The
Virginia General Assembly is the
legislative body of the
Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a
bicameral body consisting of a
lower house, the
Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members, and an
upper house, the
Senate of Virginia, with 40 members. Combined together, the General Assembly consists of 140 elected representatives from an equal number of constituent districts across the commonwealth. The House of Delegates is presided over by the
Speaker of the House, while the Senate is presided over by the
Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. The House and Senate each elect a clerk and
sergeant-at-arms. The
Senate of Virginia's clerk is known as the "Clerk of the Senate" (instead of as the "
Secretary of the Senate," the title used in the
federal Senate).