161st Virginia General Assembly

161st Virginia General Assembly
161st Virginia General Assembly
Overview
Term	January 8, 2020 – March 2021
Senate of Virginia
Members	40
President of the Senate	Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D)
Senate Majority Leader	Dick Saslaw (D)
Senate Minority Leader	Tommy Norment (R)
Party control	Democratic (21); Republican (19);
Virginia House of Delegates
Members	100
Speaker of the House	Eileen Filler-Corn (D)
House Majority Leader	Charniele Herring (D)
House Minority Leader	Todd Gilbert (R)
Party control	Democratic (55); Republican (45);
Sessions
1st
1st	January 8, 2020 – March 12, 2020
2nd	January 13, 2021 – February 8, 2021
Special sessions
1st
1st	August 18, 2020 – November 9, 2020
2nd	February 10, 2021 – March 1, 2021

The 161st Virginia General Assembly, consisting of members who were elected in both the House election and Senate election in 2019, convened on January 8, 2020. It was the first time Democrats held both houses of the General Assembly and the governorship since the 147th General Assembly in 1993.

A special session was called by Governor Ralph Northam for August 18, 2020 to make budget cuts and pass bills for criminal justice reform, racial justice, affordable housing and COVID-19 protections. The special session ended on November 9, 2020. After a shorter 30-day session occurred from January to February 2021, Northam called for another special session which lasted until March. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Capitol was closed to the public and sessions were re-located to alternative buildings.