Summary: Elected officials, except for the Governor and Governor-Lieutenant, must resign from their current office before running for another elected office.

Analysis: HB 206 is a  ‘Resign-to-run’ bill, which has been seen in other states such as Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, and Texas. This bill limits elected officials, except for the Governor and Lt. Governor, from doing their elected duties while simultaneously campaigning and running for another elected office. As a constitutional amendment, it must pass two consecutive sessions with a 2/3 vote in each chamber. This is the first leg, meaning passage would automatically constitute a refiling in the upcoming session in order to meet the minimum voting requirement for a constitutional amendment.

When considering this bill, factors must be noted. This is because there are both pros and cons to elected officials having to resign if they are running for another elected position. The pros include:

• Prevents overlapping of two jobs/ensures focus on elected duties.
• Prevents misuse of elected position (i.e, campaigning).
• Ensures full commitment to the campaign process, free of the “security” blanket of the already held office.
• Natural term limits are created since the security of a seat is gone, unless one never attempts another elected office. Therefore, a flow of new House representatives and senators could occur. Any form of term limits lends itself to protecting against “big government.”

However, there are cons that have been noted throughout the rest of the nation:

• Candidates may find difficulty running for other seats due to the risk of losing an already secure and significant seat they currently hold.
• Reduced Experience since many candidates would resign and not have the chance to gain governmental experience to be a better candidate in the future.
• Super-majority could be more attainable since seats are left vacant at higher rates.
  • With the current makeup in the Delaware House, dangerous constitutional amendments that are anti life, family, or religious freedomn are being held back by one vote. If on of those very important votes decided to relinquish their seat to run for another office, we would have extreme difficulty holding back the tide on dangerous constitutional amendments. Anything that has the potential to put a valuable seat in danger should be heeded with caution.

HB 206 is a bill to watch. This is because this bill affects the way our legislators navigate their political vocations. It takes an all-or-nothing approach when it comes to running for and maintaining office; the goal attempting to ensure that elected officials only focus on their elected duties and nothing else while in office.

It could equally put obstacles up for those who have made a career in politics, while also contributing to the ease in which a supermajority may be obtained. Though this may seem insignificant, it certainly is not. Any bill that relates to the code of conduct for our elected officials is worth watching since it affects those whom we will elect to promote the good of family, life, education, and religious freedom.