Delaware 150th General Assembly (2019-2020) Status: Passed Senate Bipartisan · 18 D · 4 R cosponsors

SB 191 — AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE I OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO EQUAL RIGHTS.

Last action — Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 150th General Assembly (2019-2020). It reached “Passed Senate” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there are no live odds of enactment. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Since the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, with Delaware ratifying it in 1901, at least 15 states have added a provision to their state constitution that prohibits the denial or abridgement of equal rights under the law based on race, color, or national origin. In 2019, Delaware amended the state constitution to prohibit the denial or abridgement of equal rights under the law based on sex, but no such prohibition exists as to race, color, or national origin. This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment to add race, color, and national origin to the Article I, § 21 of the Delaware Constitution to explicitly declare that protection against discrimination based on race, color, and national origin is one of Delaware's fundamental rights. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because Article XVI, § 1 of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly when the General Assembly amends the Delaware Constitution.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES

  2. Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 5 On Its Merits

  3. Assigned to Administration Committee in House

  4. Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

  5. Suspension of Rules in Senate

  6. Introduced and Assigned to Executive Committee in Senate

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

6 sponsors · 28 co-sponsors · 28 not signed on

Sponsors (6)

Co-sponsors (28)

Not signed on (28)

28 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 28 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

2/3

Passed 41 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 17000
Democratic 12000
Republican 12000
Total 41000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (41)
Member Party Vote
Andria L. Bennett — Yea
David Bentz — Yea
Earl G. Jaques Jr. — Yea
Gerald L. Brady — Yea
John A. Kowalko — Yea
John J. Viola — Yea
John L. Mitchell — Yea
Michael Ramone — Yea
Paul S. Baumbach — Yea
Peter C. Schwartzkopf — Yea
Quinton Johnson — Yea
Raymond Seigfried — Yea
Ruth Briggs King — Yea
Sean Matthews — Yea
Sherry Dorsey Walker — Yea
Stephen Smyk — Yea
Valerie Longhurst — Yea
Debra Heffernan Democratic Yea
Edward S. Osienski Democratic Yea
Franklin D. Cooke Democratic Yea
Kendra Johnson Democratic Yea
Kimberly Williams Democratic Yea
Krista Griffith Democratic Yea
Melissa Minor-Brown Democratic Yea
Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha Democratic Yea
Sean M. Lynn Democratic Yea
Stephanie T. Bolden Democratic Yea
William Bush Democratic Yea
William J. Carson Democratic Yea
Bryan W. Shupe Republican Yea
Charles S Postles Jr. Republican Yea
Daniel B. Short Republican Yea
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman Republican Yea
Jesse R. Vanderwende Republican Yea
Kevin S Hensley Republican Yea
Lyndon D. Yearick Republican Yea
Michael F. Smith Republican Yea
Richard G. Collins Republican Yea
Ronald E. Gray Republican Yea
Shannon Morris Republican Yea
Timothy D. Dukes Republican Yea

Official roll call →

2/3

Passed 21 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 7000
Democratic 9000
Republican 5000
Total 21000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (21)
Member Party Vote
Anthony Delcollo — Yea
Bruce C. Ennis — Yea
Catherine Cloutier — Yea
Colin Bonini — Yea
David B. McBride — Yea
Ernesto B Lopez — Yea
Harris B. McDowell — Yea
Bryan Townsend Democratic Yea
Darius J. Brown Democratic Yea
David P. Sokola Democratic Yea
John "Jack" Walsh Democratic Yea
Laura V. Sturgeon Democratic Yea
Nicole Poore Democratic Yea
S. Elizabeth Lockman Democratic Yea
Stephanie L. Hansen Democratic Yea
Trey Paradee Democratic Yea
Brian Pettyjohn Republican Yea
Bryant L. Richardson Republican Yea
Dave G. Lawson Republican Yea
David L. Wilson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 191 do?
Since the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, with Delaware ratifying it in 1901, at least 15 states have added a provision to their state constitution that prohibits the denial or abridgement of equal rights under the law based on race, color, or national origin. In 2019, Delaware amended the state constitution to prohibit the denial or abridgement of equal rights under the law based on sex, but no such prohibition exists as to race, color, or national origin. This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment to add race, color, and national origin to the Article I, § 21 of the Delaware Constitution to explicitly declare that protection against discrimination based on race, color, and national origin is one of Delaware's fundamental rights. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because Article XVI, § 1 of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly when the General Assembly amends the Delaware Constitution.
Who sponsors SB 191?
SB 191 is sponsored by Lyndon D. Yearick (Republican), Kimberly Williams (Democratic), Kendra Johnson (Democratic), Debra Heffernan (Democratic), Krista Griffith (Democratic), Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha (Democratic), William Bush (Democratic), Stephanie T. Bolden (Democratic), David L. Wilson (Republican), Bryan Townsend (Democratic), David P. Sokola (Democratic), Nicole Poore (Democratic), Brian Pettyjohn (Republican), S. Elizabeth Lockman (Democratic), Gerald W. Hocker (Republican), Stephanie L. Hansen (Democratic), Melissa Minor-Brown (Democratic), Darius J. Brown (Democratic), Trey Paradee (Democratic), John "Jack" Walsh (Democratic), Laura V. Sturgeon (Democratic), Ray Seigfried (Democratic), David B. McBride, Ernesto B Lopez, Sherry Dorsey Walker, Catherine Cloutier, Anthony Delcollo, Harris B. McDowell, Paul S. Baumbach, Ruth Briggs King, Earl G. Jaques Jr., Valerie Longhurst, Michael Ramone, and John J. Viola.
What is the current status of SB 191?
This bill died with 150th General Assembly (2019-2020). It reached “Passed Senate” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track SB 191?
Track SB 191 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on SB 191

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of SB 191

Last checked for changes 2 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →