View source for Delaware General Assembly

{{short description|Legislative branch of the state government of Delaware}}
{{use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox legislature
| name              = Delaware General Assembly
| background_color  = {{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}
| coa_pic           = Seal of Delaware.svg
| session_room      = Delaware State Capitol.jpg
| house_type        = [[Bicameralism|Bicameral]]
| houses            = [[Delaware Senate|Senate]] <br>[[Delaware House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]
| leader1_type      = [[Lieutenant Governor of Delaware|Senate President]]
| leader1           = [[Kyle Evans Gay]]
| party1            = ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])
| election1         = January 21, 2025
| leader2_type      = Senate President pro tempore
| leader2           = [[David Sokola]]
| party2            = ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])
| election2         = November 4, 2020
| leader3           = [[Melissa Minor-Brown]]
| leader3_type      = House Speaker
| party3            = ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])
| election3         = January 14, 2025
| members           = 62
| house1            = Senate
| house2            = House of Representatives
|leader7_type=Minority Leader|party7=([[Republican State Committee of Delaware|R]])|election7=2023| structure1        = Delaware Senate 2022.svg
| structure1_res    = 250px
| structure2        = Delaware House of Representatives Partisan Breakdown.svg
| structure2_res    = 250px
| political_groups1 = {{Unbulleted list|class=nowrap
| {{Color box|#0000FF|border=darkgray}} [[Delaware Democratic Party|Democratic]] (15)
| {{Color box|#FF0000|border=darkgray}} [[Republican State Committee of Delaware|Republican]] (6)
}}
| political_groups2 = {{Unbulleted list|class=nowrap
| {{Color box|#0000FF|border=darkgray}} [[Delaware Democratic Party|Democratic]] (26)
| {{Color box|#FF0000|border=darkgray}} [[Republican State Committee of Delaware|Republican]] (15)
}}
| last_election1    = [[2024 Delaware Senate election|November 5, 2024]]
| last_election2    = [[2024 Delaware House of Representatives election|November 5, 2024]]
| next_election1    = November 3, 2026
| next_election2    = November 3, 2026
| meeting_place = [[Delaware Legislative Hall|Legislative Hall]]<br/>[[Dover, Delaware|Dover]]
| website       = [http://legis.delaware.gov Delaware General Assembly]
|constitution=[[Constitution of Delaware]]}}
The '''Delaware General Assembly''' is the [[State legislature (United States)|legislature]] of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Delaware]]. It is a [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] [[legislature]] composed of the [[Delaware Senate]] with 21 senators and the [[Delaware House of Representatives]] with 41 representatives. It meets at [[Delaware Legislative Hall|Legislative Hall]] in [[Dover, Delaware|Dover]], 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 of Delaware|Governor]] can call a [[special session]] of the legislature at any time.

Members are elected from [[single-member district]]s, all apportioned to roughly equal populations after each decennial [[United States Census|Census]]. Elections are held on the [[Election Day (United States)|Tuesday 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 no [[term limits]] for either chamber.

With 62 seats, the Delaware General Assembly is the second-smallest bicameral [[List of United States state legislatures|state legislature in the United States]] – ahead of [[Alaska Legislature|Alaska]] (60 seats) and behind [[Nevada State Legislature|Nevada]] (63).

== 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 (political meeting)|constitutional convention]] which became the first to ratify the [[United States Constitution]] in 1787 (which led to Delaware's [[List of U.S. state nicknames|state nickname]], "the First State"), and its rejection of secession from the Union on January 3, 1861, even though Delaware was a [[Slave and free states|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: a total of 30 members elected [[at-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 of [[List of Delaware Hundreds|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, Delaware|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.

In 1924, [[Florence Wood Hanby]] became the first woman elected to the Delaware General Assembly, winning a seat in the [[Delaware House of Representatives]].<ref name="NWHM">{{cite web | title = Woman Wielding Power: Pioneer Female State Legislators | publisher = National Women's History Museum | url = https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/legislators/Delaware.html | access-date = 22 December 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150906091405/https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/legislators/Delaware.html | archive-date = 2015-09-06 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="Weatherford">{{cite book | last =  Weatherford | first = Doris | title = Women in American Politics: History and Milestones | publisher = SAGE | year = 2012 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wW5wumFHKSEC&pg=PP1 | pages = 96| isbn = 9781608710072 }}</ref>

It is the only legislature with the power to unilaterally amend [[Delaware Constitution|its constitution]] without requiring a [[referendum]] or any other approval.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://delcode.delaware.gov/constitution/constitution-17.html|title=ARTICLE. XVI AMENDMENTS AND CONVENTIONS|website=delcode.delaware.gov|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Delaware General Assembly sessions]]
* [[Delaware Compensation Commission]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{wikisource|works=or}}
* {{Official website|https://legis.delaware.gov/}}
{{Delaware State Senators}}
{{Delaware House of Representatives}}
{{Delaware General Assemblies}}
{{United States legislatures}}
{{Government of Delaware}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Delaware General Assembly| ]]
[[Category:Bicameral legislatures]]