Civil Government of Virginia Part 3

Legislation is the making of laws. The a.s.sembly has powers of general legislation under the const.i.tution--that is, of making all such laws as the const.i.tution directs or does not forbid.

(Explanations are given later on as to the boards and officers mentioned here which the General a.s.sembly has power to elect.)

Contests--that is, disputes or differences--may occur in the election of governor and lieutenant-governor. There may be contests as to counting of votes or as to the qualifications of candidates. Such contests are decided by the General a.s.sembly.

Membership. Each house settles its own rules of proceeding; is judge of the election, qualification, and returns of its members.

Members are not subject to arrest under any civil process during the session of the General a.s.sembly, nor for fifteen days next before the convening, and after the termination of each session; are privileged from arrest in all cases during the session, except for treason, felony, perjury, breach of the peace, or a contempt of court of a criminal nature.

What is meant by each house being judge of the election, qualification, and returns of its members is, that it can decide whether the members are legally elected and qualified. Returns are the particulars as to names of candidates and the number of votes cast for each, which the election judges are required to make up after the close of the poll on election day. The qualifications necessary for a member of either house are as follows: he must be twenty-one years of age or over, and a voter of the State of Virginia, and he must reside in the district for which he is elected.

Civil process is a law-proceeding in a case where no crime is charged, but such as for the recovering of a debt or for the settlement of a difference relating to business matters. Perjury is the crime of wilfully making a false oath. When a person appears as a witness in a court of law he has to take an oath that he will tell the truth. If after taking such oath he tells what he knows to be untrue, he is guilty of perjury.

A breach of the peace is any act of violence which causes public disturbance, such as one person a.s.saulting another and thereby causing a quarrel or riot.

Contempt of court is disobedience to the orders or decrees or rules of a court of law. Insult or violence to a judge in court would he criminal contempt.

Salaries. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates, each, $400; and the other members, each, $240 for attendance and service at each regular session; at all extra sessions, the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Delegates shall receive, each, $240, and the other members, each, $120. Members are ent.i.tled to mileage.

In addition to his salary each member of the a.s.sembly receives ten cents per mile for expenses of traveling to and from the sessions of the a.s.sembly. This allowance is called mileage.

Bills may originate in either of the two houses. No bill shall become a law until it has been read on three different days in each house except by a vote of four-fifths of the members voting in each house.

Every bill which shall have pa.s.sed the Senate and House of Delegates shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the Governor; if he approve, he shall sign it and it is then a law, but if not, he shall return it with his objections to the house in which it originated; who shall proceed to reconsider it. If after such consideration two-thirds of the members present shall agree to pa.s.s the bill, it shall be sent to the other house, by which it shall be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of all the members present, it shall become a law, notwithstanding the objections of the Governor.

He may also veto any particular item of an appropriation bill, but this item may also be pa.s.sed over his veto by a two-thirds vote of both houses.

If any bill shall not be returned by the Governor within five days after it shall have been presented to him, it shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it.

A bill is a draft or statement of a proposed law. A bill may originate in either house--that is, it may be first proposed in either the Seriate or House of Delegates. Any senator or delegate who wishes to have a new law made must first put it in writing.

Then he himself introduces or proposes it in the house of which he is a member, or it may be introduced by a committee.

A committee is a number of persons, usually not a large number, appointed by a legislature or other body to take charge of and attend to some particular business. The members of the House of Delegates and of the Senate are divided into committees, and some special subject or business is entrusted to each. For example, in the Senate there are committees on Privileges and Elections, Public Inst.i.tutions and Education, and many other subjects; and in the House of Delegates there are committees on Courts of Justice, Schools and Colleges, and other subjects.

Usually proposals for new laws are referred for consideration to the committee having charge of the subject or business to which the proposed law relates. Committees in the Senate are elected by the senators themselves; committees in the House of Delegates are appointed by the speaker.

When a new law or bill is introduced it is either proposed by a committee, or by some member and given for consideration to a committee. In order to pa.s.s, it must be read three times on three different days (once each day) in the house in which it originates.

The first reading is the formal placing or presenting of the bill before the house. At the second reading the bill is discussed, and any member who wishes to say anything for or against it is at liberty to do so.

Amendments may also be proposed at the second reading. An amendment is an alteration or a change in the wording or matter of a bill. After an amendment is discussed the house votes upon it, and if a majority is for it, the change is made in the bill.

When all amendments are discussed and voted on, a vote is taken on the bill as a whole, and if a majority of the members vote for it, it is read a second time.

It is then engrossed, or written out, by the clerk of the house, and read a third time, after which a vote is again taken, and if there is a majority for it, it pa.s.ses the house.

When the bill is pa.s.sed in the house in which it originated, it is taken to the other house by the sergeant-at-arms. There it goes through the same forms of reading and discussion, and if it be read three times and have a majority in its favor it is pa.s.sed. It is then enrolled, after which it is signed by the presiding officer in each house, and when this is done it is sent to the governor for his signature.

The sergeant-at-arms is an officer whose duty it is to preserve order in the chamber where the sessions of either house are held, to distribute among the members any papers or doc.u.ments they may require, and in general to perform such services as are necessary for the proper transaction of business. Each house has its own sergeant-at-arms.

(For enrolling, see under House of Delegates, page 19.) The requirements with regard to a bill after it is sent to the governor are stated in the text above. (For the veto power of the governor, see page 28.)

QUESTIONS.

1. In whom is the legislative power of the commonwealth vested?

2. What is the legislative power?

3. Define commonwealth.

4. What is a delegate?

5. How many members const.i.tute the Senate?

6. What are senatorial districts, and how many are there in the State?

7. Who is the presiding officer of the Senate?

8. For how long are senators elected?

9. What are the qualifications of a senator?

10. What are the powers of the Senate?

11. What does impeachment mean?

12. Who tries a case of impeachment?

13. How many members of the House of Delegates?

14. Define statute.

15. For how long are members of the House of Delegates elected?

16. What are the qualifications of delegates?

17. What are the powers of delegates?

18. Define apportioned.

19. What is the chairman of the House of Delegates called?

20. What are the rolls, and by whom are they kept?

21. What does the General a.s.sembly consist of?

22. How often are the sessions of the General a.s.sembly held?

23. What is a special session?

24. What are the powers of the General a.s.sembly?