West Virginia Legislature

West Virginia Legislature
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate House of Delegates
Leadership
President of the Senate/Lt. Governor	Mitch Carmichael (R) Since January 11, 2017
Senate Majority Leader	Ryan Ferns (R) Since January 11, 2017
Speaker of the House	Tim Armstead (R) Since January 14, 2015
House Majority Leader	Daryl Cowles (R) Since January 14, 2015
Structure
Seats	134 voting members: 34 Senators 100 Delegates
Senate political groups	Republican (22)      Democratic (12)
House of Delegates political groups	Republican (64)      Democratic (36)
Authority	Article VI, West Virginia Constitution
Elections
Senate last election	November 8, 2016
House of Delegates last election	November 8, 2016
Meeting place
West Virginia State Capitol, Charleston
Website
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/

     Republican (22)

     Republican (64)

The West Virginia Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of West Virginia. A bicameral legislative body, the Legislature is split between the upper Senate and the lower House of Delegates. It was established under Article VI of the West Virginia Constitution following the state's split from Virginia during the American Civil War in 1863. As with its neighbor and former constituent Virginia General Assembly, the legislature's lower house is also referred to as a "House of Delegates."

The Legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Charleston.

Senators are elected for terms of four years and delegates for terms of two years. These terms are staggered, meaning that not all 34 State Senate seats are up every election: some are elected presidential election years and some are up during midterm elections.

Regular sessions of the Legislature commence on the second Wednesday of January of each year. However, following the election of a new governor, the session starts in January with the governor's address but then adjourns until February. On the first day of the session, members of both the House and the Senate sit in joint session in the House Chamber where the governor presents his or her legislative program. The length of the general session may not go beyond 60 calendar days unless extended by a concurrent resolution adopted by a two-thirds vote of each house. The governor may convene the Legislature for extraordinary sessions. Given the part-time nature of the legislature of West Virginia, multiple extraordinary sessions are not uncommon.