2024 Delaware legislative session
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| 2024 Delaware legislative session |
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| General information |
| Scheduled session start: Jan. 9, 2024 Scheduled session end: June 30, 2024 |
| Leadership |
| Senate President Bethany Hall-Long (D) House Speaker |
| Elections |
| Next Election: November 5, 2024 Last Election: November 8, 2022 |
| Previous legislative sessions |
| 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 |
| Other 2024 legislative sessions |
In 2024, the Delaware State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 9 and adjourn on June 30.
The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2022 elections. Democrats won a 15-6 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 2024 session, Delaware was one of nine state legislatures where Democrats had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.
Leadership in 2024
Delaware State Senate
- Senate president: Bethany Hall-Long (D)
- Majority leader: Bryan Townsend (D)
- Minority leader: Gerald Hocker (R)
Delaware House of Representatives
- Speaker of the House: Valerie Longhurst (D)
- Majority leader: Melissa Minor-Brown (D)
- Minority leader: Michael Ramone (R)
Partisan control in 2024
- See also: State government trifectas
Delaware was one of 17 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2024 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 nine 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 2024 legislative session.
Delaware State Senate
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 15 | |
| Republican Party | 6 | |
| Total | 21 | |
Delaware House of Representatives
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 26 | |
| Republican Party | 15 | |
| Total | 41 | |
Standing legislative committees
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 2024 legislative session, there were 43 standing committees in Delaware's state government, including four joint legislative committees, 16 state Senate committees, and 23 state House committees.
Joint legislative committees
- Joint Committee on Capital Improvement
- Joint Finance Committee
- Legislative Council Committee
- Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee
Senate committees
- Banking, Business, and Insurance Committee
- Capital Improvement Committee
- Corrections and Public Safety Committee
- Elections & Government Affairs Committee
- Environment & Energy Committee
- Executive Committee
- Finance Committee
- Health & Social Services Committee
- Housing Committee
- Legislative Oversight & Sunset Committee
- Rules and Ethics Committee
- Senate Agriculture Committee
- Senate Education Committee
- Senate Labor Committee
- Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
- Transportation Committee
House committees
- Appropriations Committee
- Capital Infrastructure Committee
- Corrections Committee
- Economic Development/Banking/Insurance/Commerce Committee
- Ethics Committee
- Gaming & Parimutuels Committee
- Health & Human Development Committee
- House Administration Committee
- House Agriculture Committee
- House Education Committee
- House Energy Committee
- House Judiciary Committee
- House Labor Committee
- House Rules Committee
- House Technology & Telecommunications Committee
- House Veterans Affairs Committee
- Housing & Community Affairs Committee
- Manufactured Housing Committee
- Natural Resources Committee
- Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee
- Revenue & Finance Committee
- Sunset Committee (Policy Analysis & Government Accountability)
- Transportation/Land Use and Infrastructure Committee
Legislation
Enacted legislation
The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2024 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 has met these criteria yet in 2024. This information is provided by BillTrack50.
Election administration legislation
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job. Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments, translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language, and, because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan.
The table below lists 2024 election-related legislation in Delaware. The following information is included for each bill:
- Bill number
- Official name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, simply click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.
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 in 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.
2025 measures:
- See also: 2025 ballot measures
Certified:
- The following measures were certified for the ballot.
No measures to list
2024 measures:
Below is a list of measures that were referred to the 2024 ballot by the legislature.
- See also: 2024 ballot measures
Certified:
- The following measures were certified for the ballot.
No measures to list
Historical partisan control
The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Delaware.
Delaware Party Control: 1992-2024
Sixteen 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
Historical Senate control
Democrats won control of the Delaware State Senate in 1974. In 2022, they won a 15-6 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Delaware Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2022. 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: 1992-2022
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 | '22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 15 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 15 |
| Republicans | 6 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
From the 1920s through the 1950s, the Delaware Senate was competitive and it often switched partisan control. Starting in 1954, Democrats gained a 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. 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.
Historical House control
Democrats won control of the Delaware House of Representatives in 2008. In 2022, they won a 26-15 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Delaware House following every general election from 1992 to 2022. 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: 1992-2022
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 | '22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 18 | 14 | 18 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 |
| Republicans | 23 | 27 | 23 | 26 | 26 | 29 | 26 | 23 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 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 last another 24 years.
See also
| Elections | Delaware State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
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External links
Footnotes
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