Fate of HB 99 Still Up in the Air

The bill made it on the agenda for Wednesday, June 25 after a day of last minute lobbying on Tuesday, with frantic phone calls and general scrambling for information. Would it be on the agenda or not? The answer changed hourly.

It was reported that prime sponsor Rep. William Oberle did not want the bill to come to a vote unless he had the 21 votes (a simple majority) to get it passed. He and co-sponsor Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf worked diligently all week to expand and conserve the "yes" votes.

As of Tuesday, June 24, the media was reporting that HB99 would not come to a vote and would be pushed over into next year. The Delaware legislature is in the first year of a two-year session and HB99 could have resumed its path next January from wherever in the process it left off.

However, the bill was placed on the June 25 agenda, implying that the votes were there to pass it. As this is being written, at 8:00 p.m. on the 25th there has been no word from Dover.

If the bill passes it can now go to the Senate and supporters can try to get hurried passage before Monday, June 30. If that is not achieved, the bill can continue its path through the House and Senate next January.

In the Senate, there has been a leadership change since last session, when HB99 was bottled up in committee and did not even come to the floor for a vote. Senator Thomas Sharp retired and Thurman Adams is now president pro tem of the Senate. It will be up to Adams to release the bill for a vote.

The history of the bill in this session began June 18 when it was reported out of Committee with one Favorable vote, three votes On Its Merits, and one Unfavorable.

At the time, there did not seem to be the will in the House for the 21 votes needed. But according to a variety of sources, one representative converted from a "no" to a "yes," and the race for passage was on. Intense lobbying by local politicians and activists came to a crescendo on Wednesday May 25.

Of local note, Rep. Joseph Booth of Lewes reportedly made a campaign promise to oppose HB99. With a large gay constituency in Lewes, and elsewhere in Sussex County, many efforts were made to lobby Representative Booth.

In reality, HB99, rather than being some kind of sweeping new legislation, merely adds the two words "sexual orientation" to the existing Delaware Non-Discrimination law prohibiting discrimination in public and private employment, public accommodations and housing.

Since the law defines "sexual orientation" as "lesbian, gay, bisexual, or heterosexual orientation, real or perceived," the law affects heterosexual and homosexual people equally and protects everyone from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The bill retains existing exemptions for religious, fraternal, charitable, or sectarian corporations or associations, or employers with three or fewer employees.

According to a recent Newsweek poll, 84% of Americans polled favored equal rights for gay people and oppose job discrimination based upon sexual orientation. Despite differing opinions, Americans believe that anti-gay job discrimination is wrong.

The section of the law related to prohibiting discrimination in the sale or rental of housing retains the existing exemptions for religious organizations, private clubs not open to the public, and owner-occupied dwellings intended to be occupied by no more than 4 families.

Gov. Ruth Ann Minner held a rally last month to announce her continued support for the bill. Support has also come from many state organizations. On June 18, the Delaware State Bar Association voted to endorse HB99 (9 for; 2 against; 1 abstention). Other supporters/ endorsers include Delaware Coalition for Human Rights; American Association of University Women; AIDS Delaware; ARC of Delaware; Children and Families First; Delaware ACLU; Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence; Delaware Commission for Women; Delaware Human Relations Commission; Independent Resources; League of Women Voters; Lutheran Office on Public Policy; Wilmington Mayor James Baker; Mental Health Association of Delaware; Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League; Del. NAACP; National Association of Social Workers; National Conference for Community and Justice; Pacem in Terris; the YWCA of New Castle County; Delaware State Bar Association’s Women and the Law Section; Delaware Stonewall Democratic Club; 82 Delaware clergy signatories of the Spiritual Leaders’ Statement; and according to Hickman-Brown Public Opinion Research, 69% of Delawareans.

This report based on information from Doug and Corey Marshall-Steele, Delaware ACLU and others.