Delaware House of Representatives
Delaware House of Representatives | |
---|---|
Delaware General Assembly | |
Type | |
Type | |
Term limits | None |
History | |
New session started | January 8, 2013 |
Leadership | |
Majority Leader | |
Minority Leader | |
Structure | |
Seats | 41 |
Political groups |
Governing party Opposition party |
Length of term | 2 years |
Authority | Article III, Section 1, Delaware Constitution |
Salary | $41,680/year + per diem |
Elections | |
Last election |
November 4, 2014 (41 seats) |
Next election |
November 8, 2016 (41 seats) |
Redistricting | Legislative Control |
Meeting place | |
House of Representatives Chamber Delaware Legislative Hall Dover, Delaware | |
Website | |
legis.delaware.gov |
The Delaware House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly; the state legislature of the US state of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal number of constituencies, each of whom is elected to a two-year term. Its members are not subject to term limits. The House meets at the Delaware Legislative Hall in Dover.
Name
From 1776 to 1792, the chamber was known as the House of Assembly, a common name for lower houses of colonial legislatures and states under the Confederation. The name was changed by Delaware's 1792 Constitution, reflecting the new federal House of Representatives. This change on the part of Delaware initiated a movement that has resulted in a majority of the lower houses of U.S. state legislatures sharing the name of the federal House of Representatives.
Leadership
The Speaker of the House presides over the House of Representatives. The Speaker is elected by the majority party caucus followed by confirmation of the full House through the passage of a House Resolution. The Speaker is the chief leadership position of the body. The other House leaders are elected by their respective party caucuses. The Majority Leader determines which bills are brought to the floor for debate from an Agenda prepared by the Speaker of the House and manages debates and floor votes.
As of September 2016 the Speaker of the House is Peter Schwartzkopf of District 14 (Rehoboth Beach). Terry Spence was the longest serving speaker in the history of the Delaware General Assembly.
Qualifications
Members of the House of Representatives must be citizens of the United States, have lived in Delaware for three years, been a resident of their constituent district for at least one year preceding their election, and must be at least 24 years old by the time of their election.
Current composition
Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) |
Total | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Republican | Vacant | ||
End of 147th legislature | 27 | 14 | 41 | 0 |
Begin of 148th legislature (2015) | 25 | 16 | 41 | 0 |
August 3, 2015[1] | 24 | 40 | 1 | |
September 12, 2015[2] | 25 | 41 | 0 | |
August 10, 2016[3] | 15 | 40 | 1 | |
Latest voting share | 62.5% | 37.5% |
Current members, 2014–2016
District | Name | Party | First Elected | Residence | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Charles Potter, Jr. | Dem | 2012 | Brandywine Hills | |
2 | Stephanie Bolden | Dem | 2010 | ||
3 | Helene Keeley | Dem | 1996 | Wilmington South | |
4 | Gerald Brady | Dem | 2006 | Wilmington West | |
5 | Melanie G. Smith | Dem | 2002 | Bear/Newark | |
6 | Debra Heffernan | Dem | 2010 | Edgewood Hills | |
7 | Bryon Short | Dem | 2007 | ||
8 | S. Quinton Johnson | Dem | 2008 | Middletown | |
9 | Kevin Hensley | Rep | 2014 | ||
10 | Sean Matthews | Dem | 2014 | Delaware | |
11 | Jeffrey Spiegelman | Rep | 2012 | Clayton | |
12 | Deborah Hudson | Rep | 1994 | Fairthorne | |
13 | John Mitchell, Jr. | Dem | 2006 | Elsmere | |
14 | Peter Schwartzkopf | Dem | 2002 | Rehoboth | |
15 | Valerie Longhurst | Dem | 2004 | Bear | |
16 | James Johnson | Dem | 2004 | Jefferson Farms | |
17 | Michael Mulrooney | Dem | 1998 | Pennwood | |
18 | David Bentz | Dem | 2015 | ||
19 | Kimberly Williams | Dem | 2012 | Klair Estates | |
20 | Stephen Smyk | Rep | 2012 | Milton | |
21 | Michael Ramone | Rep | 2008 | Drummond Hill | |
22 | Joseph Miró | Rep | 1998 | Pike Creek Valley | |
23 | Paul Baumbach | Dem | 2012 | Newark | |
24 | Edward Osienski | Dem | 2010 | ||
25 | John Kowalko | Dem | 2006 | Newark South | |
26 | John Viola | Dem | 1998 | Newark | |
27 | Earl Jaques, Jr. | Dem | 2008 | Glasgow | |
28 | William Carson, Jr. | Dem | 2008 | Smyrna | |
29 | W. Charles Paradee | Dem | 2012 | ||
30 | William Outten | Rep | 2004 | Harrington | |
31 | Sean Lynn | Dem | 2014 | Dover | |
32 | Andria Bennett | Dem | 2012 | Dover | |
33 | Vacant | ||||
34 | Lyndon Yearick | Rep | 2014 | ||
35 | David L. Wilson | Rep | 2008 | Bridgeville | |
36 | Harvey Kenton | Rep | 2010 | ||
37 | Ruth Briggs King | Rep | 2009 | Georgetown/Lewes | |
38 | Ronald E. Gray | Rep | 2012 | Selbyville | |
39 | Daniel Short | Rep | 2006 | Seaford | |
40 | Timothy Dukes | Rep | 2012 | Laurel | |
41 | Richard Collins | Rep | 2014 | Millsboro |
See also
References
- ↑ Democrat Michael Barbieri (District 18) resigned August 3, 2015 to take a new job
- ↑ Democrat David Bentz (District 18) won the September 12, 2015 special election to succeed Michael Barbieri
- ↑ Republican Harold Peterman (District 33) died August 10, 2016