The 2013 Regular Session of the Virginia General Assembly convened on Wednesday, January 9th to consider bills and resolutions related to the laws, budget, taxes, and functions of the Commonwealth and its officials.
The Virginia General Assembly traces its origin from the House of Burgesses established at Jamestown in 1619 through the Virginia Constitution of 1776 to the current Constitution adopted in 1970. The General Assembly consists of the House of Delegates, which has 100 members who are elected for 2-year terms, and the Senate of Virginia, which has 40 members who are elected for 4-year terms.
The daily floor sessions of the 2013 Regular Session will be available to the public through streaming video on the new Virginia General Assembly website (Choose Members and Session) at
http://virginiageneralassembly.gov/.
The status of individual bills and resolutions of the 2013 Session can be tracked through the Virginia General Assembly Legislative Information System at
http://leg1.state.va.us/lis.htm.
Publications related to the work of the General Assembly are available to the public through the Virginia Division of Legislative Services website at
http://dls.virginia.gov/publications.HTM. Examples of these publications include: reports, assessments, digests, session calendars, legislative guidelines, newsletters, highlights, and summaries.
One of these, In Due Course: Changes to Virginia’s Laws, is published annually and provides a brief summary of legislation passed by the General Assembly that is likely to impact the daily lives of Virginians. In Due Course is available online at
http://dls.virginia.gov/PUBS/IDC/WELCOME.HTM.