Back جمعية فرجينيا العامة Arabic کۆبوونەوەی گشتیی ڤیرجینیا CKB Virginia General Assembly German Γενική Συνέλευση της Βιρτζίνια Greek Asamblea General de Virginia Spanish Virginian yleiskokous Finnish Assemblée générale de Virginie French Assemblea generale della Virginia Italian バージニア州議会 Japanese 버지니아 주의회 Korean
Virginia General Assembly | |
|---|---|
| 163rd Virginia General Assembly | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Houses | Senate House of Delegates |
Term limits | None |
| History | |
| Founded | July 30, 1619 |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 140 40 senators 100 delegates |
.svg) | |
Senate political groups |
|
 | |
House of Delegates political groups |
|
Length of term | Senate: 4 years House of Delegates: 2 years |
| Elections | |
Last Senate election | November 7, 2023 |
Last House of Delegates election | November 7, 2023 |
| Redistricting | Commission of eight lawmakers and eight citizens |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Virginia State Capitol Richmond | |
| Website | |
| virginiageneralassembly | |
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, 1619.[1][2]
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. 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 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 by the U.S. Senate).
Following the 2019 election, the 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 session.[3][4] In the 2021 election, the Republican Party recaptured a majority in the House of Delegates, then lost it after the 2023 election, when the Democratic Party secured majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly.
- ^ "The First General Assembly | Historic Jamestowne". Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
- ^ "House History". history.house.virginia.gov. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
- ^ "Newly-Empowered Virginia Democrats Promise Action". Voice of America. Associated Press. January 8, 2020. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ "Asombra diversidad étnica de nueva Legislatura de Virginia" (in Spanish). Chron. January 8, 2020. Archived from the original on January 8, 2020.