West Virginia Legislature
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The West Virginia Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of
West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
. A
bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...
legislative body, the legislature is split between the upper
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and the lower House of Delegates. It was established under Article VI of the West Virginia Constitution following the state's split from
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
in 1863. As with its neighbor and former constituent
Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...
, the legislature's lower house is also referred to as a "House of Delegates." The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Charleston.


Terms

Senators are elected for terms of four years and delegates for terms of two years. The terms for senators are staggered, meaning that not all 34 state senate seats are up every election; some are elected in presidential election years and some are up during midterm elections.West Virginia Constitution

West Virginia Legislature
(accessed May 29, 2013)


Organization

Regular sessions of the legislature commence on the second Wednesday of January of each year. However, following the election of a new governor, the session starts in January with the governor's address but then adjourns until February. On the first day of the session, members of both the House and the Senate sit in joint session in the House chamber where the governor presents his or her legislative program. The length of the general session may not go beyond 60 calendar days unless extended by a concurrent resolution adopted by a two-thirds vote of each house. The governor may convene the Legislature for extraordinary sessions. Given the part-time nature of the legislature of West Virginia, multiple extraordinary sessions are not uncommon.


Legislative process

Bills, even revenue bills, and resolutions may originate in either house. Bills must undergo three readings in each house before being sent to the governor. Bills cannot contain multiple subjects and do not take effect until 90 days following adjournment, unless specifically approved to take effect immediately by two-thirds of the membership of each house. Bills are drafted by the Office of Legislative Services or legislative staff counsel, reviewed by the sponsor of the bill and submitted for introduction to the clerk of the chamber of which the sponsor is a member.How a Bill Becomes Law

West Virginia State Legislature
Bills are assigned to committees that make recommendations about a bill in the form of a committee report. The governor has the power to veto bills. For budget bills or supplementary appropriations bills, two-thirds of the members elected to each house are required to override the governor's veto of a bill or line-item veto. For all other bills, a simple majority of each house is required.


See also

* West Virginia House of Delegates * West Virginia Senate * West Virginia State Capitol * List of members of the 85th West Virginia Legislature * List of West Virginia state legislatures


References


External links


West Virginia Legislature homepage
{{Authority control Government of West Virginia Bicameral legislatures