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2021 Delaware legislative session

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2021 Delaware legislative session
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General information
Session start:    January 12, 2021

Session end:    June 30, 2021

Leadership
Senate President
Bethany Hall-Long (D)

House Speaker
Pete Schwartzkopf (D)
Majority Leader
Senate: Bryan Townsend (D)
House: Valerie Longhurst (D)
Minority Leader
Senate: Gerald Hocker (R)
House: Daniel Short (R)

Elections
Next Election:    November 8, 2022

Last Election:    November 3, 2020

Previous legislative sessions
2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2021 legislative sessions


In 2021, the Delaware State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 12, 2021, and adjourn on June 30, 2021.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2020 elections. Democrats won a 14-7 majority in the Senate and a 26-15 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta. At the start of the 2021 session, Delaware was one of six state legislatures where Democrats had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

The Delaware State Legislature is responsible for redistricting following each census. Legislators were expected to address redistricting as part of the 2021 legislative session. As of the 2020 Census, Delaware was one of 37 states where legislators were responsible for redistricting.

At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session:
  • Democrats held a majority in the Delaware state House and state Senate.
  • Delaware was one of 15 Democratic state government trifectas.
  • Delaware's governor was Democrat John Carney Jr.

    • Leadership in 2021

    Delaware State Senate

    Delaware House of Representatives

    Selection of speaker

    The Delaware House of Representative's leadership remained unchanged after the 2020 election. Democrats Pete Schwartzkopf and Valerie Longhurst will serve as House Speaker and majority leader, respectively, while Rep. Larry Mitchell will serve as majority whip. [1] The Delaware House of Representative's Republican caucus selected State Rep. Danny Short to remain House Minority Leader and State Rep. Tim Dukes to once again serve as minority whip. The General Assembly did not convene again until January 12, 2021.[2]

    Partisan control in 2021

    See also: State government trifectas

    Delaware was one of 15 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2021 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    Delaware was also one of six state legislatures where Democrats had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Delaware State Legislature in the 2021 legislative session.

    Delaware State Senate

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 14
         Republican Party 7
    Total 21

    Delaware House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 26
         Republican Party 15
    Total 41

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2021 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2021. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Redistricting

    See also: Redistricting in Delaware after the 2020 census

    Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries for elected offices, particularly for offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures.

    To learn more about the redistricting process in Delaware after the 2020 census, click here.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Delaware state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session, there were 53 standing committees in Delaware's state government, including three joint legislative committees, 25 state Senate committees, and 25 state House committees.

    Joint legislative committees

    Senate committees

    House committees

    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the Delaware Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Delaware

    Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution defines two mechanisms by which the Delaware Constitution can be amended—a legislative process, and a state constitutional convention. Delaware does not feature the power of citizen initiative for either initiated constitutional amendments or initiated state statutes.

    Legislature

    The Delaware General Assembly can amend the constitution. Unlike in any other state, the state legislature can amend the constitution without a vote of the people. For the legislature to amend the constitution:

    • Two-thirds of all the members elected to each chamber can vote in favor of a proposed amendment.
    • The Delaware Secretary of State then must publish the proposed amendment(s) three months prior to the next general election in at least three newspapers in each county.
    • The subsequent General Assembly then votes again on the proposed amendment(s) and if an amendment receives two-thirds majority approval of all members of each chamber, it becomes part of the constitution.

    Convention

    The state's constitution can also be amended through a constitutional convention.

    • By a two-thirds vote of both chambers of the state legislature, the question, "Shall there be a Convention to revise the Constitution and amend the same?" can go on a statewide ballot. If a simple majority of those voting on the question vote "yes," then there will be a convention.


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Delaware.

    Delaware Party Control: 1992-2025
    Seventeen years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
    Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
    House R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

    Historical Senate control

    From 1992 to 2020, the Delaware Senate was controlled by Democrats, often by significant margins. However, by 2016 the chamber had reached levels of competition between the parties not seen since the 1970s. The table below shows the partisan history of the Delaware Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2020. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Delaware State Senate election results: 1992-2020

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
    Democrats 15 12 15 13 13 13 13 13 16 14 13 12 11 12 14
    Republicans 6 9 6 8 8 8 8 8 5 7 8 9 10 9 7

    From the 1920s through the 1950s, the Delaware Senate was competitive and it often switched partisan control. Starting in 1954, Democrats gained a strong majority in the chamber and did not lose it until the chamber split 9-9 between the parties in 1966. Republicans won control in the next three elections before losing to the Democrats in 1974, the year that marked the beginning of decades of Democratic dominance.

    In the years following 1974, Democrats usually held more than 13 seats, the margin needed for a three-fifths majority capable of overriding gubernatorial vetoes. They dropped below 13 seats first in 1980 and again after the 1994 election. After 1994, Democrats again gained a three-fifths majority. In 2008, Democrats won 16 seats and dropped the Republicans to five.

    In the years from 2008 to 2016, Democrats lost seats every election, eventually bringing their majority to 11-10 following the 2016 elections. Democrat Bethany Hall-Long resigned her seat in 2017 to become the state's lieutenant governor and left the chamber in a 10-10 tie. Democrats won the special election to fill Hall-Long's seat, restoring their 11-10 majority. In 2018, Democrats saw their first gain in the state Senate since 2008, controlling 12 seats to Republicans' 9 after the election. Democrats' majority increased to 14-7 after the 2020 election. The chamber's Republican gains from 2010 to 2016 were in line with a national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D). From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats all together.

    Historical House control

    From 1992 to 2020, the Delaware House shifted from Republican to Democratic control, completing the transition during the 2008 elections. The state House was the last part of Delaware's government to move away from Republican control. The governor's office and the state Senate had both been under Democratic control since the early 1990s. The table below shows the partisan history of the Delaware House following every general election from 1992 to 2020. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Delaware House of Representatives election results: 1992-2020

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
    Democrats 18 14 18 15 15 12 15 18 24 26 27 25 25 26 26
    Republicans 23 27 23 26 26 29 26 23 17 15 14 16 16 15 15

    The Delaware House was competitive during the early 1900s. It flipped partisan control 10 times between 1912 and 1938. Republicans maintained control from the 1938 election until 1954. After that election, the chamber continued to alternate control, although not as frequently. From 1954 to 1984, control flipped six times and ended in a Republican advantage that would persist for another 24 years.

    From 1992 to 2008, Republicans maintained a consistent majority that usually controlled between 23 and 26 seats. Republicans lost three seats in 2006, bringing them to just a five-seat advantage. In 2008, Democrats gained six seats and won their first majority since 1982. The Democratic majority survived the presidency of Barack Obama (D), where Democrats lost 968 state legislative seats across the nation. Delaware's House Democrats gained two seats in 2010 and only lost two seats in 2014. From 2010 to 2020, their majority never dropped below a nine-seat advantage.

    See also

    Elections Delaware State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    State Courts-Tile image.png

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Delaware Business Times, "Delaware Senate gets new leadership," November 12, 2020
    2. ↑ WBOC, "Delaware GOP Announces House Leadership," November 6, 2020
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