On January 12, 2022, Virginia’s General Assembly will begin a 60-day legislative session. In just two short months, the legislature will fulfill its duty of representing constituents by considering hundreds of bills, approving a two-year budget, and electing judges to the state’s courts. 

That’s a lot of work in a little time. But believe it or not, the 60-day 2022 regular session is actually a long session. The Virginia state constitution mandates that the General Assembly convene for an annual regular session on the second Wednesday of each January. In even-numbered years, the legislature meets for 60 calendar days. And in odd-numbered years, the legislature meets for just 30 calendar days, although these sessions are traditionally extended to 45 days. 

The General Assembly can also convene for special sessions, which are prompted by calls from the Governor or by petition from two-thirds of members from both the House and Senate. Special sessions have been keeping the General Assembly in Richmond for longer amounts of time in recent years -- in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the General Assembly held a 60-day special session from August to October. 

Why does Virginia’s General Assembly meet for such short periods of time? Like many other states, Virginia designed its legislative calendar to promote the ideal of “citizen legislators.” These representatives would come to Richmond for a month or two each year to legislate, and then return to their districts to work more typical jobs. In a state with strong agricultural history like Virginia, meeting for the legislative session during winter months was convenient for farmers — while there wasn’t any harvesting to be done, farmers could either serve in the legislature, or come to observe the public proceedings in Richmond themselves.

Today, though, Virginia has a diverse economy and a population of 8.6 million. This has ignited debate about whether Virginia should transition from a part-time legislature to a full-time legislature in order to better address the complex needs of constituents.

Those who wish to preserve Virginia’s part-time legislative model say that when legislators are able to return home to their districts for months at a time, representation is strengthened. Legislators have plenty of time to speak with their neighbors and learn about what’s happening in the community. Additionally, legislators have the ability to live and work under the laws that they create. The logic is that when legislators are embedded in their districts for most of the year, they will have a better idea of how to represent their constituents when they come to Richmond in the winter.

Proponents of a full-time legislature in Virginia, however, say that more than 60 days are needed in order to effectively govern a modern state. They point to the fact that both the House of Delegates and the state Senate are forced to limit the number of bills members are permitted to introduce; this could create a situation in which necessary legislation doesn’t even have the opportunity to be considered. And because so many bills are considered in such a short period of time, it’s difficult for constituents to follow what’s occurring at the General Assembly. 

Furthermore, although Virginia legislators only work a few months out of the year, lobbyists never stop working. This causes what’s known as “copycat” bills to be introduced in Virginia — bills written by special interests with boilerplate language that are introduced in several states. If Virginia had a full-time General Assembly, legislators would have the time and resources to write bills that accurately reflect the needs and desires of Virginians.

Virginia isn’t unique in having a part-time legislature. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, just four states have a full-time legislature — California, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania. These states, which all have large populations, pay their legislators a full-time wage and provide large, well-paid staff. 

The debate around the length of Virginia’s General Assembly sessions isn’t likely to end any time soon. In the meantime, legislators are gearing up for a legislative session in which Republicans will control the House of Delegates and Democrats will control the Senate. This week, members will have the ability to begin prefiling legislation. This legislative session is expected to last from January 12 through March 12.