Senators are elected for terms of four years and delegates for terms of two years. These terms 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.[1]
Organizationedit
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 processedit
Bills, even revenue bills, and resolutions may originate in either house.[1] Bills must undergo three readings in each house before being sent to the governor.[1] 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.[1]
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.[2] Bills are assigned to committees that make recommendations about a bill in the form of a committee report.[2]
The governor has the power to veto bills.[1] 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.[1] For all other bills, a simple majority of each house is required.[1]
^ abcdefgWest Virginia Constitution, West Virginia Legislature (accessed May 29, 2013)
^ abHow a Bill Becomes Law, West Virginia State Legislature
External linksedit
West Virginia Legislature Homepage
April 26, 2024
west, virginia, legislature, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, relies, excessively, references, primary, sources, please, improve, this, ar. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article relies excessively on references to primary sources Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources Find sources West Virginia Legislature news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources West Virginia Legislature news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message The West Virginia Legislature is the state legislature of the U S state of West Virginia A bicameral legislative body the legislature is split between the upper Senate and the lower House of Delegates It was established under Article VI of the West Virginia Constitution following the state s split from Virginia during the American Civil War in 1863 As with its neighbor and former constituent Virginia General Assembly the legislature s lower house is also referred to as a House of Delegates West Virginia Legislature86th West Virginia LegislatureTypeTypeBicameralHousesSenate House of DelegatesHistoryFoundedJune 20 1863 160 years ago 1863 06 20 Preceded byRestored Legislature of VirginiaNew session startedJanuary 10 2024LeadershipPresident of the Senate Lt GovernorCraig Blair R since January 13 2021Senate Majority LeaderTom Takubo R since January 9 2019Speaker of the HouseRoger Hanshaw R since August 29 2018House Majority LeaderEric Householder R since January 11 2023StructureSeats134 voting members 34 Senators100 DelegatesSenate political groupsMajority 31 Republican 31 Minority 3 Democratic 3 House of Delegates political groupsMajority 89 Republican 89 Minority 11 Democratic 11 AuthorityArticle VI West Virginia ConstitutionElectionsLast Senate electionNovember 8 2022Last House of Delegates electionNovember 8 2022Next Senate electionNovember 5 2024Next House of Delegates electionNovember 5 2024Meeting placeWest Virginia State CapitolCharlestonWebsitewww wbr wvlegislature wbr govConstitutionConstitution of West Virginia The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Charleston Contents 1 Terms 2 Organization 3 Legislative process 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksTerms editSenators are elected for terms of four years and delegates for terms of two years These terms 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 1 Organization editRegular 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 editBills even revenue bills and resolutions may originate in either house 1 Bills must undergo three readings in each house before being sent to the governor 1 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 1 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 2 Bills are assigned to committees that make recommendations about a bill in the form of a committee report 2 The governor has the power to veto bills 1 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 1 For all other bills a simple majority of each house is required 1 See also editWest Virginia House of Delegates West Virginia Senate West Virginia State Capitol List of members of the 85th West Virginia LegislatureReferences edit a b c d e f g West Virginia Constitution West Virginia Legislature accessed May 29 2013 a b How a Bill Becomes Law West Virginia State LegislatureExternal links editWest Virginia Legislature Homepage Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title West Virginia Legislature amp oldid 1219183818, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
