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Senate Executive Committee Meeting

Official Minutes 151st General Assembly First Session

Committee Meeting Tuesday, January 19, 2021 3:00 p.m. Virtual Zoom Meeting

Meeting Attendance

Committee Members Present: Senator David.Sokola@.gov Senator Bryan Townsend [email protected] Senator [email protected] Senator [email protected] Senator [email protected] Senator Brian Pettyjohn [email protected]

Absent: None

Staff: Valerie McCartan [email protected] Abigail Armstrong [email protected]

Attendees: Organization: Jenna Ahner Delaware Department of Education Linda Barnett League of Women Voters of Delaware Tianna Beckles Office of the Governor Michael Boone Delaware Department of Labor Mark Brainard Jr. Delaware Division of Research Shawn Brittingham State Board of Education Senator Darius Brown Delaware State Senate Angel Burack State of Delaware Jesse Chadderdon Majority Caucus Carole Chapin Kencrest Maureen Creedon Delaware Department of Labor Mark Cutrona Delaware Division of Research Mary Davis Ned Davis Associates, Inc. Rick Deadwyler Delaware Racial Justice Collaborative

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Kristin Dwyer DSEA Anne Farley First State Strategies Richard Fernandes Delaware Department of Labor Romona Fullman Delaware Department of State Tamiko Glover Dorrell Green Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association Scott Goss Delaware Senate Majority Caucus Taylor Hawk Delaware Senate Majority Caucus Colleen Hicks Jacob Higgins UWDE Amelia Hodges Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association Karryl Hubbard Delaware Department of Labor Chanda Jackson NACLL Lori James Office of the Governor Leslie Ledogar Linda Madrid Dewey Beach, Alderman Court 36 Stephanie Mark Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association Carolyn Martin-Pettaway Delaware Senate Majority Caucus Lydia Massey Office of the Governor Mary Kate McLaughlin Faegre Drinker Shyanne Miller Rodel Foundation of Delaware Adrienne Ochs Charity Phillips Delmar School District Donna Polk Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association Jalyn Powell OUTLOUD LLC. Janet Roberson State of Delaware Michael Rodriguez Delaware Department of Education Jacqualine Santiago William Scarborough Project Management Institute, Delaware Valley Read Scott Senator Bryan Townsend/ Senator Marie Pickney Bryon Short Delaware Contractors Association Amy Solomon Gallagher Christella St. Juste Senator Darius Brown Iskeisha Stuckey Food Bank of Delaware William Sullivan Shaner Corp. Gail Tarlecki Delaware Human Relations Commission Michelle Taylor United Way of Delaware Julie Thompson State of Delaware Cheryl Tyrell Capital School District Lauren Vella Delaware Department of Justice

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Agenda:

Senate Bill 31

Senator Sokola convened the meeting at 3:02 p.m.

I. SB 31 – Sen. Brown - AN ACT CONCURRING IN A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE I OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO EQUAL RIGHTS.

SYNOPSIS: This Act is the second leg of a constitutional amendment to add race, color, and national origin to § 21 of Article I of the Delaware Constitution to explicitly declare that protection against discrimination based on race, color, and national origin is one of Delaware's fundamental rights. The first leg of this constitutional amendment was Senate Bill 191 of the 150th General Assembly, published in Chapter 287 of Volume 82 of the Laws of Delaware. On passage of this second leg by this General Assembly this amendment will become part of the Delaware Constitution. Since the 14th Amendment to the Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, with Delaware ratifying it in 1901, at least 15 states have added a provision to their state constitution that prohibits the denial or abridgement of equal rights under the law based on race, color, or national origin. In 2019, Delaware amended the state constitution to prohibit the denial or abridgement of equal rights under the law based on sex, but no such prohibition exists as to race, color, or national origin. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly when the General Assembly amends the Delaware Constitution.

Senator Brown, prime sponsor of the legislation, summarized the legislation by stating the synopsis. Senator Brown emphasized that the legislation would achieve two goals. First, the legislation makes clear that Delaware values the equality of its residents regardless of their race, color, or national origin. Second, the legislation ensures that any unequal treatment of or discrimination against Delawareans based on their color, race, or national origin is subject to the strictest constitutional scrutiny. Senator Brown noted these goals are similar to the ones enacted through HB 1 of the 150th General Assembly, which ensured equality of rights based on an individual’s sex. Prior to the Committee meeting Senator Brown submitted a one-pager and PowerPoint slides that provide a synopsis of the legislation. The document and slides are attached at the end of this document.

Senator Sokola asked if there were any questions from the Committee Members.

Senator Townsend thanked Senator Brown for his advocacy on the issue. Senator Townsend stated he will hold his comments for Thursday (01/21/2021) at the Senate Legislative Session.

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Senator Sokola recognized Linda Barnett.

Linda Barnett, with the League of Women Voters of Delaware, submitted written testimony in support of the legislation, citing her organization’s declaration that equality is a core value and their want for Delaware’s constitution to express clearly that equality is a fundamentally guaranteed constitutional right. The testimony is attached at the end of this document.

Senator Sokola recognized Gail Tarlecki.

Gail Tarlecki, Chair of the Delaware Human Relations Commission, stated support for the legislation and is grateful that the Senate is considering this legislation which recognizes the significance of including race, color, and national origin into the equal rights amendment.

Senator Sokola recognized Amy Solomon Gallagher.

Amy Solomon Gallagher supported the legislation and stated there are examples where Delaware code and laws have not been modernized to recognize human rights. Amy Solomon Gallagher addressed Dorrell Green and Senator Lockman regarding the Redding Consortium for Educational Equity and asked the Committee to mandate that the Redding Consortium be statewide. This request is to extend equity into the education system and improve the results for Delaware students.

Senator Sokola recognized Rick Deadwyler.

Rick Deadwyler, Co-Chair on Public Policy for the Delaware Racial Justice Collaborative, submitted written testimony in support of the legislation, citing his encouragement for overall passage of the legislation. Rick Deadwyler stated Delaware Racial Justice Collaborative’s mission is to focus on eradicating systemic and institutional racism throughout Delaware. This organization thanked the Committee for the opportunity to address this issue early in the legislative session. The testimony is attached at the end of this document.

Michelle Taylor, President and Chief Executive Officer of United Way of Delaware, submitted written testimony in support of the legislation. The testimony is attached at the end of this document.

Nemours, a pediatric health system, submitted written testimony in support of the legislation. The testimony is attached at the end of this document.

SB 31 – Reported out of the Committee – 6= Favorable 0= on its Merits 0= Unfavorable

Senator Sokola adjourned the meeting at 4:10 p.m.

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MEMORANDUM-IN-SUPPORT Senate Bill 31

Since the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, with Delaware ratifying it in 1901, at least 15 states have added a provision to their state constitution that prohibits the denial or abridgement of equal rights under the law based on race, color, or national origin. In 2019, Delaware amended the state constitution to prohibit the denial or abridgement of equal rights under the law based on sex, but no such prohibition exists as to race, color, or national origin. This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment to add race, color, and national origin to the Article I, § 21 of the Delaware Constitution to explicitly declare that protection against discrimination based on race, color, and national origin is one of Delaware's fundamental rights.

This bill will add and a clarifying statement and provision to the state constitution that prohibits the denial or placement barriers for any citizen to receive equal rights under the law therefore making the practice to discriminate against any person or group of people based on their race, color or national origin - thereby illegal under state law.

The Delaware Racial Justice Collaborative (DRJC) is an active collaboration of over 200 organizations and community partners across the State working to support Delaware citizens in areas such as Education, Health Equity, Economic Empowerment, Youth Services and Active Adult programs. The Mission and Focus of the work of the (DRJC) collaborative is to eradicate systemic and institutional racism throughout the State of Delaware.

As active residents of the State of Delaware, who lives, works, plays, volunteers, worships and most importantly raising families and future productive citizens and students. The Delaware Racial Justice Collaborative is dedicated the overall betterment of the state - We strongly support and encourage the release of Senate Bill 31 from the Senate Executive Committee and urge the overall passage of this important legislation and constitutional amendment through to passage in the Senate and House Chambers of the Delaware General Assembly.

As the full scope of U.S. history is considered, the are many unfortunate mandates that highlight the long- standing presence of the practice of discrimination and institutional racism. To list a few…

• Slavery (First African Slaves recorded in early 1600’s) • Post-slavery Vagrancy Laws • Segregation - Jim Crow Laws • The Southern Manifesto • Massacres of Rosewood (FL) and Black Wall Street Tulsa (OK) • Separate but Equal Policies • “Law & Order” Policy and Politics (i.e. War on Drugs, Three Strikes Laws) • Real Estate Red Lining Practices • The Policy Practices of the US Military’s – G.I. Bill Limits Funds to Black Veterans

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The passage Senate Bill 31 is meaningful first step towards addressing the long-standing practices of discrimination based on race, color and/or national origin. The passage of this constitutional amendment can begin the process of making Delaware a more equitable and just place to live, learn, work and play.

Respectfully Submitted,

Derrick “Rick” Deadwyler, Jr., Co-Chair, Public Policy

Yvette Santiago, Co-Chair Public Policy

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Testimony submitted to the Senate Executive Committee Regarding Senate Bill 31 January 19, 2021

Nemours strongly supports equity for all children, families and individuals in Delaware and across the nation. Prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin is a fundamental right and one that is long overdue. We are committed to eradicating racism as a public health threat and proud to stand alongside our partners in government in support of Delaware Senate Bill 31.

As a children’s health system, we are particularly committed to combatting the pernicious impact of structural and implicit racism on the health of children and the adults they will become. Health care research now documents what people of color have long attested to: how well you are treated when you seek health care and how healthy you become frequently depends on your race, independent of any other variable such as income or insurance. Racism’s impacts on health are seen at the beginning and persist throughout life: - Black infants are twice as likely as white infants to die before their first birthday; - Black mothers die at 3 to 4 times the rate of white mothers; - Black men may have the same risk of coronary heart disease as white men, but their first cardiac event is twice as likely to be fatal.

These appalling trends—and many other health disparities—can be reversed, but only if we act, as health care institutions and as a society, to reverse the racism that is deeply embedded in our culture. To do so will require concerted and intentional steps beyond eliminating overt discrimination, but SB 31 is still a necessary and significant move for Delaware. To explicitly prohibit racism in the state sends an unequivocal message that all Delawareans have the same fundamental rights. Nemours commends the General Assembly for taking this important step.

Thank you for your leadership and for the opportunity to express our support for this legislation.

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Minutes prepared by Abigail Armstrong