Delaware General Assembly

Delaware General Assembly
Delaware General Assembly
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type Bicameral
Houses Senate
House of Representatives
Leadership
President Pro Tem of the Senate Anthony J. DeLuca, (D)
since 2009
Speaker of the House Robert F. Gilligan, (D)
since 2009
Members 62
Political groups Democratic Party
Republican Party
Elections
Last election November 2, 2010
Meeting place
Delaware State Capitol.jpg
Legislative Hall, Dover
Website
legis.delaware.gov

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, Delaware, 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 about one-half of the Senate is elected every two years for a four year term, and the entire House of Representatives is elected every two years for a two year term. Vacancies are filled through special elections. There are no term limits for either chamber.

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 become 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, with a total of 30 members elected county-wide "at-large" 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, still the second smallest state legislature in the country.

See also

External links

v · Matthew P. Denn (D) • President Pro Tempore: Anthony J. DeLuca (D) • Majority Leader: Patricia Blevins (D) • Minority Leader: F. Gary Simpson (R)
   
  1.    Harris McDowell III (D)
  2.    Margaret Henry (D)
  3.    Robert I. Marshall (D)
  4.    Michael Katz (D)
  5.    Catherine Cloutier (R)
  6.    Liane Sorenson (R)
  1.    Patricia Blevins (D)
  2.    David Sokola (D)
  3.    Karen Peterson (D)
  4.    Bethany Hall-Long (D)
  5.    Anthony J. DeLuca (D)
  6.    Dorinda Connor (R)
  1.    David McBride (D)
  2.    Bruce Ennis (D)
  3.    David Lawson (R)
  4.    Colin R. J. Bonini (R)
  5.    Brian Bushweller (D)
  6.    F. Gary Simpson (R)
  1.    Joseph W. Booth (R)
  2.    George Bunting, Jr. (D)
  3.    Robert Venables, Sr. (D)
   Democratic (14) •    Republican (7) • Delaware General Assembly • Delaware House of Representatives • Delaware Senate
v · Robert F. Gilligan (D) • Majority Leader: Peter Schwartzkopf (D) • Minority Leader: Gregory Lavelle (R)
   
  1.    Dennis P. Williams (D)
  2.    Stephanie Bolden (D)
  3.    Helene Keeley (D)
  4.    Gerald Brady (D)
  5.    Melanie George (D)
  6.    Debra Heffernan (D)
  7.    Bryon Short (D)
  1.    S. Quinton Johnson (D)
  2.    Rebecca Walker (D)
  3.    Dennis E. Williams (D)
  4.    Gregory Lavelle (R)
  5.    Deborah Hudson (R)
  6.    John Mitchell, Jr. (D)
  7.    Peter Schwartzkopf (D)
  1.    Valerie Longhurst (D)
  2.    James Johnson (D)
  3.    Michael Mulrooney (D)
  4.    Michael Barbieri (D)
  5.    Robert F. Gilligan (D)
  6.    Nick Manolakos (R)
  7.    Michael Ramone (R)
  1.    Joseph Miró (R)
  2.    Teresa Schooley (D)
  3.    Edward S. Osienski (D)
  4.    John Kowalko, Jr. (D)
  5.    John Viola (D)
  6.    Earl Jaques, Jr. (D)
  7.    William Carson, Jr. (D)
  1.    Lincoln D. Willis (R)
  2.    William Outten (R)
  3.    Darryl Scott (D)
  4.    E. Bradford Bennett (D)
  5.    Harold J. Peterman (R)
  6.    Donald Blakey (R)
  7.    David Wilson (R)
  1.    Harvey Kenton (R)
  2.    Ruth Briggs King (R)
  3.    Gerald Hocker (R)
  4.    Daniel Short (R)
  5.    Clifford Lee (R)
  6.    John Atkins (D)
   Democratic (26) •    Republican (15) • Delaware General Assembly • Delaware House of Representatives • Delaware State Senate
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