Senate of Virginia

, an upper house made up of executive counselors appointed by the Governor as advisers.

The Lieutenant Governor presides daily over the Virginia Senate. In the Lieutenant Governor's absence, a president pro tempore presides, usually a powerful member of the majority party. The Senate is equal with the House of Delegates, the lower chamber of the legislature, except that taxation bills must originate in the House, just like in the U.S. Congress.

Virginia Senators are elected every four years by the voters of the several senatorial districts on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in November. The last election took place on 6 November 2007.

In the 2007 election, the Democratic Party reclaimed the majority in the Senate for the first time since 1999, when the Republican Party took control of the Senate for the first time in history.

Salary and qualifications

The annual salary for senators is $18,000 per year.cite web|url=http://www.vakids.org/pubs/virginia_state_legislature_faq.pdf|title=Virginia State Legislature|publisher=VAKids.org|accessdate=2008-09-12] To qualify for office, senators must be at least 21 years of age at the time of the election, residents of the district they represent, and qualified to vote for General Assembly legislators.cite web|url=http://www.vakids.org/pubs/virginia_state_legislature_faq.pdf|title=Virginia State Legislature|publisher=VAKids.org|accessdate=2008-09-12] The regular session of the General Assembly is 60 days long during even numbered years and 30 days long during odd numbered years, unless extended by a two-thirds vote of both houses.cite web|url=http://www.vakids.org/pubs/virginia_state_legislature_faq.pdf|title=Virginia State Legislature|publisher=VAKids.org|accessdate=2008-09-12]

Balance of power

Leadership

* President Pro Tem: Chuck Colgan
* Majority Leader: Dick Saslaw
* Minority Leader: Tommy Norment

Members

enate seal

The Senate has its own coat of arms designed and granted by the College of Arms in England. The coat of arms also makes up the official seal of the Virginia Senate. It bears no resemblance to the Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia, which is the seal of the state as a whole.

The coat of arms adopted January 22, 1981 was designed by the College of Arms and supposedly based on the seal and coat of arms used by the London Company, the royally-chartered English entrepreneurs who funded the European settlement of Virginia. However, other than both devices displaying a quartered shield, there is little resemblance between them.

The Senate's arms have a shield in the center which is divided into four sections by a red cross. In each quarter are smaller shields representing the arms of four countries (England, France, Scotland, and Ireland) that contributed settlers to Virginia's earliest waves of European immigration.

The four coats of arms, a small crest of a crowned female head with unbound hair representing Queen Elizabeth (the Virgin Queen for whom Virginia was named), and the dragon (part of the Elizabethan royal seal of England) represent Virginia's European heritage. The Senate's seal makes no reference to Virginia's Native American or African American heritage.

An ivory gavel emblazoned on the vertical arm of the red cross represents the Senate as a law making body. The cardinal and dogwood depicted are Virginia's official state bird and tree. The ribbon contains the Latin motto of the Senate, "Floreat Senatus Virginiae," which means "May the Senate of Virginia flourish." [http://legis.state.va.us/1_cap_class/just_teachers/jft_ga_unit.html Official Virginia State Senate "Capitol Classroom" site] . Accessed November 7, 2007.] [http://homeschooling.about.com/library/blvasenseal.htm Answers.Com: Virginia State Senate Seal] Accessed November 7, 2007.]

References

ee also

*Virginia state elections, 2007
*Virginia House of Delegates

External links

* [http://legis.state.va.us/ Virginia General Assembly] official government website
* [http://www.vote-smart.org/official_state_legislator.php?type=office&state_id=VA&criteria=upper Project Vote Smart - State Senate of Virginia]
* [http://legis.state.va.us/1_cap_class/9-12/9_12_emb_symb.html Official Virginia Emblems] Includes a very small version of the Seal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Virginia