SECTION IV. THE SENATE. I. For the election of senators, the counties of Accomac and Northampton shall form one district: II. The city of Norfolk shall be another district: III. The counties of Norfolk and Princess Anne shall form another district: IV. The counties of Isle of Wight, Nansemond, and Surry, shall form another district: v. The counties of Sussex, Southampton, and Greenesville, shall form another district: VI. The city of Petersburg and the county of Prince George shall form another district: VII. The counties of Dinwiddie, Amelia, and Brunswick, shall form another district: VIII. The counties of Powhatan, Cumberland, and Chesterfield, shall form another district: IX. The counties of Lunenburg, Nottoway, and Prince Edward, shall form another district: x. The counties of Mecklenburg and Charlotte shall form another district: XI. The county of Pittsylvania shall be another district: XIII. The counties of Henry, Patrick, and Franklin, shall form another district: XIV. The county of Bedford shall be another district: xv. The counties of Campbell and Appomattox shall form another district: XVI. The city of Williamsburg, and the counties of James City, Charles City, New Kent, York, Elizabeth City, and Warwick, shall form another district: XVII. The counties of Henrico and Hanover shall form another district: XVIII. The city of Richmond shall be another district: XIX. The counties of Gloucester, Mathews, and Middlesex, shall form another district: xx. The counties of Richmond, Lancaster, Northumberland, and Westmoreland, shall form another district: XXI. The counties of King and Queen, King William and Essex, shall form another district: XXII. The counties of Caroline and Spottsylvania shall form another district : XXIII. The counties of Stafford, King George, and Prince William, shall form another district: XXIV. The counties of Fairfax and Alexandria shall form another district: xxv. The county of Loudoun shall be another district: XXVI. The counties of Fauquier and Rappahannock shall form another district: XXVII. The counties of Madison, Culpeper, Orange, and Greene, shall form another district: XXVIII. The county of Albemarle shall be another district: XXIX. The counties of Louisa, Goochland, and Fluvanna, shall form another district: XXX. The counties of Nelson, Amherst, and Buckingham, shall form another district: XXXI. The counties of Jefferson and Berkeley shall form another district: XXXII. The counties of Hampshire, Hardy, and Morgan, shall form another district: XXXIII. The counties of Frederick, Clarke, and Warren, shall form another district: XXXIV. The counties of Shenandoah and Page shall form another district: xxxv. The counties of Rockingham and Pendleton shall form another district: XXXVI. The county of Augusta shall be another district: XXXVII. The counties of Bath, Highland, and Rockbridge shall form another district: XXXVIII. The counties of Botetourt, Alleghany, Roanoke, and Craig, shall form another district: XXXIX. The counties of Carroll, Floyd, Grayson, Montgomery, and Pulaski, shall form another district: XL. The counties of Mercer, Monroe, Giles, and Tazewell, shall form another district: XLI. The counties of Smyth, Wythe, and Washington, shall form another district: XLII. The counties of Scott, Lee, and Russell, shall form another district: XLIII. The counties of Boone, Logan, Kanawha, Putnam, and Wyoming, shall form another district: XLIV. The counties of Nicholas, Fayette, Pocahontas, Raleigh, Braxton, and Greenbrier, shall form another district: XLV. The counties of Mason, Jackson, Cabell, Wayne, and Wirt, shall form another district: XLVI. The counties of Ritchie, Doddridge, Harrison, Pleasants, and Wood, shall form another district: XLVII. The counties of Wetzel, Marshall, Marion, and Tyler, shall form another district: XLVIII. The counties of Upshur, Barbour, Lewis, Gilmer, and Randolph, shall form another district: XLIX. The counties of Monongalia, Preston, and Taylor, shall form another district: L. The counties of Brooke, Hancock, and Ohio, shall form another district. SECTION V. 5. It shall be the duty of the general assembly in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, and in every tenth year thereafter, in case it can agree upon a principle of representation, to re-apportion representation in the senate and house of delegates in accordance therewith; and in the event the general assembly, at the first or any subsequent period of re-apportionment, shall fail to agree upon a principle of representation and to re-apportion representation in accordance therewith, each house shall separately propose a scheme of representation, containing a principle or rule for the house of delegates, in connexion with a principle or rule for the senate. And it shall be the duty of the general assembly, at the same session, to certify to the governor, the principles or rules of representation which the respective houses may separately propose, to be applied in making re-apportionments in the senate and in the house of delegates: and the governor shall, as soon thereafter as may be, by proclamation, make known the propositions of the respective houses, and require the voters of the commonwealth to assemble at such time as he shall appoint, at their lawful places of voting, and decide by their votes between the propositions thus presented. In the event the general assembly shall fail, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, or in any tenth year thereafter, to make such re-apportionment or certificate, the governor shall, immediately after the adjournment of the general assembly, by proclamation, require the voters of the commonwealth to assemble, at such time as he shall appoint, at their lawful places of voting, and to declare by their votes: First, whether representation in the senate and house of delegates shall be apportioned on the "Suffrage Basis;" that is, according to the number of voters in the several counties, cities, towns, and senatorial districts of the commonwealth : Or second, whether representation in both houses shall be apportioned on the "Mixed Basis;" that is, according to the number of white inhabitants contained, and the amount of all state taxes paid, in the several counties, cities, and towns of the commonwealth, deducting therefrom all taxes paid on licenses and law process, and any capitation tax on free negroes, allowing one delegate for every seventy-sixth part of said inhabitants, and one delegate for every seventy-sixth part of said taxes, and distributing the senators in like manner: Or third, whether representation shall be apportioned in the senate on taxation; that is, according to the amount of all state taxes, paid in the several counties, cities, and towns of the commonwealth, deducting therefrom all taxes paid on licenses and law process, and any capitation tax on free negroes, and in the house of delegates on the "Suffrage Basis" as aforesaid: Or fourth, whether representation shall be apportioned in the senate on the "Mixed Basis" as aforesaid, and in the house of delegates on the "Suffrage Basis" as aforesaid; and each voter shall cast his vote in favour of one of said schemes of apportionment, and no more. 6. It shall be the duty of the sheriffs and other officers taking said polls, to keep the same open for the period of three days, and within five days after they are closed, to certify true copies thereof to the governor, who shall, as early as may be, ascertain the result of said vote, and make proclamation thereof; and in case it is ascertained that a majority of all the votes cast is in favour of either of the principles of representation, referred as aforesaid to the choice of the voters, the governor shall communicate the result of such vote to the general assembly at its first regular session thereafter; but in case it is ascertained that a majority of all the votes cast is not in favour of either of the principles of representation referred as aforesaid to the choice of the voters, it shall be the duty of the governor, as soon as may be after ascertaining that fact, in like manner to cause the voters to decide between the two principles of representation which shall, at such previous voting, have received the greatest number of votes; and he shall ascertain and make proclamation of the result of the said last vote, and communicate the same to the general assembly at its next regular session; and in either case the general assembly, at the regular session thereof which shall be held next after the taking of the vote, the result of which shall have been so communicated to it by the governor, shall re-apportion representation in the two houses respectively in accordance with the principle of representation in each, for which a majority of the votes cast were given; and it shall be the duty of the general assembly in every tenth year thereafter to reapportion and distribute the number of senators and delegates in accordance with the same principle. 7. Any person may be elected senator, who, at the time of election, has attained the age of twenty-five years, and is actually a resident within the district, and qualified to vote for members of the general assembly, according to this constitution. And any person may be elected a member of the house of the delegates, who, at the time of election, has attained the age of twenty-one years, and is actually a resident within the county, city, town, or election district, qualified to vote for members of the general assembly, according to this constitution; but no person holding a lucrative office, no minister of the gospel or priest of any religious denomination, no salaried officer of any banking corporation or company, and no attorney for the commonwealth, shall be capable of being elected a member of either house of assembly. The removal of any person elected to either branch of the general assembly from the county, city, town, or district for which he was elected, shall vacate his office. 8. The general assembly shall meet once in every two years, and not oftener, unless convened by the governor in the manner prescribed in this constitution. No session of the general assembly, after the first under this constitution, shall continue longer than ninety days, without the concurrence of three-fifths of the members elected to each house, in which case, the session may be extended for a further period, not exceeding thirty days. Neither house, during the session of the general assembly, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and shall be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide. 9. The house of delegates shall choose its own speaker, and in the absence of the lieutenant-governor, or when he shall exercise the office of governor, the senate shall choose from their own body, a president pro tempore: and each house shall appoint its own officers, settle its own rules of proceeding, and direct writs of election for supplying intermediate vacancies: but if vacancies shall occur during the recess of the general assembly, such writs may be issued by the governor, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law. Each house shall judge of the election, qualification, and returns of its members, may punish them for disorderly behaviour, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same offence. 10. The members of the assembly shall receive for their services a compensation, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the public treasury; but no act increasing such compensation shall take effect until after the end of the term for which the members of the house of delegates voting thereon were elected. And no senator or delegate during the term for which he shall have been elected, shall be appointed to any civil office of profit under the commonwealth, which has been created, or the emoluments of which have been increased, during such term, except offices filled by elections by the people. 11. Bills and resolutions may originate in either of the two houses of the general assembly, to be approved or rejected by the other, and may be amended by either house, with the consent of the other. 12. Each house of the general assembly shall keep a journal of its proceedings, which shall be published from time to time, and the yeas and nays of the members of either house, on any question, shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. No bill shall become a law, until it has been read on three different days of the session, in the house in which it originated, unless two-thirds of the members elected to that house, shall otherwise determine. 13. The whole number of members to which the state may at any time be entitled in the house of representatives of the United States, shall be apportioned as nearly as may be, amongst the several counties, cities, and towns of the state, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. 14. In the apportionment, the state shall be divided into districts corresponding in number with the representatives to which it may be entitled in the house of representatives of the congress of the United States, which shall be formed respectively of contiguous counties, cities, and towns, be compact, and include, as nearly as may be, an equal number of the population, upon which is based representation in the house of representatives of the United States. 15. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not, in any case, be suspended. The general assembly shall not pass any bill of attainder; or any ex post facto law; or any law impairing the obligation of contracts; or any law whereby private property shall be taken for public uses without just compensation; or any law abridg |
