DEMOPOCRISY


The First General Assembly, 1619



The Oldest Continuous Law-Making Body in the Western Hemisphere



The first General Assembly met in the “quire” (choir) of the what was then the newly-built wooden church at Jamestown on July 30, 1619. Following instructions from the Virginia Company of London, the sponsors of the colony, the Assembly’s main purpose was “to establish one equal and uniform government over all Virginia” and introduce “just Laws for the happy guiding and governing of the people there inhabiting.” It met as a single body and was made up of the Governor, Sir George Yeardley, his four councilors, and 22 burgesses chosen by the free, white male inhabitants of every town, corporation, and large plantation throughout the colony. Henceforth, settlers were able to participate in their own government and promote measures for the general good.


The Assembly’s work covered a wide range of business including commercial and economic arrangements for the colony, regulating moral offences, overseeing matters of religion, and relations with the Powhatan Indians. As well as acting as a legislative body, the Assembly served as a court and adjudicated between settlers and cases involving Indian peoples. The Assembly was an important part of the Great Reforms that swept away the existing military government and created a new democratic society based on the rule of law and consent of the governed.


In session from July 30 to August 4, 1619, the General Assembly was the first representative governing body to meet in North America, or anywhere in the Americas, and has continued to meet to the present day.


In 2019, Jamestown Rediscovery archaeologists found the final fourth wall of the 1617 church and the locations of the choir and chancel area where the First Assembly met. An exhibit was then planned around the finds. Today, visitors can view the brick foundations of the early church through glass panels placed in the Memorial Church floor. They can also sit in the recreated pews in the very spot that the Assembly met 400 years ago.​


Source: Jamestown Rediscovery ⟶

THE VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY



The First Elected Legislative Assembly in the New World



Legislature


The Virginia General Assembly, Virginia's legislative body, claims to be the "oldest continuous law-making body in the New World." The General Assembly's chief responsibilities are to represent citizens in the formulation of public policy, enact laws of the Commonwealth, approve the budget, levy taxes, elect judges and confirm appointments by the Governor. The General Assembly is a bicameral legislature, and consists of the House of Delegates and Senate of Virginia. The House of Delegates has 90 to 100 members, and the Senate has 33 to 40 members, all of whom are elected by qualified voters within their respective House and Senate districts. The terms of office are two years for members of the House and four years for members of the Senate. There is no limit to the number of terms that can be served.


Legislative Sessions


Legislative sessions convene on the second Wednesday in January each year. In even-numbered years, the session length is 60 days; in odd-numbered years it is 30 days. The session may be extended by a 2/3 majority vote in both houses. Both the governor and the General Assembly (with 2/3 majority vote in both houses) can call for a special session. The General Assembly reconvenes six weeks after adjournment to consider the Governor's actions on bills.


Introduction of Bills


A Delegate or Senator presents an idea for a bill to the Division of Legislative Services, which checks existing law and the constitutionality of the proposal, drafts the bill, and gives it to the member for introduction. The bill is signed by the patron, introduced, and printed. In the House of Delegates, the Clerk assigns a number for each bill and sends the legislation to the Speaker of the House. The Speaker refers the bill to a committee. In the Senate, the bill is assigned a number by the Clerk, who refers it to a committee.


Committee Stage


Once the bill is referred to the appropriate committee, the committee members consider the bill and decide what action to take. Any citizen of the Commonwealth has the right to attend a committee meeting and speak about legislation. After the committee hears the patron and any other witnesses, the committee has several options when the chairman calls for a vote:

1. Report: The majority of the committee approves of the bill and it is reported to the floor or referred to another committee.

2. Pass by Indefinitely (PBI): This action allows the committee to reconsider the legislation prior to the established by the procedural resolution that sets the schedule for consideration of bills.

3. Defeat: The committee rejects a motion to report the bill, and there is no further action by the committee.

4. Continue/Carry Over: A bill introduced in an even-numbered year session may be continued or carried over to an odd-numbered year session for further action or study during the interim. A carry-over bill retains its assigned bill number in the odd-numbered year session. A bill may not be continued or carried over from an odd-numbered year session to an even-numbered year session.

5. Pass by for the day: The committee is not ready to act on the bill. If the bill is not taken up before the deadline, then it is considered Left in Committee or No Action Taken.

6. No Action or Left in Committee: No motion is made on the bill and it dies at the time of the committee action deadline.

7. Incorporate into other Legislation: The bill is incorporated, or included into another bill through an amendment or a substitute. The bill may have similar language or duplicate language with the same intent.


Readings


For bills that are reported to the floor, the title of each bill must be read three times or appear in the printed Calendar on three different days. Legislation reported from the Committees appears on the Calendar under the category of Senate Bills on First Reading in the Senate, House Bills on First Reading in the House of Delegates, etc. The second reading is referred to as the "amendable state," and committee amendments, floor amendments and floor substitutes are considered. The legislators vote on any amendments or substitutes, and then on whether to engross the bill and send it to its third reading. Engrossing means incorporating any amendment(s) which may have been adopted by the body. If a bill fails to be engrossed and advanced to its third reading, the bill is defeated. Upon passage of legislation, bills and the action taken regarding them are communicated to the other body.


Bicameral Procedures


Each body of the General Assembly is required to pass legislation in exactly the same form before it can be sent to the Governor to become law. House legislation, when first received by the Senate after passage in the House of Delegates, receives its first reading and is referred to the appropriate Senate committee. Likewise, Senate legislation, when received by the House of Delegates after passage in the Senate, receives its first reading and is referred to the appropriate House committee. Legislation of the other body, i.e. House bills in the Senate or Senate bills in the House of Delegates, is not considered amendable on second reading. This legislation, having been reported from a committee, is listed in the Calendar the next day. Committee amendments are not shown in the Calendar until the legislation is on its third reading. Debate on amendment(s) to legislation of the other body takes place on third reading.


If the other body passes the bill without amendment(s), it is enrolled (passed by both houses in the same form) and communicated to the Governor. If a Senate bill is passed by the House of Delegates with amendment(s) or with a substitute, the bill and the changes must be communicated to the Senate, so that the Senate will be in a position to consider the changes proposed by the House. If the Senate agrees to the changes proposed by the House, the bill, with the changes, is enrolled and sent to the Governor. If the Senate does not agree to the changes, a Committee of Conference may be formed to resolve the differences between the House and the Senate. If a Committee of Conference is not formed, the bill fails to pass. Each Committee of Conference consists of an equal number of Senators and Delegates. If an agreement is reached, the terms of the agreement are reported to each body. If each house agrees to the report, the changes agreed to in the Committee of Conference are incorporated into the bill and the "compromise" bill is enrolled [definition: a bill that has been passed by both houses] and sent to the Governor. If the Committee of Conference cannot agree or the report is rejected by either body, the bill dies.


Governor


For any bill presented, the Governor may sign, veto, or offer amendments. The Governor may also veto one or more items if the bill is an appropriation bill. If the Governor does not act on a bill, it becomes law without his signature in seven days. If there are fewer than seven days remaining in the General Assembly session, or if the General Assembly has adjourned, the Governor has thirty days after adjournment to act on bills. If the Governor recommends amendments to or vetoes a bill, and the General Assembly is still in session, the General Assembly can consider the Governor's action. The General Assembly can override the Governor's veto with a two-third majority vote from both houses.


Source: Georgetown Law Library Virginia Resources


Georgetown Law Library

THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA



The First Elected Legislative Assembly in the New World



Since 1776, Virginia has been a "commonwealth." It associated with other colonies through a Continental Congress starting in 1775, and became part of a confederation with other former colonies in 1781. Virginia became one of the "united" states when the Constitution was ratified in 1788.


Old Dominion is one of the best-known nicknames for Virginia, along with Mother of Presidents and Mother of States. The nickname probably derives from the fact that Virginia was the first, and therefore the oldest, of the overseas dominions of the kings and queens of England.


The law of Virginia consists of several levels of legal rules, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory, case law, and local laws. The Code of Virginia contains the codified legislation that define the general statutory laws for the Commonwealth.


Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, and Massachusetts are commonly referred to as states, but they are actually legally designated as commonwealths. But the difference is only in the name—being a commonwealth doesn't entail any legal or governmental differences from the other 46 states.


Commonwealth of Virginia Mission Statement Our mission is to serve the public by administering the tax laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia with integrity and efficiency to support funding of government services for Virginia's citizens. (they pay all of our taxes?)


Virginia's government is made up of three branches: the executive, judicial, and legislative. The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body, which is made up of the Senate of Virginia and the Virginia House of Delegates



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Source: Georgetown Law Library Virginia Resources


Georgetown Law Library