How does virginia's general assembly work?

The legislature is tasked with considering bills that could become law in the Commonwealth, electing judges to the state’s courts, and approving a budget that will cover the next two years. All of this happens in just 60 days between two chambers. 


A bicameral legislature, the General Assembly consists of a lower House of Delegates and an upper Senate. The House of Delegates is made up of 100 legislators who serve two year terms; the most recent House election was held in November, when Republicans won a narrow 52-48 majority. Representing roughly 80,000 citizens, delegates receive a yearly salary of $17,640. Elected by the body, the Speaker of the House presides over the chamber and is tasked with appointing members to committees and assigning introduced bills to the relevant committee.


The General Assembly’s upper body, the Senate of Virginia, consists of 40 legislators. State senators are elected every four years. Unlike the U.S. Senate, state senators are all up for election at the same time. Representing about 200,000 citizens, senators receive a yearly salary of $18,000. The state Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor, who is elected in a statewide election every four years. In November, Virginians elected a new lieutenant governor, Republican Winsome Sears. In the absence of the lieutenant governor, the president pro tempore, who is elected by the body, presides over the Senate. Democrats currently hold a narrow 21-19 majority in the Senate. Senators will next be on the ballot in Virginia in 2023.


Bills can originate in either the House or the Senate. At its inception, a bill is drafted by the Division of Legislative Services, a nonpartisan agency that provides legal and general research to members of the General Assembly. Once drafted, a bill is sponsored by a member who then becomes the bill’s sponsor. The bill is assigned to a committee, where members discuss the bill, ask questions of the sponsor and experts, and consider comments from the public. At this point, the committee can act on the bill in several ways, but this is where the bill will generally either die or move onto the floor of the House or Senate.


Now on the chamber floor, the bill is read three times. During the second reading, members may ask to amend the bill. After the third reading, a vote is taken and the bill is either passed or rejected. Once passed, a bill is sent to the other chamber for the same process. Members may wish to amend the bill — if the body passes an altered version of the bill, the bill is taken up by a Committee of Conference. Here, members of both chambers agree to resolve differences between the bills. Both the House and the Senate need to agree to the bill as amended, and then the bill is finally cleared to be sent to the governor for approval.


As always, VaOurWay will be providing updates to readers throughout the 2022 General Assembly session. Additionally, you can see which bills have been introduced by which member and where they are in the legislative process here. A list of scheduled hearings and committee meetings are also available via the Division of Legislative Services, some of which are available to livestream.

[Virginia Public Media] Data: Virginia’s Early Childhood Education Providers Are Succeeding

By VOW Ops • January 21, 2026
The second year of results from Virginia’s recently established Quality Establishment and Improvement System (VQB5) for early childhood education found that 99% of childcare providers receiving state funding meet or exceed quality expectations. As of early December 2025, over 154,000 views have been recorded on the system’s website since its October 2024 debut, revealing the many parents and families who appreciate the information that VQB5 offers them. None of these wonderful results would even be available to admire without the support and success we had in passing HB 1012 and SB 578 back in 2020! The data focuses on classroom interactions between children and caregivers and notes how said interactions encourage kids to express themselves at a young age. The state has also enacted categories of excellence for providers who score in the top 10%, exceed quality expectations, or even show significant improvement from an evaluation the year before. On top of that, a new data system called VAConnects helps integrate information on students over the years to track their learning progress. The Department of Education wishes to sustain the program and has requested $735,000 to do so. Overall, Virginia is serving as a model for other states to use in establishing best practices for their early childhood programs. Read more here .

[Richmond Times Dispatch] Virginians want General Assembly Action on Housing, Survey Finds

By VOW Ops • January 21, 2026
An August survey reveals that large majorities of Virginians want state lawmakers to address the rising cost of housing. The survey was conducted by Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia and Freedom Virginia. More than 8 in 10 Virginians said the General Assembly needs to act. More than 3 in 4 Virginians want lawmakers to prevent landlords from raising rents each year by more than 7%. Many Virginians also supported the idea of the state incentivizing localities to build more housing and providing developers with an ability to appeal rejected housing projects. Many proposals that were made to address all these public concerns were struck down during the 2025 legislative session. One of the main reasons why all the mentioned proposals failed to pass the General Assembly is because of the large influence the local government lobbies have in Richmond in protecting what little authority they are granted by the state. However, 6 in 10 Virginians indicated that they are more concerned with providing more housing than protecting local government authority. Read more here.

[Richmond Times Dispatch] Spanberger Details Affordability Measures in Health Care, Energy, Housing

By VOW Ops • December 19, 2025
Governor-elect Spanberger has released details on how her administration will work with the General Assembly to address affordability issues for Virginians regarding health care, energy, and housing. Democrats in the General Assembly argue the proposals are needed to mitigate the effects of President Trump’s tariff policies and reduction of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. Some of the solutions being proposed are legislation from the previous session that were vetoed by Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin. In health care, Spanberger and Virginia Democrats will tackle pharmacy benefit managers’ ability to compel patients toward using affiliated-only pharmacies. The incoming administration also wants to limit the number of times insurance companies can request approvals from patients receiving certain cancer cares and medicines for chronic conditions. Democrats are also reviving legislation that would prohibit insurance companies from charging tobacco smokers higher premiums. Further, Spanberger supports implementing a pilot program to help Virginians who will face unaffordable insurance premiums resulting from the expiration of the ACA enhanced tax credits. In energy, Spanberger called to make it easier for Virginians to utilize small-scale solar panels which don’t require hard labor to install. She also wants the previously vetoed legislation that would set energy storage standards for utility companies brought back to her desk (Governor Youngkin vetoed it because of his belief that the Virginia Clean Economy Act associated with it was ineffective). In housing, Spanberger and Democrats are reviving legislation from 2025 that would extend the grace period tenants have before being evicted for missing rent payments. They are also proposing changes that would give local governments priority in acquiring affordable multi-family units supported by tax credits when the owner wants to sell or convert them. Further, Democrats are reintroducing a bill which would allow all localities to change their zoning ordinances to create dense and affordable housing (currently, only the counties of Albemarle and Loudoun and the cities of Alexandria, Charlottesville, and Fairfax are granted such provisions). Read more here.
Show More