The Delaware House of Representatives is the lower house

Lower house

A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...

 of the Delaware General Assembly

Delaware General Assembly

The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...

; the state legislature of the U.S. State

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal amount of constituencies, each of whom is elected to a two year term. The Delaware General Assembly does not have term limits. The House meets at the Delaware Legislative Hall

Delaware State Capitol

The Delaware Legislative Hall is the state capitol building of Delaware located in the state capital of Dover on Court Street. It houses the chambers and offices of the Delaware General Assembly.-Old State House:...

 in Dover.

The naming of the House

From 1776 to 1792, the chamber was known as the House of Assembly, a common name for lower house

Lower house

A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...

s of colonial legislatures and states under the loose Confederation

Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement among the 13 founding states that legally established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution...

. The name was changed by the state's 1792 Constitution

Delaware Constitution of 1792

The Delaware Constitution of 1792 was the second governing document for Delaware state government and was in effect from its adoption on June 12, 1792 until replaced on December 2, 1831 by a new Constitution....

, reflecting the new federal House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

, which Delaware was the first state to approve of in ratifying the federal U.S. Constitution in 1787. The renaming began a trend that has resulted in a majority of the lower house

Lower house

A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...

s of U.S. state legislatures sharing the same name of the U.S. House.

Leadership of the House

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.

The current Speaker of the House is Robert Gilligan of District 19 (Sherwood Park). Prior to Gilligan's election, the prior Speaker of the House, 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

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, have lived in Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

 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

The strong Democratic turnout in 2008, aided by homestate Senator Joe Biden

Joe Biden

Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...

, cost Republicans the majority in the State House. As of 2009, Democrats control all three branches of state government.

Affiliation	Party		Total
	Democratic Delaware Democratic Party The Delaware Democratic Party is the local branch of the Democratic Party in the US State of Delaware, headquartered in unincorporated New Castle County. John D. Daniello is the state Chair.-Federal executive:...	Republican		Vacant
End of previous legislature	24	17	41	0
Begin	26	15	41	0
Latest voting share	63.4%	36.6%

Current members, 2011-2012

District	Name	Party	First Elected	Residence
1	Dennis Williams	Dem	1996	Wilmington North Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
2	Stephanie Bolden	Dem	2010
3	Helene Keeley	Dem	1996	Wilmington South
4	Gerald Brady	Dem	2006	Wilmington West
5	Melanie George	Dem	2002	Bear Bear, Delaware Bear is a census-designated place in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 17,593 at the 2000 census.Originally a small crossroads in a rural area south of Wilmington, the area supported small farms growing mainly corn and cattle... /Newark Newark, Delaware Newark is an American city in New Castle County, Delaware, west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is the home of the University of Delaware.- History :...
6	Debra Heffernan	Dem	2010
7	Bryon Short	Dem	2007
8	S. Quinton Johnson	Dem	2008	Middletown Middletown, Delaware Middletown is a town in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the town is 18,871.-Geography:Middletown is located at with an elevation of ....
9	Rebecca Walker	Dem	2010
10	Dennis Williams	Dem	2008	Talleyville Talleyville, Delaware Talleyville is an unincorporated community in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. Its ZIP Code is 19803.The population of the ZCTA for ZIP Code 19803 was 21,022 at the 2000 census....
11	Gregory Lavelle	Rep	2000	Sharpley Sharpley, Delaware Sharpley is an unincorporated community in New Castle County, Delaware, United States.- References :...
12	Deborah Hudson	Rep	2000	Fairthorne
13	John Mitchell Jr.	Dem	2006	Elsmere Elsmere, Delaware Elsmere is a town in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the town is 6,131.-Geography:Elsmere is located at ....
14	Peter Schwartzkopf	Dem	2002	Rehoboth
15	Valerie Longhurst	Dem	2004	Bear
16	James Johnson	Dem	2002	Jefferson Farms
17	Michael Mulrooney	Dem	1998	Pennwood
18	Michael Barbieri	Dem	2008	Newark
19	Robert Gilligan	Dem	1972	Sherwood Park
20	Nick T. Manolakos	Rep	2006	Limestone Hills
21	Michael Ramone	Rep	2008	Drummond Hill
22	Joseph Miro	Rep	1998	Pike Creek Valley
23	Teresa Schooley	Dem	2004	Newark
24	Edward Osienski	Dem	2010
25	John Kowalko, Jr.	Dem	2006	Newark South
26	John Viola	Dem	1998	Newark
27	Earl Jaques, Jr.	Dem	2008	Glasgow Glasgow, Delaware Glasgow is a census-designated place in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 12,840 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Glasgow is located at ....
28	William Carson, Jr.	Dem	2008	Smyrna Smyrna, Delaware Smyrna is a town in Kent and New Castle counties in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area...
29	Lincoln Willis	Rep	2010
30	William Outten	Rep	2004	Harrington Harrington, Delaware Harrington is a city in Kent County, Delaware, United States. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. Harrington hosts the annual Delaware State Fair each July...
31	Darryl Scott	Dem	2008	Dover Dover, Delaware The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...
32	E. Bradford Bennett	Dem	2008	Dover
33	Harold Peterman	Rep	2010
34	Donald Blakey	Rep	2006
35	David Wilson	Rep	2008	Bridgeville Bridgeville, Delaware As of the census of 2000, there were 1,436 people, 570 households, and 381 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,768.6 people per square mile . There were 636 housing units at an average density of 783.3 per square mile...
36	Harvey Kenton	Rep	2010
37	Ruth Briggs King	Rep	2009	Georgetown Georgetown, Delaware Georgetown is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to 2010 census figures, the population of the town is 6,422, an increase of 38.3% over the previous decade... /Lewes Lewes, Delaware Lewes is an incorporated city in Sussex County, Delaware, USA, on the Delmarva Peninsula. According to the 2010 census, the population is 2,747, a decrease of 6.3% from 2000....
38	Gerald Hocker	Rep	2002	Ocean View Ocean View, Delaware As of the census of 2000, there were 1,006 people, 458 households, and 321 families residing in the town. The population density was 495.0 people per square mile . There were 751 housing units at an average density of 369.6 per square mile...
39	Daniel Short	Rep	2006	Seaford Seaford, Delaware Seaford is a city located along the Nanticoke River in Sussex County, Delaware. According to the 2010 Census Bureau figures, the population of the city is 6,928, an increase of 3.4% from the 2000 census...
40	Clifford "Biff" Lee	Rep	2000	Laurel Laurel, Delaware As of the census of 2000, there were 3,668 people, 1,389 households, and 957 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,215.9 people per square mile . There were 1,561 housing units at an average density of 943.0 per square mile...
41	John Atkins	Dem	2008 (2003-2006)	Millsboro Millsboro, Delaware As of the census of 2000, there were 2,360 people, 1,045 households, and 619 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,367.9 people per square mile . There were 1,153 housing units at an average density of 668.3 per square mile...

External links

• Delaware House of Representatives