DELAWARE -Lawmakers in the Delaware House of Representatives have introduced House Resolution 19, amending rules to permit members to attend special sessions remotely under certain conditions.
The resolution, applying to the 153rd General Assembly, allows remote participation as long as a quorum of the House is physically present in Dover and authorization is granted by the Speaker of the House.
Under the updated rule, a “special session” is defined as any convening of the full House to conduct business outside the regular legislative calendar — specifically, any time between the second Tuesday in January and 5 p.m. on the last day of June. This includes sessions under Article III, of the Delaware Constitution, which allows the Governor to convene the General Assembly.
Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown (D District 17) is co-sponsor of the Resolution. In a CoastTV exclusive in June, Minor-Brown said a solution to then-District 20 Rep. Stell Parker Selby's absence was virtual voting. While similar, Resolution 19 is not what Minor-Brown was proposing at that time, as this resolution only applies to special sessions.
The change in the resolution formalizes procedures used during past off-season or emergency sessions, giving the House flexibility to maintain operations while preserving in-person quorum requirements.