The Delaware General Assembly passed a constitutional amendment that would require state senators and state representatives to reside in the legislative districts that they represent for the duration of their term in office.
Rep. Paul Baumbach (D-23), who sponsored the bill, said, “We expect that when we elect an official to represent us, they live in the district they serve. We discovered that this is not required in Delaware, and so over multiple years we are completing the steps to correct this oversight. HB77 ensures that your elected members of the legislature live in the district they serve. In Delaware, a state of neighbors, we want to ensure that we are represented by a neighbor.”
House Bill 77 would include language in the Delaware Constitution that would require state senators and state representatives to continuously reside in the district they represent during their term of office. This provision would not apply if a representative or senator no longer resides in the district they represent due to redistricting, as well as due to a “reason of an event that can be neither anticipated nor controlled.”
