A state Senate special election for the 10th District seat will be held on February 25, 2017.

Democrat Bethany Hall-Long vacated the seat on January 17, 2017, in order to be sworn in as lieutenant governor.

The outcome of the special election will determine the controlling party in the Senate. Democrat Stephanie Hansen and Republican John Marino are both vying for the seat.

Photo of Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long from the Delaware General Assembly website.

Democrat John Carney, Jr. defeated Republican Colin Bonini to become the new governor of Delaware. Carney has served as Delaware’s lone U.S. representative since 2011.

Before Carney’s terms in Congress, he served two terms as Delaware’s lieutenant governor.

Photo of John Carney, Jr. courtesy of United States Congress on Wikimedia Commons.

For the second year in a row, the General Assembly adjourned on June 30, the final day of the regular session, and entered into a special session through the early hours of July 1, 2016.

Gov. Jack Markell signed the budget bill at 5:15 a.m. Friday, marking the end of the state’s legislative proceedings for the year.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to the Elections Disclosure Act. The lower court ruled requiring third-party groups and individuals to disclose their donors if they publish advertisements or other communications referring to a candidate in an upcoming election is constitutional. The law furthers the purpose of the 2012 ethics overhaul by closing loopholes allowing anonymous campaign-related advertising.

Photo of the U.S. Supreme Court building by UpstateNYer on Wikimedia Commons.

On May 17, three separate bills regarding lobbyists and political donors were introduced in the General Assembly.

If all three bills pass, political committees would be required to report a contributor’s occupation and employment information (Senate Bill 224), lobbyists would be required to disclose the source and amount of received payments (Senate Bill 225), and lobbyists would be required to pay a registration fee or face certain penalties (House Bill 385).

The special election to fill the House District 18 seat has been set for September 12, 2015.

Rep. Mike Barbieri vacated the seat to take a job leading the state’s Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health.

In a written statement, House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf said the date was chosen to give candidates time to reach out to voters in the district and, by scheduling the election on a Saturday, to make voting “as convenient as possible.”

State Rep. Mike Barbieri is resigning from the Delaware House of Representatives effective August 3, 2015. He will become the new director of the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health in the state Department of Health and Social Services.

A special election to fill his18th District seat must be held 30 to 45 days from the date of vacancy; however, a date has not yet been set. Barbieri’s legislative aide, David Bentz, has already announced his candidacy for the pending election.

The United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court ruling granting a preliminary injunction against a Delaware campaign finance law requiring sponsors of third-party advertisements to disclose the identities of their donors.

Specifically, Section 8031 of the Delaware Election Disclosures Act, which became effective January 1, 2012, requires any person who makes an expenditure for a third-party advertisement exceeding $500 during an election period to file a report with the Elections Commission, including the names and addresses of each person who has made contributions to the sponsor of the third-party advertisements exceeding $100.

The Third Circuit ruled the lower court abused its discretion in granting the injunction. The Delaware Department of Elections may now enforce section 8031.

Seal of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit by Djwalsh3 on Wikimedia Commons.

The Delaware General Assembly adjourned June 30, 2015, after many weeks of negotiation to pass the state’s budget.

In the early morning hours of July 1, 2015, Gov. Jack Markell signed the budget bills and a transportation funding measure, marking the end of the state’s legislative proceedings for the year.

The electronic filing system of the Public Integrity Commission, the Public Integrity Reporting System, has been updated.

As a result of the change, filers will be required to update their passwords the first time they log in after the update.

The site address has not changed and can be accessed here.

The electronic filing system of the Public Integrity Commission, the Public Integrity Reporting System, is being moved. As a result of the change, filers will be required to update their passwords after the system is moved.

The system will be down for the transfer from 11:00 p.m. on February 7 to 6:00 a.m. on February 9.

The first time a filer logs in after the system is moved, he or she will be prompted to create a new password. The commission has not released the web domain of the new system but is scheduled to do so in the near future.

The Delaware Senate adjourned its brief special session on October 8, 2014.

Senators unanimously confirmed James Vaughn Jr. to the state Supreme Court.

Vaughn has served the past 15 years as a Superior Court judge.

On October 8, 2014, the Delaware Senate convened a special legislative session.

Gov. Jack Markell called the special session to confirm a new state Supreme Court justice.

On September 4, 2014, Gov. Jack Markell signed House Bill 13 into law.

Under the bill, any person who served as a member of the Delaware General Assembly is prohibited from acting as a lobbyist for one year after the person’s term of office is completed.

The bill takes effect January 1, 2017.