The Houses
The Virginia General Assembly is the state legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Just like
Congress in Washington, D.C, the General Assembly is bi-cameral, meaning it has two legislative
chambers:
The House of Delegates​ (the lower house): 100 Members
● Currently 65 Republicans, 34 Democrats, and 1 vacancy
● Elected to 2-year terms. Entire House is elected in odd year
● Next election is 2019
● Led by Speaker of the House William (Bill) Howell (R-Fredericksburg)
● Speaker Howell will be retiring after the 2017 legislative session
● Controlled by Republicans since 2000
State Senate ​ (the upper house): 40 Members
● Currently 21 Republicans and 19 Democrats
● Elected to 4-year terms. Entire Senate is elected in odd years
● Next election is 2019
● Led by Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment (R-Williamsburg)
● The Lieutenant Governor presided over the Senate
● The current Lieutenant Governor is Ralph Northam (D)
● Controlled by Republicans since 2012
Note: In the event that a sitting member retires, is deceased, or moves to higher office, a special election,
scheduled by the Governor and the State Board of Elections, is held. For example, when State Senator
Donald McEachin was elected to Congress in November 2016, a special election was called to fill his seat
before the 2017 General Assembly session begins in January. Delegate Jennifer McClellan ran and won
this seat in the Senate on January 10th. A secondary special election will be called by the Speaker of the
House to fill her vacant seat in the House of Delegates following the General Assembly session.
Committees
Each House has its own set of committees and subcommittees, where bills are debated before their final
vote on the floor of their respective house. The vast majority of bills are voted down or “tabled” in
committees and subcommittees before they even reach a vote for passage on the floor. “Tabling” a bill is
the practice of setting a bill aside without any further debate or recorded vote, effectively killing said bill.
A bill must receive a majority vote in committee before proceeding to a vote for passage on the floor of
the House or Senate.
House of Delegates Committees
Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources
Appropriations
Commerce and Labor
Counties, Cities and Towns
Courts of Justice*
Education
Finance
General Laws
Health, Welfare and Institutions*
Militia, Police and Public Safety
Privileges and Elections
Rules
Science and Technology
Transportation
State Senate Committees
Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources
Commerce and Labor
Courts of Justice
Education and Health*
Finance
General Laws and Technology
Local Government
Privileges and Elections
Rehabilitation and Social Services*
Rules
Transportation
*the committees where bills related to mental health care frequently get referred to
Each committee also has one or more “sub-committees” where bills can be sent at the behest of the
committee chair for deliberation before being debated in the committee. Bills are assigned to committees
based on subject matter shortly after they are filed by legislators. Committee meetings are open to the
public and take place in the General Assembly building.
The Process
Here’s an example of how the process would work for a bill that was introduced in the House of
Delegates:
● ​A bill is written by a member (patron) and filed with the House Clerk
● The bill is assigned to one of the House Committees (let’s say Education)
● The bill can then be assigned to one of the Education subcommittees
● If assigned to a subcommittee, the bill must pass a majority vote to move on to committee. Public
comment is welcome in subcommittees
● If the bill makes it out of subcommittee, it comes up for debate in full committee
● The bill must pass with a majority vote to make it out of committee. Public comment is welcome
in committee.
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If the bill passes committee, it moves to the floor of the House of Delegates. Here, it must be read
THREE times:
○ First Reading: The bill title is printed in the daily calendar of the full House of Delegates
or is read by the Clerk of the House or Senate, and the bill advances to second reading.
○ Second Reading: The next day the bill title appears in the printed Calendar on second
reading. The Clerk reads the title of the bill a second time. A bill on second reading is
amendable and debatable. A bill that has passed second reading with or without an
amendment is engrossed. If an amendment is adopted, the bill is reprinted in its final form
for passage.
○ Third Reading: The next day, the engrossed bill title appears in the Calendar on third
reading. The title is read a third time by the Clerk. By recorded vote by all the members
of the House the bill is passed or killed. If passed, the bill is communicated to the other
body.
CROSSOVER: After the bill passes the House, it must repeat this same process in the Senate.
This is called “Crossover.” On February 5​th​, all bills that passed the House will move to the
Senate and vice versa.
If the bill repeats the process in the Senate and is unchanged, the bill is enrolled and moves on to
The Governor
If the bill repeats the process in the Senate and is amended, it is brought back to the House floor
for another vote
If the House approves the amendment(s), the bill is enrolled and moves on to The Governor
If the House does not agree with the amendment, it moves on to conference committee
○ The conference committee is made up of members of both houses. Members debate the
proposed amendments and resolve differences between the two bills. Conference
committees are not public.
Once a bill makes it out of conference committee, it is enrolled and moves on to The Governor
The Governor has four choices when presented with a bill that passed both House of the General
Assembly:
○ The Governor can sign the bill. The bill then becomes law effective July 1​st
○ The Governor can suggest an amendment to the bill
○ The bill would have to be debated again in the one-day reconvened session in April. The
General Assembly can approve or reject the Governor’s amendment. Both Houses must
approve of the Governor’s amendment for the law to be changed. If they don’t the bill
remains with its original language. In either case it goes back to the Governor for
signature or veto.
○ The Governor can veto a bill.
If the Governor vetoes a bill, both the House and Senate must vote on the bill once more. If the
bill is approved by a 2/3 majority in each chamber, it then becomes law on July 1st. If it fails to
reach a 2/3 majority in each house, then the bill dies.
He can choose not to act, in which case, the bill still becomes law on July 1st.
In the case of a constitutional amendment, the resolution would have to pass both houses of the Virginia
General Assembly in the same form for two consecutive years. The measure would then appear on the
ballot in November for a public vote, where the amendment must receive majority approval to be added to
the State Constitution.
Resources
Here are some of the best resources for information about the General Assembly and its members:
Legislative Information System
https://lis.virginia.gov/
Track bills, view committee schedules and agendas
Live Video of House and Senate Proceedings
House Floor
Senate Floor
Virginia Public Access Project
http://www.vpap.org/
Track election results and money flowing into and out of the campaign accounts of every legislator