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2012 Regular Session
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2012 Regular Session

The 2012 Regular Session will convene on Wednesday, January 11, at 12 noon. Information on the newly elected House and Senate members is now available. In addition, the 2012 Regular Session deadlines (see HJR 5), as well as the prefiling schedule for the 2013 Regular Session (see HJR 6), are available in the Meeting and Events section of our homepage.

Legislative session information including daily House and Senate convene and adjourn times can also be found at each body's respective twitter accounts, @vahouse and @vasenate.

House and Senate offer live video of 2012 Legislative Sessions

The House of Delegates and the Senate of Virginia offer live streaming video of the 2012 Legislative Sessions, when each body convenes for session.

Minimum system requirements for viewing the streams are available from the links above along with links to related legislative content.

Virginia General Assembly to conduct commemorative session in Williamsburg's Colonial Capitol Building

The General Assembly of Virginia, the Western Hemisphere’s oldest elected deliberative body, will meet in special commemorative session at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28 at the Capitol in Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area.

The joint session of the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate of Virginia is the 25th in a series of ceremonial assemblies begun in 1934 with the dedication of the reconstructed Capitol on its colonial-era foundation.

A highlight of each commemorative session is an address on current issues facing Virginia, the United States or the world. In observance of the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War, members of the General Assembly this year will hear nationally renowned Civil War historian Dr. James I. Robertson Jr., the Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus in History at Virginia Tech. More information is available in a press release for the event.

Contacting Your Legislator

As a citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia, one of your greatest responsibilities is to elect the legislators to represent you in the Virginia General Assembly. There are a number of online resources available on the Virginia General Assembly website to assist you in taking an active role in the legislative process:

Know who your legislators are and how to contact them. If you don't know who represents you, find out by using Who's My Legislator. Due to this widely used online service, calling the 800 number for Constituent Viewpoint has been eliminated. Who's My Legislator gives you the ability to email your Delegate, Senator as well as contact information for your representatives in the US House of Representatives and US Senate.

In addition, a biographical page on each delegate and senator is available from the General Assembly's homepage.

Contact your representative about a particular issue before the Legislature takes action on it. Using the Legislative Information System, you can track legislation and review committee agendas prior to a meeting. You can even testify before committees on issues important to you.

Capitol Use Policies Adopted by Joint Rules for 2012 Session

The Virginia Capitol, one of the most historic structures in the Western Hemisphere, every year welcomes thousands of Virginia citizens and visitors from around the country and throughout the world. The Virginia Capitol is unique among historic sites because it also is a working government building. It is important to respect and safeguard the historic nature of the Capitol as well as preserve the public’s access to their government without impeding the day-to-day operations of state government and the conduct of the people’s business.

In accordance with local, state, and federal laws, rules, and regulations, interim rules regarding the Capitol and the House and Senate galleries have been established jointly by the Clerk of the House and the Clerk of the Senate at the direction of the General Assembly’s Committee on Joint Rules.

Capitol, Gallery and Mezzanine Use Policy - House

Capitol, Gallery and Mezzanine Use Policy - Senate

Groups interested in holding an event on Capitol Square will need a permit. Please see the Commonwealth of Virginia's Division of Engineering and Buildings (DEB) webpage for information on obtaining these permits.

Capitol Virtual Tour Website

The General Assembly has released a state of the art virtual tours website that brings Virginia's State Capitol to the citizens of Virginia. The website provides online tours of both the Capitol Grounds and the Capitol Building. Visitors to this interactive website will have the ability to explore areas on their own or view video presentations.

Please note the virtual tours website requires the Adobe Flash Player. You can download the Flash Player at the Adobe website at no charge. If you do not have the Flash Player plug-in installed, you will be prompted to install it before any content is shown.

For visitors with special needs: An accessible segment of this website has been created for those visitors who use technology other than standard web browsers to view web content.



Photos of Virginia's Capitol Building and Grounds