Virginia House of Delegates

Coordinates: 37°32′19″N 77°26′00″W / 37.53865°N 77.43331°W / 37.53865; -77.43331

Virginia House of Delegates
Virginia General Assembly
Type
Type	Lower House of the Virginia General Assembly
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 10, 2018
Leadership
Speaker	Kirk Cox (R) Since January 10, 2018
Majority Leader	Todd Gilbert (R) Since January 10, 2018
Minority Leader	David Toscano (D) Since November 19, 2011
Clerk	Paul Nardo Since June 2011
Structure
Seats	100
Political groups	Majority      Republican (51) Minority      Democratic (49)
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Article IV, Virginia Constitution
Salary	$17,640/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 7, 2017
Next election	November 5, 2019
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place
House of Delegates Chamber Virginia State Capitol Richmond, Virginia
Website
Virginia General Assembly

The Virginia House of Delegates is one of two parts in the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. 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 usually 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.

The House of Burgesses was the first elected legislative body in the New World.^[1] Originally having 22 members, the House of Burgesses met from 1619 through 1632 in the choir of the church at Jamestown.^[2] From 1632 to 1699 the legislative body met at four different state houses in Jamestown. The first state house convened at the home of Colonial Governor Sir John Harvey from 1632 to 1656. The burgesses convened at the second state house from 1656 until it was destroyed in 1660. Historians have yet to precisely identify its location.^[3]

The House has met in Virginia's Capitol Building, designed by Thomas Jefferson, since 1788. The legislative body met from 1788 to 1904 in what is known as today the Old Hall of the House of Delegates or commonly referred to as the Old House Chamber. The Old House Chamber is part of the original Capitol building structure. It measures 76 feet in width and is filled today with furnishings that resemble what the room would have looked like during its time of use. There are many bronze and marble busts of historic Virginians on display in the Old House Chamber, including: George Mason, George Wythe, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, and Meriwether Lewis. From 1904 to 1906, University of Virginia graduate and architect John K. Peeples designed and built compatible classical wings to the west and east side of the Capitol building. The new wings added to provide more space and serve as the legislative chambers in the Virginia General Assembly, the Senate of Virginia resides in the west chamber and the House of Delegates resides in the east chamber. The General Assembly members and staff operate from offices in the General Assembly Building, located in Capitol Square. Prior to 1788 the House of Delegates met in the Colonial Capital of Williamsburg.

In 1999, Republicans took control of the House of Delegates for the first time since Reconstruction (with the exception of a brief 2-year period in which the Readjuster Party was in the majority in the 1880s). The Republican Party has held the majority in the House since then.

Salary and qualifications

The annual salary for delegates is $17,640 per year.^[4] Each delegate represents roughly 84,702 people.^[4] 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.^[5][6] 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.^[5][7]

Composition

49	51
Democratic	Republican

Party control

(The party control table shows the balance of power after each recent general election. The preceding Makeup table includes results of special elections since the last general election.)

House leadership

Members

The Virginia House of Delegates is reelected every two years, with intervening vacancies filled by special election. The list below contains the House delegates currently serving through January 2020.

Past composition of the House of Delegates

See also

• List of Speakers of the Virginia House of Delegates
• Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2017
• Senate of Virginia
• Members of the Virginia House of Delegates
• Mace of the Virginia House of Delegates
• Redistricting in Virginia

Notes

External links

• Virginia General Assembly Official website
• Project Vote Smart – State House of Virginia