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Virginia General
Assembly
Virginia General
Assembly 
The Virginia General
Assembly dates from
the establishment of
the House of
Burgesses at
Jamestown in 1619.
It is heralded by
Virginians as the
"oldest continuous
law-making body in
the New World."
The 1776 Virginia
Constitution
confirmed our
bicameral
legislature, which
consists of the
House of Delegates
and Senate of
Virginia. The
present state
Constitution,
adopted in 1970,
provides that the
House of Delegates
shall consist of 90
to 100 members and
the Senate shall
consist of 33 to 40
members. All members
of the General
Assembly 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. Members may
not hold any other
public office during
their term of
office.
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.
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