<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> http://virginiageneralassembly.gov </Td> </Tr> <P> 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 by the U.S. Senate). </P> <P> The Republican Party currently holds a slight majority in both the House of Delegates and the Senate . </P> <P> The General Assembly meets in Virginia's capital of Richmond . When sitting in Richmond, the General Assembly holds sessions in the Virginia State Capitol, designed by Thomas Jefferson in 1788 and expanded in 1904 . During the American Civil War, the building was used as the capitol of the Confederate States of America, housing the Congress of the Confederate States . The building was renovated between 2005 and 2006 . Senators and Delegates have their offices in the General Assembly Building across the street directly north of the Capitol . The Governor of Virginia lives across the street directly east of the Capitol in the Virginia Executive Mansion . </P>

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