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 by the U.S. Senate).
The Republican Party currently holds the majority in both the House of Delegates and the Senate.
Capitol Building
The Republican Party currently holds the majority in both the House of Delegates and the Senate.
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 ." 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. 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.
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