Delaware 151st General Assembly (2021-2022) Status: Passed House Bipartisan · 13 D · 11 R cosponsors

HB 411 — AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE II OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO LIMITATIONS ON THE TIME AND FREQUENCY OF LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS.

Last action — Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

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

This bill died with 151st General Assembly (2021-2022). 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This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there are no live odds of enactment.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 Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment that would prohibit the regular session of the General Assembly from extending beyond 5:00 p.m. on the last day of June, unless the session is recalled by the Governor or the presiding officers of both Houses. This changes the time beyond which a regular session of the General Assembly may not extend from midnight on June 30 to 5:00 p.m., which changes the time at which the presiding officers of both Houses must act to recall the General Assembly into special session. This means the General Assembly no longer has to remain in session until midnight to recall itself into special session. This Act does not change the date of or process for “final adjournment,” as defined in Opinion of the Justices, 175 A.2d 543, 545 (Del. 1961) (“‘[F]inal adjournment’ . . . means the adjournment sine die of the second regular session, or, in the absence of such adjournment, the extinguishment of the particular General Assembly by reason of expiration of the terms of office of the members.”). In addition, this Act contemplates that each House will continue its traditional practice of recessing to the call of the chair. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the Delaware Constitution.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

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

  3. Assigned to Executive Committee in Senate

  4. Passed By House. Votes: 38 YES 3 ABSENT

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

  6. Introduced and Assigned to Administration Committee in House

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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10 sponsors · 26 co-sponsors · 26 not signed on

Sponsors (10)

Co-sponsors (26)

Not signed on (26)

26 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"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 21 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 5000
Democratic 11000
Republican 5000
Total 21000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (21)
Member Party Vote
Bruce C. Ennis — Yea
Colin Bonini — Yea
Ernesto B Lopez — Yea
Kyle Evans Gay — Yea
Sarah McBride — 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
Marie Pinkney Democratic Yea
Nicole Poore Democratic Yea
S. Elizabeth Lockman Democratic Yea
Spiros Mantzavinos 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 →

2/3

Passed 38 Yea · 0 Nay · 3 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 11002
Democratic 16000
Republican 11001
Total 38003
% of votes cast 93%0%0%7%
How each member voted (41)
Member Party Vote
Andria L. Bennett — Yea
Charles "Bud" M. Freel — Not Voting
David Bentz — Not Voting
John A. Kowalko — Yea
John L. Mitchell — Yea
Michael Ramone — Yea
Paul S. Baumbach — Yea
Peter C. Schwartzkopf — 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
Eric Morrison Democratic Yea
Franklin D. Cooke Democratic Yea
Kendra Johnson Democratic Yea
Kimberly Williams Democratic Yea
Krista Griffith Democratic Yea
Larry Lambert Democratic Yea
Madinah Wilson-Anton Democratic Yea
Melissa Minor-Brown Democratic Yea
Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha Democratic Yea
Sean M. Lynn Democratic Yea
Sherae'a Moore 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 Not Voting

Official roll call →

Subjects

elections
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Frequently asked questions

What does HB 411 do?
This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment that would prohibit the regular session of the General Assembly from extending beyond 5:00 p.m. on the last day of June, unless the session is recalled by the Governor or the presiding officers of both Houses. This changes the time beyond which a regular session of the General Assembly may not extend from midnight on June 30 to 5:00 p.m., which changes the time at which the presiding officers of both Houses must act to recall the General Assembly into special session. This means the General Assembly no longer has to remain in session until midnight to recall itself into special session. This Act does not change the date of or process for “final adjournment,” as defined in Opinion of the Justices, 175 A.2d 543, 545 (Del. 1961) (“‘[F]inal adjournment’ . . . means the adjournment sine die of the second regular session, or, in the absence of such adjournment, the extinguishment of the particular General Assembly by reason of expiration of the terms of office of the members.”). In addition, this Act contemplates that each House will continue its traditional practice of recessing to the call of the chair. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the Delaware Constitution.
Who sponsors HB 411?
HB 411 is sponsored by Peter C. Schwartzkopf, David P. Sokola (Democratic), Bryan Townsend (Democratic), S. Elizabeth Lockman (Democratic), Gerald W. Hocker (Republican), Brian Pettyjohn (Republican), Daniel B. Short (Republican), Timothy D. Dukes (Republican), Darius J. Brown (Democratic), Stephanie L. Hansen (Democratic), Dave G. Lawson (Republican), Spiros Mantzavinos (Democratic), Trey Paradee (Democratic), Marie Pinkney (Democratic), Nicole Poore (Democratic), Bryant L. Richardson (Republican), John "Jack" Walsh (Democratic), David L. Wilson (Republican), William J. Carson (Democratic), Richard G. Collins (Republican), Krista Griffith (Democratic), Kevin S Hensley (Republican), Michael F. Smith (Republican), Kimberly Williams (Democratic), Lyndon D. Yearick (Republican), Kyle Evans Gay, Michael Ramone, Ruth Briggs King, David Bentz, Paul S. Baumbach, Sarah McBride, Ernesto B Lopez, Bruce C. Ennis, Colin Bonini, John L. Mitchell, and Valerie Longhurst.
What is the current status of HB 411?
This bill died with 151st General Assembly (2021-2022). 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 411?
Track HB 411 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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