Delaware 150th General Assembly (2019-2020) Status: Enacted Bipartisan · 14 D · 5 R cosponsors

SB 194 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 13 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MARRIAGE LICENSE APPLICATION.

Last action — Signed by Governor

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

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced December 19, 2019. Enacted.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 98% · high confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 33 sponsors

    4 primary, 29 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (14 D · 5 R) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

This Act removes the requirement that applicants for a marriage license state their race as part of the application process. Delaware is one of a small number of states that currently requires this information. In October 2019, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that requiring marriage license applicants to provide their race violates the United States Constitution. In Delaware, the Clerks of the Peace, who are the points of data collection, have expressed support for this Act, as has the Office of Vital Statistics in the Department of Health and Social Services. The National Center for Health Statistics ("NCHS") has not requested detailed information from states regarding marriage and divorce since 1996. NCHS only requires states to provide the total number of marriages that occur each month.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Signed by Governor

  2. Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES

  3. Suspension of Rules in Senate

  4. Reported Out of Committee (Housing & Community Affairs) in House with 7 On Its Merits

  5. Assigned to Housing & Community Affairs Committee in House

  6. Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT

  7. Reported Out of Committee (Health & Social Services) in Senate with 4 Favorable

  8. Introduced and Assigned to Health & Social Services Committee in Senate

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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4 sponsors · 29 co-sponsors · 29 not signed on

Sponsors (4)

Co-sponsors (29)

Not signed on (29)

29 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 29 →

"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

3/4

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 →

SM

Passed 20 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 7000
Democratic 9000
Republican 4001
Total 20001
% of votes cast 95%0%0%5%
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 Not Voting
David L. Wilson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

civil-rights
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Frequently asked questions

What does SB 194 do?
This Act removes the requirement that applicants for a marriage license state their race as part of the application process. Delaware is one of a small number of states that currently requires this information. In October 2019, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that requiring marriage license applicants to provide their race violates the United States Constitution. In Delaware, the Clerks of the Peace, who are the points of data collection, have expressed support for this Act, as has the Office of Vital Statistics in the Department of Health and Social Services. The National Center for Health Statistics ("NCHS") has not requested detailed information from states regarding marriage and divorce since 1996. NCHS only requires states to provide the total number of marriages that occur each month.
Who sponsors SB 194?
SB 194 is sponsored by Edward S. Osienski (Democratic), Krista Griffith (Democratic), Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha (Democratic), Stephanie T. Bolden (Democratic), David L. Wilson (Republican), David P. Sokola (Democratic), Bryant L. Richardson (Republican), Nicole Poore (Democratic), Brian Pettyjohn (Republican), S. Elizabeth Lockman (Democratic), Dave G. Lawson (Republican), Gerald W. Hocker (Republican), Darius J. Brown (Democratic), Kendra Johnson (Democratic), Stephanie L. Hansen (Democratic), John "Jack" Walsh (Democratic), Bryan Townsend (Democratic), Trey Paradee (Democratic), Laura V. Sturgeon (Democratic), Harris B. McDowell, Ruth Briggs King, Sherry Dorsey Walker, Paul S. Baumbach, Colin Bonini, Catherine Cloutier, Anthony Delcollo, Bruce C. Ennis, Ernesto B Lopez, David B. McBride, Earl G. Jaques Jr., John A. Kowalko, Michael Ramone, and John J. Viola.
What is the current status of SB 194?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced December 19, 2019. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 194?
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