Everything about Delaware General Assembly totally explained
The Delaware General Assembly is the
legislature of the
U.S. state of
Delaware. It is composed of the
Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the
Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives. It meets at the
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.
Members are elected from single member districts, all apportioned to roughly equal populations after each U.S. 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 Represenatives is elected every two years for a two year term. Vacancies are filled through special elections.
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 significant
U.S. Supreme Court action, effective in 1965.
Significant actions of the General Assembly include the calling of the
Constitutional Convention which become the first to ratify the
U.S. Constitution of 1787, and its rejection of secession from the Union on
January 3 1861 in spite of Delaware's slave state status. 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 1965, action of
U.S. Supreme Court forced the General Assembly 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.
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