2021 Virginia legislative session

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2021 Virginia legislative session
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General information
Session start:    January 13, 2021

Session end:    February 8, 2021

Leadership
Senate President
Justin Fairfax (D)

House Speaker
Eileen Filler-Corn (D)
Majority Leader
Senate: Dick Saslaw (D)
House: Charniele Herring (D)
Minority Leader
Senate: Thomas Norment Jr. (R)
House: C. Todd Gilbert (R)

Elections
Next Election:    November 2, 2021

Last Election:    November 5, 2019

Previous legislative sessions
2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2021 legislative sessions

In 2021, the Virginia General Assembly was scheduled to convene on January 13 and adjourn on February 8.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2019 elections. Democrats won a 21-18 majority in the Senate and a 55-45 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta. At the start of the 2021 session, Virginia was one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

The Virginia General Assembly is responsible for redistricting following each census. Legislators were expected to address redistricting as part of the 2021 legislative session. As of the 2020 Census, Virginia was one of two states where a political commission was responsible for redistricting.

At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session:
  • Democrats held a majority in the Virginia state House and state Senate.
  • Virginia was one of 15 Democratic state government trifectas.
  • Virginia's governor was Democrat Ralph Northam.

    • Leadership in 2021

    Virginia State Senate

    Virginia House of Delegates

    Partisan control in 2021

    See also: State government trifectas

    Virginia was one of 15 Demcoratic state government trifectas at the start of 2021 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    Virginia was also one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Virginia General Assembly in the 2021 legislative session.

    Virginia State Senate

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 21
         Republican Party 19
    Total 40

    Virginia House of Delegates

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 55
         Republican Party 45
    Total 100

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2021 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2021. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Noteworthy legislation

    HB 2312: Marijuana legalization

    See also: History of marijuana ballot measures and laws

    On April 7, 2021, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed HB 2312, which legalized the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana by adults ages 21 and over beginning July 1, 2021.[1] The legislation also established a regulatory and licensing structure for the cultivation, manufacture, and retail sale of marijuana, along with the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund to support groups and communities disproportionately affected by the enforcement of past cannabis laws.[2]

    Following the passage of the legislation, Northam said:[3]

    “

    We made history as the first state in the South to legalize the simple possession of marijuana. I am pleased that the General Assembly accepted my proposal to make this change on July 1, 2021 nearly three years earlier than planned. Marijuana laws were explicitly designed to target communities of color, and Black Virginians are disproportionately likely to be stopped, charged, and convicted. Today, Virginia took a critical step to right these wrongs and restore justice to those harmed by decades of over-criminalization.

    I am grateful to Lieutenant Governor Fairfax for his tie-breaking vote, and to the legislators, all of the advocates, and the members of my team who have worked to ensure that our framework for legalization focuses on public health, public safety, and equity. This includes a plan to seal certain crimes from an individual’s record automatically, so those with past convictions can get a clean slate and move on with their lives.[4]

    		”

    Redistricting

    See also: Redistricting in Virginia after the 2020 census

    Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries for elected offices, particularly for offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures.

    Template loop detected: Redistricting in Virginia after the 2020 census

    Template loop detected: Redistricting in Virginia after the 2020 census

    Click here for more information.

    Virginia's 11 United States representatives and 140 state legislators are all elected from political divisions called districts. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. Federal law stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.

    To learn more about the redistricting process in Virginia after the 2020 census, click here.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Virginia state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session, there were 25 standing committees in Virginia's state government, including 11 state Senate committees and 14 state House committees.

    Senate committees

    House committees

    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the Virginia Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Article XII of the Virginia Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Virginia

    The Virginia Constitution can be amended through two different paths—a legislative process, and a constitutional convention. Virginia does not feature the power of initiative for either initiated constitutional amendments or initiated state statutes.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    A simple majority vote is required during two successive legislative sessions for the Virginia General Assembly to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 51 votes in the Virginia House of Delegates and 21 votes in the Virginia State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

    Convention

    See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

    Amendments to or revisions of the state's constitution can be proposed by a constitutional convention as established in Section 2 of Article XII. A convention can happen if the state's legislature "by a vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house" calls a convention.


    Historical context: Between 1996 and 2020, the following occurred:

    • A total of 33 measures appeared on statewide ballots.
    • An average of 2.6 measures appeared on even-year ballots.
    • The number of measures appearing on statewide ballots ranged from zero to five.
    • Voters approved 87.9 percent (29 of 33) of statewide ballot measures.
    • Voters rejected 12.1 percent (4 of 33) of statewide ballot measures.
    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments, 1996-2020
    Total number Approved Percent approved Defeated Percent defeated Average Median Minimum Maximum
    33 29 87.9% 4 12.1% 2.6 2.0 0 5


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Virginia.

    Virginia Party Control: 1992-2025
    Four years of Democratic trifectas  •  Four years of Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor D D R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R
    Senate D D D D S S R R R R R R R R R R D D D D R R D R R R R R D D D D D D
    House D D D D D D S S R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D R R D D

    Historical Senate control

    Between 1994 and 2019, partisan control of the Virginia State Senate fluctuated between the Democratic and Republican parties. The table below shows the partisan history of the Virginia State Senate following every general election from 1991 to 2019. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Virginia State Senate election results: 1991-2019

    Party 91 95 99 03 07 11 15 19
    Democrats 22 20 19 16 21 20 19 21
    Republicans 18 20 21 24 19 20 21 19

    After the 1991 elections, Democrats held a 22-18 majority. Elections in 1995 and 2011 resulted in the chamber moving to a split 20-20 partisan balance. Both of those elections followed a Democratic majority in the previous cycle and were followed by a Republican majority in the next cycle. The largest change in partisan balance of the state Senate was between 2003 and 2007, when Democrats gained five seats. The 2015 elections resulted in a 21-19 Republican majority. In the 2019 elections, Democrats won a 21-19 majority.

    Historical House control

    Between 1991 and 2019, partisan control of the Virginia House of Delegates shifted towards the Republican Party and then began moving back toward the Democratic Party. As a result of the 1991 elections, Democrats held a 52-47 majority. Republicans gained control of the chamber in 1999 and, by 2015, expanded their majority to 66-34. In the 2017 elections, the chamber's partisan balance swung back toward Democrats as they gained 15 seats and narrowed the Republican majority to 51-49. Democrats gained a 55-45 majority in the 2019 elections.

    The table below shows the partisan history of the Virginia House of Delegates following every general election from 1991 to 2019. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Virginia House of Delegates election results: 1991-2019

    Year '91 '93 '95 '97 '99 '01 '03 '05 '07 '09 '11 '13 '15 '17 '19
    Democrats 52 52 52 50 47 31 37 39 44 39 32 33 34 49 55
    Republicans 47 47 47 49 52 67 61 58 54 59 67 67 66 51 45

    Republicans began making gains in the state House after the 1997 elections, when they picked up two seats. The chamber moved to a 52-47 Republican majority after the 1999 elections. The largest Republican gains in the state House occurred as a result of the 2001 elections, when the party expanded its majority by 15 seats. Democrats gained 13 seats between 2003 and 2007. In 2011, Republicans gained eight seats, moving the chamber to a 67-32 Republican majority.

    In the 2017 elections, Democrats picked up 15 seats and nearly forced a 50-50 split in the chamber. The race for District 94 was an exact tie between Delegate David Yancey (R) and Shelly Simonds (D). A random drawing was held to select the winner and Yancey won.

    Two-thirds of members present in both chambers must vote to override a veto. If all members are in attendance, this is 67 of the 100 members in the Virginia House of Delegates and 27 of the 40 members in the Virginia State Senate.

    See also

    Elections Virginia State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ NPR, "Virginia 16th State To Legalize Recreational Pot, Latest To Emphasize 'Social Equity,'" April 7, 2021
    2. ↑ Virginia Legislative Information Services, "HB 2312," accessed April 12, 2021
    3. ↑ Governor of Virginia, "Governor Northam Celebrates Progress During 2021 General Assembly Session," April 7, 2021
    4. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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