Police chief to lead state Homeland Security department
The Delaware State Senate will consider several executive nominations after they convene May 27 for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak.
Eight gubernatorial nominations will be considered during the 3 p.m. Senate Executive Committee, which will then be considered by the full Senate at 4:30 p.m. The nomination of Delaware State Police Superintendent Col. Nathaniel McQueen Jr. for the position of Secretary of the Department of Safety and Homeland Security will be considered.
Legislative Hall remains closed to the public, but the virtual session will be broadcast live on multiple websites.
Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. David McBride, D-Hawk’s Nest, said there are several reasons why the Senate is meeting virtually. “First, we have a constitutional obligation to pass a balanced budget and I think we all want to be sure our state government is able to continue delivering the vital services our constituents depend on, particularly during the greatest public health crisis of our lifetime,” he said. “We also have a moral obligation to protect the health and safety of the public, our staff and our colleagues by containing the spread of COVID-19. By undertaking this virtual session, we can successfully fulfill both responsibilities while also adding an extra layer of transparency by broadcasting video of our proceedings for the first time ever.”
Both virtual meetings will be broadcast on YouTube and shared on the Facebook pages of the Senate Democratic Caucus and the Senate Republican Caucus. A link to the Senate YouTube page also will be posted on the General Assembly’s website.
The full Senate is slated to vote on a concurrent resolution, followed by consideration of the nominees. The resolution – which will be introduced and considered by the House at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26 – would amend the legislative rules of both chambers to remove any impediments to conducting future virtual meetings. Those rule changes would authorize the General Assembly to hold virtual meetings in times of emergency and temporarily lift requirements related to physical signatures of bill sponsors on physical backers and physical signatures for committee reports, among other provisions.
Additional virtual session days will be announced in the coming weeks. The meeting schedules for the Joint Finance Committee and Capital Improvement Committee also will be announced at a future date.
Other nominees to be considered include Charles Butler and Francis Jones for Superior Court, and Catherine Hester, Brett Graves and Candance Whitelock for Sussex County Justice of the Peace.
