The law making body of the state, the Virginia General Assembly, is the longest continuous representative legislature in North America. The roots of the General Assembly can be traced back to the Jamestown House of Burgesses in 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral, or two house, body that meets at the state capitol in Richmond. Beginning every January, the body meets for 60 days in even-numbered years and 30 days in odd-numbered years, with the option to extend another 30 days in the odd-numbered years.

The Virginia House of Delegates (the lower house) has 100 members called delegates that serve 2 year terms. The Speaker of the House presides over the House of Delegates.

The Senate of Virginia (the upper house) has 40 members that serve 4 year terms. The Lieutenant Governor presides over the Senate- they are the tie-breaking vote but is not a voting member of the Senate. The President Pro Tempore (the longest serving member of the majority party) presides over the Senate when the Lieutenant Governor is not there.

The age requirement is 21, the representative must live in the district, the salary is $18,000/year, and there are no term limits. Our delegate is Republican Joseph McNamara of Roanoke (he owns the Salem Ice Cream Parlor & Katie's Ice Cream) and out senator is Republican David Suetterlein of Roanoke.

The Virginia General Assembly has several powers, among them are the power to make laws (as long as they do not violate the state or national constitutions), the power to collect taxes to pay for public services, the power to confirm appointments made by the governor, the power to approve the state budget prepared by the governor, the power to select judges and justices for state courts, the power to propose state constitutional amendments and call a constitutional convention to consider amendments to the state constitution (the voters ratify, or approve), and the power to redraw districts after the 10 year census.

Virginia's executive branch is headed by the governor (Dr. Ralph Northam of Norfolk), who serves a 4 year term, and can serve more than once, but cannot serve consecutive (back to back) terms. The governor's powers include appointing cabinet members to run the state executive agencies, preparing the state’s biennial budget every 2 years, signing or vetoing bills, and the power to pardon, or legally forgive someone of a state crime.

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Similar to the president as the head of the national government, Virginia's governor has several roles to carry out in office.

As Chief Administrator, the governor oversees the executive branch, makes sure that laws are carried out, appoints department heads and other state officials, and prepares the budget.

As Chief Legislator, the governor can propose bills and try to influence lawmakers, approve or veto bills, and can call the General Assembly into special session.

As Chief of State, the governor represents the state at events & ceremonies as the ceremonial head of the commonwealth.

As Commander-In-Chief, the governor can call in the Virginia National Guard to help enforce laws or aid in emergencies.

As the Party Chief, the governor heads their political party in the state and pushes for laws that reflect the party’s platform.

As the Chief Citizen, the governor is representative of all Virginians.

The lawmaking process in Virginia’s government is very similar to the process in the national government. Bills are introduced, sent to committees, debated on the floor, and have to be passed by a majority vote in both houses of the General Assembly before going to the Governor, who can take one of three actions: sign the bill into law, veto the bill (which can be overridden by a 2/3’s vote in both houses), or amend (change) the bill. The governor can change parts of a bill without rejecting the entire bill- this is called a line-item veto. An amended bill becomes law if both houses of the General Assembly approve the changes that the governor has made.

The Lieutenant Governor (Justin Fairfax of Annandale) is the 2nd in command in the executive branch, is elected to a four year term, serves as the Speaker of the Senate and is the tie-breaking vote, and serves as governor if the governor is unable.

The Attorney General (Mark Herring of Leesburg) is elected to a four year term, serves as the lawyer for the state, provides legal advice for the government and represents the state in court cases. Neither office has term limits.

Virginia’s executive branch includes over 200 different departments and agencies, each of which is headed by a secretary that is appointed by the governor and approved by the General Assembly.

Some examples of Virginia's executive departments are the Departments of Agriculture, Public Safety, Trade, Education, Natural Resources, and Transportation (VDOT). Each has a specific area of responsibility, which could include creating regulations to monitor aspects of businesses and the economy, providing public services, and carrying out or enforcing laws within those areas.

Some examples of Virginia's executive departments and the duties that they carry out are the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), who requires all drivers to have a license and makes sure that applicants meet all requirements; the Department of Health (VDH), who enforces food safety laws by inspecting restaurants to make sure that they are meeting cleanliness standards, and provides vaccines & issues warnings in the event of a flu outbreak; the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF), who requires those that hunt and fish in Virginia to be licensed, and the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) regulates the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages in the state.

Other parts of the bureaucracy include public colleges and universities such as Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, Radford University, and Virginia Western Community College; the Virginia Lottery; the Virginia State Police; and the Virginia Tourism Corporation (Virginia is for Lovers).

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Virginia has a biennial (2 year) budget cycle that totals $57 Billion for both 2019 & 2020. The top area spending is education (public schools kindergarten through the 12th grade, SOLs), which is required by law and accounts for 40% of the state budget. The other 3 top areas of spending are public health & human services (FAMIS- children's health insurance, vaccines, Medicare), public safety (police, jails, ABC), and the environment (clean water in the Chesapeake Bay, renewable resources).

The state's 2 largest sources of revenue (income, or money received) are income taxes, which are taxes on earnings, and sales taxes, which are taxes at the point of purchase of goods and services (5.3% on the purchase, so when you buy a soda for $0.99 in Virginia, it ends up costing $1.04- the state collects $0.04 and the local government where the soda was bought collects $0.01). Other revenue sources for the state include the fuel tax and licensing fees for hunting, fishing, driving, owning a gun, owning a business, and marriage.

The state government must make the difficult choice of either raising taxes or cutting programs if it spends more than it collects in revenue.

There are four levels to the Virginia Court System, which are, from the lowest level to the highest: the General District Courts (and Juvenile & Domestic Relations Courts), the Virginia Circuit Courts, Court of Appeals of Virginia, and the Virginia Supreme Court.

There are 32 regions in Virginia with General District Courts with about 300 judges that serve 6 year terms. We have 2 of these courts in Salem- the Salem City courthouse (behind the public library) & the Roanoke County courthouse (across the street from Mac and Bob's).

Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts handle cases involving defendants under the age of 18 and family disputes involving children.

General district courts have original jurisdiction and hear petty crimes and misdemeanors (a minor crime) like traffic offenses and small claims for civil cases for damages less than $25,000.

Circuit Courts have both original & appellate jurisdiction and hear felony (a major crime) criminal cases and larger claims in civil cases with damages totaling over $25,000.

Circuit courts are the main trial courts in Virginia and the only courts with juries in the entire state court system. There are 120 courts statewide with judges that serve 8 year terms.

The Court of Appeals of Virginia in Richmond has appellate jurisdiction and reviews cases on appeal from the state circuit courts. Cases are heard by an 11 judge panel and there is no jury. The court of appeals judges serve 8 year terms.

The Supreme Court of Virginia, also in Richmond, has appellate jurisdiction. The court hears cases from the Court of Appeals and appeals from circuit courts that involve the death penalty.

The court has 7 justices that serve 12 year terms, and the Chief Justice of the court also has the duty of supervising the entire state court system.

The Supreme Court of Virginia is the last court a case can be appealed to in Virginia, and the court does have the power to decide if state and local laws violate the Virginia Constitution.