If the Virginia General Assembly first agreed to a constitutional amendment on October 31, 2025, when does it have to vote on it again to send it to voters?

Plain-English summary

Delegate Marcus Simon asked when the General Assembly should next consider a proposed constitutional amendment first agreed to on October 31, 2025. Attorney General Jay Jones concluded that it must be referred to the 2026 regular session.

Article XII, § 1 of the Virginia Constitution calls for referral to the first regular session after the next general election of House of Delegates members. Article IV, § 3 fixes that election on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The next House election after the October 31 first agreement was November 4, 2025. The AG therefore identified the 2026 regular session as the session for referral.

The quoted text of Article XII, § 1 also permits the General Assembly to agree to the amendment at that regular session or at any subsequent special session of that General Assembly. The opinion decides the referral question; it does not say that failure to agree at the 2026 regular session ends the proposal.

What this means for you

Legislators

The AG concluded that the proposed amendment must be referred to the 2026 regular session. The constitutional text he quotes allows a second agreement at that session or a later special session of the same General Assembly.

Voters and election officials

The opinion fixes the relevant House election date at November 4, 2025 and the referral at the 2026 regular session. It does not decide whether or when the amendment will be submitted to voters.

Common questions

Q: Why does the October 31, 2025 first vote lead to a 2026 referral?

A: The next House of Delegates general election was November 4, 2025. Article XII, § 1 refers the proposed amendment to the first regular session after that election, which was the 2026 regular session.

Q: Must the second vote happen during the 2026 regular session?

A: The proposal must be referred to that session. The quoted constitutional text allows agreement at that session or at a subsequent special session of the same General Assembly.

Q: Did the AG set a ballot date?

A: No. His request and response concern the election date and the session for referral. Article XII, § 1 sets further conditions for submission to voters, including agreement by both houses and a wait of at least ninety days after final passage.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion reads Article XII, § 1 together with Article IV, § 3. The former specifies the constitutional amendment referral process. The latter fixes the House of Delegates general election on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in November. The AG found that the 2025 election occurred on November 4, four days after the proposal's first agreement.

The AG concluded that the plain constitutional text required referral to the 2026 regular session. He did not analyze what would happen if the General Assembly declined to agree to the proposal at that session.

Citations and references

• Virginia Constitution, Article XII, § 1 (amendment referral and second agreement)
• Virginia Constitution, Article IV, § 3 (House of Delegates election date)
• Virginia Code § 2.2-505 (advisory opinion request)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.oag.state.va.us/annual-reports-opinions/official-opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.oag.state.va.us/files/Opinions/2026/26-003-Simon_issued.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain, the linked PDF is authoritative.

COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA

Office of the Attorney General

Jay Jones
Attorney General

202 North 9th Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
804-786-2071
FAX 804-786-1991
Virginia Relay Services
800-828-1120

January 17, 2026

The Honorable Marcus B. Simon
Thirteenth District
Virginia House of Delegates
201 North 9th Street
General Assembly Building
Richmond, Virginia 23219

Dear Delegate Simon:

I am responding to your request for an official advisory Opinion in accordance with § 2.2-505 of the Code of Virginia.

Issue Presented

You inquire when the proposed constitutional amendment to Article II, § 6 of the Constitution of Virginia first agreed to by the Senate and House of Delegates on October 31, 2025, should next be considered by the General Assembly. Specifically, you ask when did or will the next general election of members of the House of Delegates take place after the proposed constitutional amendment was agreed to on October 31, 2025, in accordance with the requirement in Article XII, § 1 of the Constitution of Virginia that, after being agreed to by the General Assembly, a proposed constitutional amendment must be "referred to the General Assembly at its first regular session held after the next general election of members of the House of Delegates."

Response

It is my opinion that the plain language of the Constitution of Virginia definitively answers your question, and the next general election of members of the House of Delegates held after October 31, 2025, occurred on November 4, 2025. That means, for purposes of Article XII, § 1 of the Constitution of Virginia, the proposed amendment must be referred to the 2026 regular session of the General Assembly.

Applicable Law and Discussion

Article XII, § 1 of the Constitution of Virginia sets out the process for how constitutional amendments must be adopted by the General Assembly in order for such amendments to be submitted to the voters of the Commonwealth for approval.

> Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may be proposed in the Senate or House of Delegates, and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of the members elected to each of the two houses, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their journals, the name of each member and how he voted to be recorded, and referred to the General Assembly at its first regular session held after the next general election of members of the House of Delegates. If at such regular session or any subsequent special session of that General Assembly the proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members elected to each house, then it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to submit such proposed amendment or amendments to the voters qualified to vote in elections by the people, in such manner as it shall prescribe and not sooner than ninety days after final passage by the General Assembly. If a majority of those voting vote in favor of any amendment, it shall become part of the Constitution on the date prescribed by the General Assembly in submitting the amendment to the voters.

The requirements set out in Article XII, § 1 of the Constitution of Virginia are mandatory. Further, the Supreme Court of Virginia has held that "strict compliance with these mandatory provisions is required in order that all proposed constitutional amendments shall receive the deliberate consideration and careful scrutiny that they deserve."

The answer to whether the proposed constitutional amendment agreed to on October 31, 2025, must be referred to the 2026 regular session of the General Assembly turns on the phrase "next general election of members of the House of Delegates" as used in Article XII, § 1 of the Constitution of Virginia. That is, what is the date of the next general election held after the proposed amendment was agreed to on October 31, 2025.

We need look no further than the provisions of the Virginia Constitution to answer this question. Article IV, § 3 of the Constitution of Virginia definitively fixes the date of the general election of members of the House of Delegates.

> The House of Delegates shall consist of not more than one hundred and not less than ninety members, who shall be elected biennially by the voters of the several house districts on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in November.

Article IV, § 3 of the Constitution of Virginia unequivocally establishes that House members are elected every two years "on" the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in November. In the context of Article IV, § 3 of the Constitution of Virginia, "on" is preposition "used as a function word to indicate a time frame during which something takes place". Thus, according to the Constitution of Virginia, the general election of members of the House of Delegates takes place on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in November, and at no other time.

"When constitutional language is clear and unambiguous, a court must give the language its plain meaning and is not allowed to resort to legislative history or other extrinsic evidence." It is difficult to conceive of a provision clearer and more unambiguous as the one setting the date of the election of members of the House of Delegates contained in Article IV, § 3 of the Constitution of Virginia.

Therefore, in accordance with the plain language of the Constitution of Virginia, the next general election of members of the House of Delegates occurring after the proposed constitutional amendment was agreed to on October 31, 2025, was held on November 4, 2025. Under the terms of Article XII, § 1, the proposed amendment must now be referred to the "first regular session" held after such election, i.e., the 2026 regular session of the General Assembly.

It would violate the basic canons of constitutional construction to interpret the "general election of members of the House of Delegates" language used in Article XII, § 1 without giving due consideration to all the related provisions in the Constitution of Virginia. "The constitution must be viewed and construed as a whole, and every section, phrase and word given effect and harmonized if possible." Hence, the term "general election of members of the House of Delegates" used in Article XII, § 1 cannot be read in a vacuum to manufacture ambiguity where none exists. Instead, it necessarily must be read in conjunction with provisions in Article IV, § 3 that definitively fix the date of the House election.

Conclusion

Accordingly, it is my opinion that, in accordance with requirement in Article XII, § 1 of the Constitution of Virginia that a proposed constitutional amendment must be referred to the "first regular session held after the next general election of members of the House of Delegates," the proposed constitutional amendment agreed to by the General Assembly on October 31, 2025, must be referred to the 2026 regular session of the General Assembly since next general election of members of the House of Delegates occurring after October 31, 2025, took place on November 4, 2025, i.e., the Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2025 as provided for in Article IV, § 3 of the Constitution of Virginia.

Sincerely,

Jay Jones
Attorney General