Freedom of Information Act

Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act  (FOIA) the public has the right to attend the meetings of public bodies, with some exceptions for closed sessions. Virginia law does not limit access to a specific category of people or to specific professions. The right to attend does not include the right to participate or comment.

The Virginia FOIA,  often referred to as the open meetings law or Sunshine Law, requires that a meeting of three or more members of a public body discussing public business must provide notice before holding the session. The notice shall be posted at least three working days prior to the meeting.

General Assembly Facts

General Assembly Makeup

Composed of two bodies:

1. Senate:  has 40 Senators who each serve a four-year term. See a list of Senators.
   
2. House of Delegates: a lower chamber of 100 members who each serve a two-year term. See a list of Delegates.
3. Who represents you? see Who's My Legislator.
   

Sessions

Elected members convene annually for only a few months to debate and pass legislation. Note: members may pre-file legislation prior to the session.

• Convenes annually on the second Wednesday in January and usually ends in March of same year.
• On years ending with an odd number, the General Assembly convenes for 30 days.
• On years ending with an even number, the General Assembly convenes for 60 days.

Budget Cycle

• Virginia has a two-year (biennial) budget cycle. Each year the Governor proposes a budget bill.
• The bill is adopted in even-numbered years and amended in odd-numbered years.
• Each year, before the General Assembly adjourns, a conference committee resolves  differences between the versions of the budget passed by the two houses.

Committees

After being introduced by a legislator, all bills and many resolutions are referred to a committee.

• Bills and resolutions introduced in the Senate of Virginia are referred by the Clerk of the Senate.
• Bills and resolutions introduced in the Virginia House of Delegates are referred by the Speaker of the House.

House of Delegates Committees

• The House has 14 Standing Committees. Each standing committee may (or may not) have one or more subcommittees. See list here.
• For subcommittees see list here.
  

Senate Committees

• The Senate of Virginia has 11 Standing Committees. Each standing committee may (or may not) have one or more subcommittees. See list here.
•  Subcommittees can be accessed from the Standing Committee's webpage.
  

Committee Meetings - House of Delegates

Schedule

See the full list of all House Committee meetings with links to agendas, minutes, and (when available) video recordings at House of Delegates Meeting Schedule  

Online/Video

1. View House Floor sessions, committee, and subcommittee meetings live stream and past meetings at Chamberstream.
2. Committee video also available through committee agendas posted on House of Delegates Committee pages.  See here

Social Media

Follow the House of Delegates and its Committees on Twitter accounts. Get notified of new committee and subcommittee meetings with links to the agendas, as well as notification of time and location changes and meeting cancellations. Read more.

Committee Meetings - Senate

Schedule

• See the full list of all Senate meetings with links to agendas, minutes, and (when available) video recordings at  Senate Meeting Schedule.
• Also, Senate in conjunction with Division of Legislative Services offers a cumulative meeting schedule here: https://lis.virginia.gov/
  

Online/Video

View House Committee/Subcommittee Meetings live stream and archived/past meetings at Senate Video.

Social Media

Follow the Senate on Twitter at https://twitter.com/vasenate.

Page last updated 7/9/2023. If you see problems or inaccuracies, Contact Us