Delaware General Assembly | |
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| Type | |
| Type | |
| Houses | Senate House of Representatives |
| Leadership | |
Senate President pro tempore | |
House Speaker | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 62 |
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Senate political groups |
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House of Representatives political groups |
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| Elections | |
Last Senate election | November 5, 2024 |
Last House of Representatives election | November 5, 2024 |
Next Senate election | November 3, 2026 |
Next House of Representatives election | November 3, 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Legislative Hall Dover | |
| Website | |
| Delaware General Assembly | |
| Constitution | |
| Constitution of Delaware | |
TheDelaware General Assembly is thelegislature of theU.S. state ofDelaware. It is abicamerallegislature composed of theDelaware Senate with 21 senators and theDelaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets atLegislative Hall inDover, 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, theGovernor can call aspecial session of the legislature at any time.
Members are elected fromsingle-member districts, all apportioned to roughly equal populations after each decennialCensus. Elections are held on theTuesday 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 noterm limits for either chamber.
With 62 seats, the Delaware General Assembly is the second-smallest bicameralstate legislature in the United States – ahead ofAlaska (60 seats) and behindNevada (63).
The Delaware General Assembly was one of the thirteen legislatures that participated in theAmerican War of Independence. Created by theDelaware Constitution of 1776, its membership and responsibilities have been modified by theDelaware Constitution of 1792, theDelaware Constitution of 1831, theDelaware Constitution of 1897, andSupreme Court of the United States decision inReynolds v. Sims in 1965.
Significant actions of the General Assembly include the calling of theconstitutional convention which became the first to ratify theUnited States Constitution in 1787 (which led to Delaware'sstate nickname, "the First State"), and its rejection of secession from the Union on January 3, 1861, even though Delaware was aslave 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 electedat-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 ofhundreds 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 populousNew Castle County. After the Supreme Court decision inReynolds 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 theDelaware House of Representatives.[1][2]
It is the only legislature with the power to unilaterally amendits constitution without requiring areferendum or any other approval.[3]
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