LAWS OF DELAWARE
VOLUME 83
CHAPTER 476
151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY
FORMERLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 330
AN ACT TO RENAME THE CLAYMONT REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION CENTER AT FIRST STATE CROSSING IN HONOR OF DELAWARE STATE SENATOR HARRIS BROWN MCDOWELL, III.
WHEREAS, Harris B. McDowell, III served in the Delaware Senate from 1976 until his retirement in 2020 becoming the longest-serving member of the Delaware General Assembly; and
WHEREAS, Harris B. McDowell, III was born in Middletown, Delaware, and attended the University of Delaware and Georgetown University; and
WHEREAS, Harris B. McDowell, III served honorably in the United States Marine Corps from 1960 to 1966; and
WHEREAS, Harris B. McDowell, III was first elected to the Delaware State Senate to represent the First Senate District in 1976; and
WHEREAS, in becoming a Delaware State Senator, Harris B. McDowell, III was following in a long family tradition, having been preceded in the Senate by his grandfather, Middletown veterinarian Dr. Harris Brown McDowell, Sr., who served in the 102nd and 103rd General Assemblies from 1922 to 1926, and his father, Harris B. McDowell, Jr., who served in the 112th and 113th General Assemblies from 1942 to 1946, before going on to serve as Delaware Secretary of State during the first term of Governor Elbert N. Carvel and then serving five terms as Delaware's lone U.S. Congressman; and
WHEREAS, throughout his 44-year career in the Senate, Senator McDowell has shown both his resolve for fairness, his commitment to his constituents in Claymont, Bellefonte and Wilmington, and a love for people and especially for people with special needs; and
WHEREAS, Senator McDowell has an independent free spirit, creativity, and sincerity, and has accomplished so much during his nearly four and a half decades in the Senate, from leading efforts to establish a separate Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families, and working to establish the "SEED" and "Inspire" college tuition grant programs for Delaware high school graduates; and
WHEREAS, Senator McDowell led efforts in 2007 to establish the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility (DESEU) as a unique nonprofit organization offering a one-stop resource, through its "Energize Delaware” initiative, to help residents and businesses save money through clean energy and efficiency, frequently at little or no cost, becoming the first such body in the United States, and now being replicated in several other communities around the world; and
WHEREAS, Senator McDowell founded, chaired, or was a member of Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility, National Coalition of Environmental Legislators, National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, National Conference for State Legislatures: Energy & Agriculture Committee, Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee, Northeast U.S. Task Force on Global Warming, International Council of Delaware, and Environmental Protection Agency National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency; and
WHEREAS, Senator McDowell served as chair of the Senate Finance Committee and as co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee, helping to manage state finances responsibly and transparently, and in the twilight of his Senate career, co-chaired the Joint Finance Committee during one of the greatest financial challenges ever to face our state and our nation, the economic downturn caused by the worldwide COVID -19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, Senator McDowell’s parting words upon his retirement exemplify the man and Senator he is: “Go where your heart leads you and then be ready to fight.”
NOW, THEREFORE:
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. The Claymont Regional Transportation Center at First State Crossing, Claymont, Delaware, is hereby renamed the “Harris B. McDowell, III Transportation Center”.
Section 2. Appropriate signs shall be placed on and around the train station to reflect that it is the “Harris B. McDowell, III Transportation Center.”
Approved October 14, 2022