Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The government of Virginia combines the executive, legislative and judicial branches of authority in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The current governor of Virginia is Glenn Youngkin . The State Capitol building in Richmond was designed by Thomas Jefferson , and the cornerstone was laid by Governor Patrick Henry in 1785 .
The original Virginia Constitution of 1776 was enacted at the time of the Declaration of Independence by the first thirteen states of the United States of America. Virginia was an early state to adopt its own Constitution on June 29, 1776, and the document was widely influential both in the United States and abroad. [1]
Virginia State Board of Elections in a Virginia state court, plaintiffs sought to overturn the General Assembly's redistricting in five House of Delegates and six state Senate districts as violations of both the Virginia and U.S. Constitutions because they failed to represent populations in "continuous and compact territory". [22]
Virginia's state legislature is the Virginia General Assembly, which was established in July 1619, making it the oldest current law-making body in North America. Unlike other states, cities and counties in Virginia function as equals, but the state government manages most local roads.
From 1632 to 1699 the legislative body met at four different state houses in Jamestown. The first state house convened at the home of Colonial Governor Sir John Harvey from 1632 to 1656. The burgesses convened at the second state house from 1656 until it was destroyed in 1660. Historians have yet to precisely identify its location. [4]
He claimed ownership though many of them were controlled by the Native Americans, and he sought to get the colonial (and, later, state) government to recognize his claims. This was common among Virginia's leading citizens, such as George Washington. Henry foresaw the potential of the Ohio Valley and was involved in schemes to found settlements.
The foremost source of state law is the Constitution of Virginia. It provides the process for enacting all state legislation, as well as defining the powers of the state government and the basic rights of the people of Virginia. The Virginia Constitution has had six major revisions, as well as many amendments.
Articles 1–3 address the subject of rights and the relationship between government and the governed. Article 1 states that "all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights of which ... they cannot deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining ...