1. Introduction: Bills can originate in either the House of Delegates or the Senate. A Delegate prepares to introduce legislation, which may be based on constituent requests. 2. Drafting: The Delegate explains the proposal to a staff attorney from the Division of Legislative Services to ensure it complies with existing law and is constitutional. The staff attorney drafts the bill. 3. First Reading: The bill title is printed in the House Calendar and read by the Clerk. 4. Second Reading: The bill is considered on the next day. The Delegate explains the bill, answers questions, and the House votes on it. Amendments can be made at this stage. 5. Committee Review: The bill is referred to one of the Standing Committees for study, discussion, and voting. 6. Engrossing: If the bill passes the second reading, it is engrossed (printed in its final form). Any amendments will result in the bill being reprinted. 7. Third Reading: The engrossed bill is read again, and a recorded vote is taken in the House of Delegates. If passed, it moves to the Senate for consideration, where it undergoes a similar process. 8. Approval: Once both houses pass the bill, it is sent to the Governor. The Governor can: - Sign the bill into law - Amend and return it for approval - Veto the bill, which can be overridden by a two-thirds majority in both houses. 9. Final Steps: If signed by the Governor, the bill is sent to the Clerk of the House of Delegates and assigned a Chapter number. It becomes effective on July 1st following the Regular Session unless otherwise specified.

Members of the public can get involved in the legislative process in Virginia in several ways: 1. Contacting Legislators: Citizens can reach out to their elected Senators or Delegates to express their opinions or request specific types of legislation. For example, they can ask for the introduction of a bill related to a local concern. 2. Participating in Committee Meetings: Members of the public can attend public meetings or sessions of committees, to learn about the bills being discussed and to provide input. 3. Providing Feedback: Public engagement can also occur through letters, emails, or calls to Delegates or Senators to express support or opposition to specific bills throughout the legislative process. 4. Following Legislative Sessions: Interested individuals can stay informed about the legislative agenda. 5. Engagement in Advocacy: Engaging with advocacy groups or participating in public campaigns can amplify citizens' voices regarding legislative issues. 6. Witnessing the Process: By attending session meetings either in person at the State Capitol or virtually (if available), citizens can witness how bills progress through readings and votes.

Tracking bills is hard, especially if you rely on state legislature websites, which are often hard to navigate. Thousands of bills get filed in Virginia every year (and about 180,000 bills nationwide). If you want to be an effective advocate, you need to know where legislation of interest stands, and act quickly.

FastDemocracy's free version allows you to track an unlimited number of bills - no strings attached. We'll send you a daily or weekly email on your priority bills and give you tools to research bills and legislators.

FastDemocracy Professional is for anyone who tracks bills in a professional capacity. It features

• real-time bill, amendment and hearing alerts
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1. Sign up here for a free FastDemocracy account.

2. Head to Tracked Topics to select issue areas you care about.

3. Use the search bar on top if you're looking for something specific.

4. Click "Track Bill" for any legislation you'd like to monitor a bit closer. That's how you add it to your Tracked Bills. You can also click on a bill to learn more, see the bill summary, most recent actions, votes, news and tweets. You can also contact legislators or share your bills on social media.

5. You can track an unlimited number of bills for free and we'll send you a daily or weekly email if your tracked legislation moves.

6. Do you need real-time alerts, outreach tools, bill lists, and professional functions? Then FastDemocracy Professional is the right fit for you.

7. Track bills on your smartphone using our free mobile app.

You can use the Find Your Legislators tool to find them, see their voting records, and contact them.