Virginia General Assembly, Legislative assembly in Richmond, US.
The Virginia General Assembly is the bicameral legislative body of the U.S. state of Virginia, based in Richmond, and consists of the Senate with 40 elected members and the House of Delegates with 100 representatives. Both chambers meet during the annual session period in the State Capitol and deliberate on laws that govern subjects from education to infrastructure.
The legislature originated in 1619 in Jamestown as the first elected assembly in the English colonies of North America and relocated to Williamsburg in 1699. When Richmond became the new capital in 1780, the body moved there and continued its work in a building designed by Thomas Jefferson.
Legislators gather in the Virginia Capitol, which Thomas Jefferson designed in the late eighteenth century and whose classical columns and dome still speak the architectural language of the early American republic. Visitors can enter the public galleries and watch lawmakers at work as they deliver speeches and vote on proposals.
Sessions take place at the start of the year and typically last 30 to 60 days, depending on whether it is an even or odd year. Visitors can access the public galleries during sessions but should check the Capitol's opening hours in advance.
The assembly has met continuously for more than four hundred years, making it the oldest ongoing legislature in the Western Hemisphere. Its continuity survived wars, relocations, and political upheavals without ever interrupting its function.
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