Officers, Boards and Institutions of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Report of the State Librarian, Volume II |page=543 |author1=Virginia |year=1905 }} The General Assembly met in Jamestown from 1619 until 1699, when it first moved to the [[College of William & Mary]] in [[Williamsburg, Virginia]], and from 1705 met in the colonial [[Capitol (Williamsburg, Virginia)|Capitol]] building. It became the General Assembly in 1776 with the [[ratification]] of the [[Constitution of Virginia]]. The government was moved to Richmond in 1780 during the administration of [[Governor of Virginia|Governor]] [[Thomas Jefferson]]. ==Salary and qualifications== The annual salary for senators is $18,000.[http://legis.virginia.gov/1_home/gen_info_senate.html General Information: Senate] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626093555/http://legis.virginia.gov/1_home/gen_info_senate.html |date=-June 26, 2012 }} The annual salary for delegates is $17,640, with the exception that the speaker's salary is $36,321.[http://legis.virginia.gov/1_home/gen_info_house.html General Information: House of Delegates] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521205931/http://legis.virginia.gov/1_home/gen_info_house.html |date=May 21, 2012}} Members and one staff member also receive a [[per diem]] allowance for each day spent attending to official duties such as attending session in Richmond or attending committee meetings. Transportation expenses are reimbursed.{{Cite web |title=Virginia Budget |url=https://budget.lis.virginia.gov/item/2022/2/HB30/Introduced/1/1/ |website=Legislative Information Service |access-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-date=August 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810112701/https://budget.lis.virginia.gov/item/2022/2/HB30/Introduced/1/1/ |url-status=live }} Under the [[Constitution of Virginia]], senators and delegates must be twenty-one 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."[https://law.lis.virginia.gov/constitution Constitution of Virginia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627045319/https://law.lis.virginia.gov/constitution |date=June 27, 2021 }}, Art. IV, [https://law.lis.virginia.gov/constitution/article4/section4/ § 4] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629061110/https://law.lis.virginia.gov/constitution/article4/section4/ |date=June 29, 2021 }}. 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 30 days long in odd-numbered years, unless extended by a two-thirds vote of both houses.Art. IV, Sect. 6 Constitution of Va. 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."{{Cite web |title=Article IV. Legislature - Section 6. Legislative sessions |url=https://law.lis.virginia.gov/constitution/article4/section6/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231112145914/https://law.lis.virginia.gov/constitution/article4/section6/ |archive-date=November 12, 2023 |website=Constitution of Virginia |publisher=Virginia Law }} ==Redistricting reform== Article II, section 6 on apportionment states, "Members of the . . . Senate and of the House of Delegates of the General Assembly shall be elected from electoral districts established by the General Assembly. Every electoral district shall be composed of contiguous and compact territory and shall be so constituted as to give, as nearly as is practicable, representation in proportion to the population of the district."{{cite web |url=http://law.justia.com/constitution/virginia/constitution.html#2S6 |work=Virginia Constitution |title=Article II, Section 6. Apportionment |access-date=October 10, 2006 |via=Justia |archive-date=January 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125170629/http://law.justia.com/constitution/virginia/constitution.html#2S6 |url-status=live }} The Redistricting Coalition of Virginia proposes either an independent commission or a [[bipartisan]] [[redistricting commission|commission]] that is not polarized. Member organizations include the [[League of Women Voters]] of Virginia, [[AARP]] of Virginia, [[OneVirginia2021]], the Virginia [[United States Chamber of Commerce|Chamber of Commerce]] and [[Virginia Organizing]].{{cite web |url=http://fixthelines.org/CoalitionMembers/tabid/564/Default.aspx |website=Virginia Redistricting Coalition |title=Coalition Members |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010080238/http://fixthelines.org/CoalitionMembers/tabid/564/Default.aspx |archive-date=October 10, 2014 }} Governor [[Bob McDonnell]]'s Independent Bipartisan Advisory Commission on Redistricting for the Commonwealth of Virginia made its report on April 1, 2011. It made two recommendations for each state legislative house that showed maps of districts more compact and contiguous than those adopted by the General Assembly.[http://cnu.edu/redistrictingcommission/final_redistricting_commission_report.pdf The Public Interest in Redistricting]{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Bob Holsworth, Chair for the Independent Bipartisan Advisory Commission on Redistricting, Commonwealth of Virginia, April 1, 2011, pp. 22–27.{{dead link|date=January 2024 }} However, no action was taken after the report was released. In 2011 the Virginia College and University Redistricting Competition was organized by professors Michael McDonald of [[George Mason University]] and Quentin Kidd of [[Christopher Newport University]]. About 150 students on sixteen teams from thirteen schools submitted plans for legislative and U.S. congressional districts. They created districts more compact than the General Assembly's efforts. The "Division 1" maps conformed with the governor's [[executive order]], and did not address electoral competition or representational fairness. In addition to the criteria of contiguity, equipopulation, the federal [[Voting Rights Act of 1965|Voting Rights Act]] and communities of interest in the existing city and county boundaries, "Division 2" maps in the competition did incorporate considerations of electoral competition and representational fairness. Judges for the cash award prizes were [[Thomas E. Mann|Thomas Mann]] of the [[Brookings Institution]] and [[Norman Ornstein]] of the [[American Enterprise Institute]].[http://cnu.edu/redistrictingcommission/final_redistricting_commission_report.pdf The Public Interest in Redistricting]{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Bob Holsworth, Chair for the Independent Bipartisan Advisory Commission on Redistricting, Commonwealth of Virginia, April 1, 2011, pp. 9–10.{{dead link|date=January 2024 }} In January 2015 Republican state senator [[Jill Holtzman Vogel]] of [[Winchester, Virginia|Winchester]] and Democratic state senator [[Louise Lucas]] of [[Portsmouth, Virginia|Portsmouth]] sponsored a Senate joint resolution to establish additional criteria for the Virginia Redistricting Commission of four identified members of political parties, and three other independent public officials. The criteria began with respecting existing political boundaries, such as cities and towns, counties and magisterial districts, election districts and voting precincts. Districts are to be established on the basis of population, in conformance with federal and state laws and court cases, including those addressing racial fairness. The territory is to be contiguous and compact, without oddly shaped boundaries. The commission is prohibited from using political data or election results to favor either political party or incumbent. It passed with a two-thirds majority of 27 to 12 in the Senate, and was then referred to committee in the House of Delegates."[http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?151+ful+SJ284S1 Senate Joint Resolution No. 284] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201043136/http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?151+ful+SJ284S1 |date=December 1, 2017 }} Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (Proposed by the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections on January 20, 2015) (Patrons Prior to Substitute – Senators Vogel and Lucas [SJR 224])". In 2015, in ''Vesilind v. Virginia State Board of Elections'' in a Virginia state court, plaintiffs sought to overturn the General Assembly's redistricting in five House of Delegates and six state Senate districts as violations of both the Virginia and U.S. Constitutions because they failed to represent populations in "continuous and compact territory".{{cite web |url=http://redistricting.lls.edu/files/VA%20Vesilind%2020150914%20Complaint.pdf |title=Vesilind v. Virginia State Board of Elections |access-date=October 7, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161010213933/http://redistricting.lls.edu/files/VA%20Vesilind%2020150914%20Complaint.pdf |archive-date=October 10, 2016 }} In 2020, [[2020 Virginia Question 1|a constitutional amendment]] moved redistricting power to a commission consisting of eight lawmakers, four from each party, and eight citizens.{{Cite web |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Virginia_Redistricting_Commission_Amendment_(2020) |title=Virginia Redistricting Commission Amendment (2020) |website=Ballotpedia |access-date=December 11, 2020 |archive-date=November 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126221745/https://ballotpedia.org/Virginia_Redistricting_Commission_Amendment_(2020) |url-status=live }} The amendment passed with all counties and cities supporting the measure except [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington]].{{cite web |title=2020 November General |url=https://results.elections.virginia.gov/vaelections/2020%20November%20General/Site/Referendums.html |website=Virginia Elections |publisher=Virginia Department of Elections |access-date=December 1, 2020 |archive-date=December 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205133837/https://results.elections.virginia.gov/vaelections/2020%20November%20General/Site/Referendums.html |url-status=dead }} The commission failed to reach an agreement on new state and congressional districts by an October 25, 2021, deadline, and relied upon the amendment's provision that lets the state [[Supreme Court of Virginia]] draw the districts in the event that the commission could not do so.{{Cite web |date=November 8, 2021 |title=Redistricting Commission to Miss Last Deadline; Supreme Court to Choose Special Masters |url=https://www.wvtf.org/news/2021-11-08/redistricting-commission-to-miss-last-deadline-supreme-court-to-choose-special-masters |access-date=May 9, 2022 |website=WVTF |language=en }} The Supreme Court did so and approved newly drawn districts on December 28, 2021.{{Cite web |title=Redistricting process changes impact new maps |url=http://www.cbs19news.com/story/45805758/virginia-general-assembly-redistricting-process |access-date=May 9, 2022 |website=www.cbs19news.com |language=en |archive-date=August 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808232847/https://www.cbs19news.com/story/45805758/virginia-general-assembly-redistricting-process |url-status=live }} While newly drawn districts will currently first be used in 2023, a federal lawsuit is pending that calls for an election to be held using newly drawn districts as immediately as November 2022. If the lawsuit was successful, it would have required all House districts, which just held elections under the previous districts in 2021, to hold back-to-back elections in 2022 and 2023 under the newly drawn districts.{{Cite web |date=March 21, 2022 |title=Civil rights group asks to join Virginia redistricting suit |url=https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-lawsuits-virginia-elections-redistricting-eae62af7f54a49bb8390a44346d29820 |access-date=May 9, 2022 |website=AP NEWS |language=en |archive-date=May 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509184951/https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-lawsuits-virginia-elections-redistricting-eae62af7f54a49bb8390a44346d29820 |url-status=live }} ==See also== {{Portal|Virginia}} *[[Senate of Virginia]] *[[Virginia House of Delegates]] *[[Virginia State Capitol]] * [[List of Virginia state legislatures]] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * [http://virginiageneralassembly.gov Virginia General Assembly] * [http://lis.virginia.gov/ Legislative Information System] {{Virginia State Senators}} {{Virginia House of Delegates}} {{United States legislatures}} {{Authority control}}{{Coord|37|32|20|N|77|26|01|W|type:landmark_region:US-VA|display=title}} [[Category:Virginia General Assembly| ]] [[Category:1619 establishments in the Colony of Virginia]] [[Category:1776 establishments in Virginia]] [[Category:Bicameral legislatures of country subdivisions]] [[Category:Government of Virginia|General Assembly]] [[Category:Legislatures of the Thirteen Colonies]]