Virginia House of Delegates.html



Historic Partisan Makeup of the Virginia House of Delegates

The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the House membership by the Delegates. The Speaker is almost always a member of the majority party and, as Speaker, becomes the most powerful member of the House. The House shares legislative power with the Senate of Virginia, the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The House of Delegates is the modern-day successor to the Virginia House of Burgesses, which first met at Jamestown in 1619. The House is divided into Democratic and Republican caucuses. In addition to the Speaker, there is a majority leader, majority caucus chair, minority leader, minority caucus chair, and the chairs of the several committees of the House. Through the House of Burgesses, the Virginia House of Delegates is considered the oldest continuous legislative body in the New World.

The House has met in Virginia's Capitol Building, designed by Thomas Jefferson, since 1788. In recent years, the General Assembly members and staff operate from offices in the General Assembly Building, located in Capitol Square.

Republicans took control of the traditionally Democratic House of Delegates for the first time since Reconstruction in 1999 (with the exception of a brief 2 year period in which the Readjuster Party was in the majority in the 1880s). However, the Democrats began making a comeback under the leadership of Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, gaining six seats during Warner's term in office (2002-2006), and one in a special election at the beginning of Kaine's term.

Salary and qualifications

The annual salary for delegates is $17,640 per year.¹ Each delegate represents roughly 71,000 people.¹ Candidates for office must be at least 21 years of age at the time of the election, residents of the districts they seek to represent, and qualified to vote for General Assembly legislators.²³ The regular session of the General Assembly is 60 days long during even numbered years and 30 days long during odd numbered years, unless extended by a two-thirds vote of both houses.²⁴

Make-up of the Virginia House of Delegates

Party control

House leadership

Members

The Virginia House of Delegates is up for reelection every two years. The next election cycle is in 2009.

See also

• List of Speakers of the Virginia House of Delegates
• Virginia state elections, 2007
• Senate of Virginia
• Category:Members of the Virginia House of Delegates

References

External links

• Virginia General Assembly official government website
• Project Vote Smart - State House of Virginia