Delaware 150th General Assembly (2019-2020) Status: Passed House 18 D cosponsors

HB 1 — AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE I OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO EQUAL RIGHTS.

Last action — Passed By Senate. Votes: 16 YES 5 NO

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

This bill died with 150th General Assembly (2019-2020). It reached “Passed House” 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This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there are no live odds of enactment.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

This is the final leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution to provide equal rights on the basis of sex. There is no Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution. While Congress passed the Amendment in 1972, it was not ratified by the requisite number of states by the 1982 deadline. Delaware, however, was one of the first states to ratify the Amendment. About half of the states across the country have passed Equal Rights Amendments to their state constitutions in order to provide protection against discrimination based on sex. Without an Equal Rights amendment, women's rights and protections are limited. This Amendment is necessary to correct a constitutional shortcoming, reduce sex-based disparities and to codify our State's value of equality. Section 1 makes clear the General Assembly's intent in proposing this Amendment to the Delaware Constitution.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Passed By Senate. Votes: 16 YES 5 NO

  2. Reported Out of Committee (Executive) in Senate with 2 Favorable, 3 On Its Merits, 1 Unfavorable

  3. Assigned to Executive Committee in Senate

  4. Passed By House. Votes: 35 YES 6 NO

  5. Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 3 Favorable, 1 On Its Merits

  6. Introduced and Assigned to Administration Committee in House

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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17 sponsors · 24 co-sponsors · 45 not signed on · 11 voted No

Sponsors (17)

Co-sponsors (24)

Not signed on (45)

45 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 45 →

"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 16 Yea · 5 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 7000
Democratic 9000
Republican 0500
Total 16500
% of votes cast 76%24%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 Nay
Bryant L. Richardson Republican Nay
Dave G. Lawson Republican Nay
David L. Wilson Republican Nay
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Nay

Official roll call →

2/3

Passed 35 Yea · 6 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 17000
Democratic 12000
Republican 6600
Total 35600
% of votes cast 85%15%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 Nay
Daniel B. Short Republican Yea
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman Republican Yea
Jesse R. Vanderwende Republican Nay
Kevin S Hensley Republican Yea
Lyndon D. Yearick Republican Nay
Michael F. Smith Republican Yea
Richard G. Collins Republican Nay
Ronald E. Gray Republican Yea
Shannon Morris Republican Nay
Timothy D. Dukes Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Subjects

civil-rights
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Frequently asked questions

What does HB 1 do?
This is the final leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution to provide equal rights on the basis of sex. There is no Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution. While Congress passed the Amendment in 1972, it was not ratified by the requisite number of states by the 1982 deadline. Delaware, however, was one of the first states to ratify the Amendment. About half of the states across the country have passed Equal Rights Amendments to their state constitutions in order to provide protection against discrimination based on sex. Without an Equal Rights amendment, women's rights and protections are limited. This Amendment is necessary to correct a constitutional shortcoming, reduce sex-based disparities and to codify our State's value of equality. Section 1 makes clear the General Assembly's intent in proposing this Amendment to the Delaware Constitution.
Who sponsors HB 1?
HB 1 is sponsored by Edward S. Osienski (Democratic), Sean M. Lynn (Democratic), Franklin D. Cooke (Democratic), William J. Carson (Democratic), William Bush (Democratic), John "Jack" Walsh, David P. Sokola (Democratic), Trey Paradee, Darius J. Brown (Democratic), Kimberly Williams (Democratic), Melissa Minor-Brown (Democratic), Kendra Johnson (Democratic), Debra Heffernan (Democratic), Krista Griffith (Democratic), Stephanie T. Bolden (Democratic), Bryan Townsend (Democratic), Laura V. Sturgeon, Nicole Poore (Democratic), S. Elizabeth Lockman (Democratic), Stephanie L. Hansen (Democratic), Valerie Longhurst, Catherine Cloutier, Harris B. McDowell, Andria L. Bennett, Ruth Briggs King, Sherry Dorsey Walker, Anthony Delcollo, Bruce C. Ennis, Ernesto B Lopez, Paul S. Baumbach, David Bentz, Gerald L. Brady, Earl G. Jaques Jr., John A. Kowalko, Sean Matthews, John L. Mitchell, Michael Ramone, Peter C. Schwartzkopf, Raymond Seigfried, and John J. Viola.
What is the current status of HB 1?
This bill died with 150th General Assembly (2019-2020). It reached “Passed House” 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 HB 1?
Track HB 1 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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