Delaware General Assembly

Delaware General Assembly
Delaware General Assembly
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate ; House of Representatives
Leadership
President of the Senate	Bethany Hall-Long (D) ; since 2017
President Pro Tempore	David Sokola (D) ; since 2021
Majority Leader	Bryan Townsend (D) ; since 2020
Minority Leader	Gerald Hocker (R) ; since 2018
Speaker of the House	Valerie Longhurst (D) ; since 2023
Majority Leader	Melissa Minor-Brown (D) ; since 2023
Minority Leader	Michael Ramone (R) ; since 2023
Structure
Seats	62
Senate political groups	Democratic (15); Republican (6);
House of Representatives political groups	Democratic (26); Republican (15);
Elections
Last Senate election	November 8, 2022
Last House of Representatives election	November 8, 2022
Next Senate election	November 5, 2024
Next House of Representatives election	November 5, 2024
Meeting place
	Legislative Hall; Dover
Website
	Delaware General Assembly
Constitution
	Constitution of Delaware

The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legislative Hall in Dover, convening on the second Tuesday of January of odd-numbered years, with a second session of the same Assembly convening likewise in even-numbered years. Normally the sessions are required to adjourn by the last day of June of the same calendar year. However the Governor can call a special session of the legislature at any time.

Members are elected from single-member districts, all apportioned to roughly equal populations after each decennial Census. Elections are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November and approximately half of the Senate is elected every two years to a four-year term, and the entire House of Representatives is elected every two years to a two-year term. Vacancies are filled through special elections. There are no term limits for either chamber.

With 62 seats, the Delaware General Assembly is the second-smallest bicameral state legislature in the United States – ahead of Alaska (60 seats) and behind Nevada (63).

History

The Delaware General Assembly was one of the thirteen legislatures that participated in the American War of Independence. Created by the Delaware Constitution of 1776, its membership and responsibilities have been modified by the Delaware Constitution of 1792, the Delaware Constitution of 1831, the Delaware Constitution of 1897, and Supreme Court of the United States decision in Reynolds v. Sims in 1965.

Significant actions of the General Assembly include the calling of the constitutional convention which became the first to ratify the United States Constitution in 1787 (which led to Delaware's state nickname, "the First State"), and its rejection of secession from the Union on January 3, 1861, even though Delaware was a slave state. Also significant was its repeated refusal to legislate the end of slavery or voting rights for women, requiring federal law to enforce those changes.

Until 1898, the General Assembly was apportioned by county: a total of 30 members elected at-large by county with equal numbers from each of the three counties. After 1898, the total membership was increased to 52 and they were elected from districts, mostly corresponding to the geographical boundaries of hundreds within the counties. However, there was little recognition of disparities in population, except for the addition of two extra senators and five extra representatives elected from much more populous New Castle County. After the Supreme Court decision in Reynolds v. Sims in 1965, the General Assembly was forced to redistrict so that all members of both houses were elected from districts of equal population. By 1972, the total membership had increased to its present 62.

In 1924, Florence Wood Hanby became the first woman elected to the Delaware General Assembly, winning a seat in the Delaware House of Representatives.^[1]^[2]

It is the only legislature with the power to unilaterally amend its constitution without requiring a referendum or any other approval.^[3]

References

^ "Woman Wielding Power: Pioneer Female State Legislators". National Women's History Museum. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
^ Weatherford, Doris (2012). Women in American Politics: History and Milestones. SAGE. p. 96. ISBN 9781608710072.
^ "ARTICLE. XVI AMENDMENTS AND CONVENTIONS". delcode.delaware.gov. Retrieved April 6, 2018.

External links

Official website

[NWHM-1] "Woman Wielding Power: Pioneer Female State Legislators". National Women's History Museum. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015.

[Weatherford-2] Weatherford, Doris (2012). Women in American Politics: History and Milestones. SAGE. p. 96. ISBN 9781608710072.

[3] "ARTICLE. XVI AMENDMENTS AND CONVENTIONS". delcode.delaware.gov. Retrieved April 6, 2018.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Members of the Delaware Senate
153rd General Assembly (2025–2027) President of the Senate Bethany Hall-Long (D) President pro tempore David Sokola (D) Majority Leader Bryan Townsend (D) Minority Leader Gerald Hocker (R)
▌Vacant ▌Darius J. Brown (D) ▌Elizabeth Lockman (D) ▌Laura Sturgeon (D) ▌Kyle Evans Gay (D) ▌Russ Huxtable (D) ▌Spiros Mantzavinos (D) ▌David Sokola (D) ▌Jack Walsh (D) ▌Stephanie Hansen (D) ▌Bryan Townsend (D) ▌Nicole Poore (D) ▌Marie Pinkney (D) ▌Kyra Hoffner (D) ▌David G. Lawson (R) ▌Eric Buckson (R) ▌W. Charles Paradee (D) ▌David L. Wilson (R) ▌Brian G. Pettyjohn (R) ▌Gerald Hocker (R) ▌Bryant Richardson (R)
▌Democratic (14) ▌Republican (6) Delaware General Assembly Delaware House of Representatives Delaware Senate

v t e Members of the Delaware House of Representatives
153rd General Assembly (2024–2026) Speaker of the House Vacant (D) Majority Leader Melissa Minor-Brown (D) Minority Leader Vacant (R)
▌Nnamdi Chukwuocha (D) ▌Stephanie Bolden (D) ▌Josue Ortega (D) ▌Jeff Hilovsky (R) ▌Kendra Johnson (D) ▌Debra Heffernan (D) ▌Larry Lambert (D) ▌Sherae'a Moore (D) ▌Kevin Hensley (R) ▌Melanie Levin (D) ▌Jeffrey Spiegelman (R) ▌Krista Griffith (D) ▌DeShanna Neal (D) ▌Claire Snyder-Hall (D) ▌Kamela Smith (D) ▌Franklin Cooke Jr. (D) ▌Melissa Minor-Brown (D) ▌Sophie Phillips (D) ▌Kimberly Williams (D) ▌Esthelda Parker Selby (D) ▌Frank Burns (D) ▌Michael F. Smith (R) ▌Mara Gorman (D) ▌Edward Osienski (D) ▌Cyndie Romer (D) ▌Madinah Wilson-Anton (D) ▌Eric Morrison (D) ▌William Carson Jr. (D) ▌William Bush IV (D) ▌W. Shannon Morris (R) ▌Sean Lynn (D) ▌Kerri Evelyn Harris (D) ▌Charles Postles Jr. (R) ▌Lyndon Yearick (R) ▌Jesse Vanderwende (R) ▌Bryan Shupe (R) ▌Valerie Jones Giltner (R) ▌Ronald E. Gray (R) ▌Daniel Short (R) ▌Timothy Dukes (R) ▌Richard G. Collins (R)
▌Democratic (27) ▌Republican (14) Delaware General Assembly Delaware House of Representatives Delaware Senate

v t e Delaware General Assemblies (list)
Delaware Constitution of 1776	1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th
Delaware Constitution of 1792	17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd 34th 35th 36th 37th 38th 39th 40th 41st 42nd 43rd 44th 45th 46th 47th 48th 49th 50th 51st 52nd 53rd 54th 55th 56th
Delaware Constitution of 1831	57th 58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd 64th 65th 66th 67th 68th 69th 70th 71st 72nd 73rd 74th 75th 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th 88th 89th
Delaware Constitution of 1897	90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th 117th 118th 119th 120th 121st 122nd
Amended Constitution of 1897	123rd 124th 125th 126th 127th 128th 129th 130th 131st 132nd 133rd 134th 135th 136th 137th 138th 139th 140th 141st 142nd 143rd 144th 145th 146th 147th 148th 149th 150th 151st 152nd

v t e Legislatures of the United States
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Other legislatures	District of Columbia American Samoa (H, S) Guam Northern Mariana Islands (H, S) Puerto Rico (H, S) U.S. Virgin Islands
Legislative elections	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
List of U.S. state legislators Lists of past U.S. state legislatures

Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF
National	United States
Other	SNAC

History

See also

References

External links