Rules Committee, Virginia State Senate
The Rules Committee is a standing committee of the Virginia State Senate.
Per the Senate Rules, committees of the Virginia State Senate are assigned by the majority caucus. The caucus submits a nominations report for all committees that must be approved by a majority vote of the chamber. Committees are assigned at the start of each term.[1] A majority of appointed members make up a committee's quorum.[2] The president is not recognized as an ex officio member of any committee.
See rules: Senate Rules
Function
| “ | A Committee on Rules, which shall be in addition to the foregoing standing Committees, consisting of the standing Committee Chairs; the President pro tempore, if the person is not a Chair; the Majority Leader, if the person is not a Chair; the Minority Leader; and other Senators. The Chair of the Committee on Rules shall not be Chair of any standing Committee. The Chair of the Committee on Rules shall be the Chair of the Commission on Interstate Cooperation of the Senate. The Committee shall consider all resolutions amending or altering the Rules of the Senate; all joint rules with the House of Delegates; all bills and resolutions creating study committees or commissions; and all other resolutions (except those of a purely procedural nature, those concerning nominations and appointments to any office or position in the Commonwealth including the nominations of Justices and Judges, and those concerning constitutional amendments). The Committee may report such bills or resolutions with the recommendation that they be passed, or that they be rereferred to another Committee. In considering a bill or resolution, the Committee is empowered to sit while the Senate is in session. There shall be a subcommittee of the Committee, consisting of the Chair and members appointed by the Chair to equal the number of House members appointed to the subcommittee, which shall exercise on behalf of the Committee such powers as are delegated to the Committee when acting jointly with the Committee on Rules of the House of Delegates or a subcommittee thereof.[3][4] | ” |
Veto power
In February 2014, Democrats amended the chamber's rules to allow the chair of the Senate Rules Committee to veto any state Senate bills that had been heavily amended by the state House. Republican senators spoke out against the change, saying that the change removed voter accountability and created what they called a "super senator" with more power than the lieutenant governor. The move was also criticized because the chamber rules are typically amended at the start of each quadrennium following an election.
Senate Democrats defended the move, stating it allowed them to prevent the House from hijacking bills. “We now have the majority, and we have a responsibility to use that majority to get to work on the issues that voters care about,” said Dick Saslaw, the newly appointed majority leader.[5][6]
Membership
2023-2024 legislative session
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Senate Rules Committee, 2023-2024 |
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|---|---|---|
| Democratic members (12) | Republican members (4) | Third-party members(0) |
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2020-2021 legislative session
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Senate Rules Committee, 2020-2021 |
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|---|---|---|
| Democratic members (12) | Republican members (3) | Third-party members(0) |
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2016 legislative session
The following table describes committee membership at the beginning of the 2016 legislative session.
| Rules Committee Members, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic members (3) | Republican members (12) | |||
| • Dick Saslaw | • Ryan McDougle, Chair | |||
| • Mamie Locke | • Thomas Norment | |||
| • Roz Dance | • Emmett Hanger | |||
| • Stephen Newman | ||||
| • Frank Ruff | ||||
| • Frank Wagner | ||||
| • Mark Obenshain | ||||
| • Jill Vogel | ||||
| • Richard Stuart, Virginia Senator | ||||
| • Bill Stanley | ||||
| • Bill Carrico | ||||
| • Bryce Reeves | ||||
2015 legislative session
The following table describes committee membership at the beginning of the 2015 legislative session.
| Rules Committe Members, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic members (4) | Republican members (12) | |||
| • Charles Colgan | • Ryan McDougle, Chair | |||
| • Dick Saslaw | • Thomas Norment | |||
| • Janet Howell | • Walter Stosch | |||
| • Louise Lucas | • Steve Martin (Virginia) | |||
| • Emmett Hanger | ||||
| • Stephen Newman | ||||
| • John Watkins | ||||
| • Frank Ruff | ||||
| • Frank Wagner | ||||
| • Mark Obenshain | ||||
| • Ralph Smith | ||||
| • Jill Vogel | ||||
2014 legislative session
The following table describes committee membership at the beginning of the 2014 legislative session.
| Rules Committee Members, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic members (4) | Republican members (12) | |||
| • Charles Colgan | • Ryan McDougle, Chair | |||
| • Dick Saslaw | • Thomas Norment | |||
| • Janet Howell | • Walter Stosch | |||
| • Louise Lucas | • Steve Martin (Virginia) | |||
| • Emmett Hanger | ||||
| • Stephen Newman | ||||
| • John Watkins | ||||
| • Frank Ruff | ||||
| • Frank Wagner | ||||
| • Mark Obenshain | ||||
| • Ralph Smith | ||||
| • Jill Vogel | ||||
2012-2013
The following table describes committee membership at the beginning of the 2012 legislative session.
| Rules Committee Members, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic members (4) | Republican members (12) | |||
| • Charles Colgan | • Ryan McDougle, Chair | |||
| • Janet Howell | • Emmett Hanger | |||
| • Louise Lucas | • Stephen Martin | |||
| • Dick Saslaw | • Stephen Newman | |||
| • Thomas Norment | ||||
| • Mark Obenshain | ||||
| • Frank Ruff | ||||
| • Ralph Smith | ||||
| • Walter Stosch | ||||
| • Jill Vogel | ||||
| • Frank Wagner | ||||
| • John Watkins | ||||
2010-2011
The following table describes committee membership at the beginning of the 2010 legislative session.
| Rules Committee Members, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic members (13) | Republican members (4) | |||
| • Mary Whipple, Chair | • William Wampler | |||
| • Charles Colgan | • Frederick Quayle | |||
| • Dick Saslaw | • Ken Stolle | |||
| • Edd Houck | • Thomas Norment | |||
| • Yvonne Miller | ||||
| • Janet Howell | ||||
| • Henry Marsh | ||||
| • Louise Lucas | ||||
| • Patricia Ticer | ||||
| • Toddy Puller | ||||
| • Mamie Locke | ||||
| • John Edwards | ||||
| • Phillip Puckett | ||||
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Virginia State Legislature, "Rules of the Senate of Virginia," accessed February 22, 2021 (Rule 18)
- ↑ Virginia State Legislature, "Rules of the Senate of Virginia," accessed February 22, 2021 (Rule 20(e))
- ↑ Virginia General Assembly, "Senate Rules," accessed March 3, 2021(Rule 19(a))
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Washington Post, "Democrats take control of Virginia Senate," January 28, 2014
- ↑ watchdog.org, "GOP calls Dems’ Senate takeover ‘outrageous power grab’," January 29, 2014
