Overview

DLAS is directed in the Code of Virginia to provide an electronic legislative information system for all state agencies, political subdivisions, and the public, as well as the General Assembly and its agencies. The Legislative Information System (LIS) is a free internet service that provides public information on the work of committees and the General Assembly members during the legislative session.

Challenge

Each January, the General Assembly convenes to address the problems facing the Commonwealth. Delegates and Senators from all across Virginia come to Richmond to begin the work of representing the citizens of the Commonwealth. Members implement public policy decisions, enact laws of the Commonwealth, approve the budget, levy taxes, elect judges and confirm appointments by the Governor.

The work of the General Assembly is accomplished through bills and resolutions, which work their way through the legislative process. Bills and resolutions are considered by committees, voted upon, amended, acted on by chambers, communicated between houses, and presented to the Governor for approval. All of this activity and more must be recorded by the Clerks of the House and Senate, and communicated to other members, agencies, lobbyists, and the public. Also, supporting documentation like fiscal analyses and legislative reports are required to assist legislators with their decision-making.

Solution

The Legislative Information System is a single source for timely and complete materials about the ongoing work of legislative committees and the General Assembly members. LIS offers online access to the full text of every introduced bill and resolution. The system also displays updated history, amendments, and votes for each bill and resolution. LIS displays committee meetings and dockets, daily minutes and calendars, and legislator contact information. The system includes search functionality across databases containing legislation, the Code of Virginia, as well as the Virginia Administrative Code.

For each legislative session extending back to 1994, LIS serves as a historical archive of the work of the General Assembly. Searchable databases for each session allow users to perform keyword searches on general categories of information. LIS supports searches across sessions with a subject index, a bill and resolution searchable database, and a summary searchable database.