VIRGINIA’S BIG PICTURE! 1.The Virginia _____________ distributes power among the _________, ________, and ____________ branches of the state government. 2.The legislative branch is the _______________, a bicameral legislature made up of the House of _____________ and the Virginia ____________. 3.The Chief Executive is the __________, who is elected for a __________ term. The governor appoints members of the ________, who oversee specific functions of government. 4.The lieutenant governor and the attorney general are executive branch officers who are _______ for a four-year term.

THE VIRGINIA LEGISLATIVE BRANCH General assembly consists of a bicameral legislature: The House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate Makes the laws of Virginia Approves the biennial (2 year) budget Meet annually for a fixed number of days

THE LAWMAKING PROCESS AT THE STATE LEVEL: VIRGINIA The lawmaking process in the Virginia General Assembly 1.Introducing a bill by a Senator or Delegate 2.Working in committees 3.Debating the bill on the floor of each house 4.Voting on the bill in each house 5.Sending the bill to the governor to sign into law

THE STATE EXECUTIVE BRANCH! The Governor of Virginia: Chief administrator / executive: Carry out state laws; prepare budget; appoints officials Chief of state: Ceremonial leader of the state; hosts important people Chief legislator: Proposer of the state’s legislative agenda; approves / vetoes laws. Party chief: Leader of the political party that controls the executive branch of VA Commander-in-chief: In charge of the National Guard (state militia) * Limited Judicial Powers – Can pardon or commute (reduce) a criminal’s sentence Terry McAuliffe—Governor Mark Herring— Attorney General Ralph Northam– Lt. Governor