161st Virginia General Assembly

OverviewTermJanuary 8, 2020 – March 2021Senate of VirginiaMembers40President of the SenateLt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D)Senate Majority LeaderDick Saslaw (D)Senate Minority LeaderTommy Norment (R)Party controlVirginia House of DelegatesMembers100Speaker of the HouseEileen Filler-Corn (D)House Majority LeaderCharniele Herring (D)House Minority LeaderTodd Gilbert (R)Party controlSessionsSpecial sessions

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 VirginiaGeneral 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.