Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton

Delaware currently permits the nonprobate transfer of bank accounts, investments, and vehicles. This Act provides a mechanism for the nonprobate transfer of real estate without requiring the creation of a revocable trust. This is done by permitting an owner of an interest in real estate to execute and record a transfer on death (“TOD”) deed designating a beneficiary who will automatically receive the real estate on the owner's death. During the owner's lifetime the beneficiary of a TOD deed has no interest in the real estate and the owner retains full power to transfer or encumber the real estate or to revoke the TOD deed. This Act is a Substitute for House Bill No. 147. Like House Bill No. 147, this Act adopts the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act authored by the Uniform Law Commission. The Uniform Law Commission “provides states with non-partisan, well-conceived and well-drafted legislation that brings clarity and stability to critical areas of state statutory law.” The Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act has been enacted in 19 states (including Virginia), the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and a substantially similar law has been enacted in 10 additional states. The Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act is pending before 6 state legislatures (including New Jersey and Maryland). In adopting the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, this Act, like House Bill No. 147, also makes the following changes to the uniform law and Delaware law: (1) Provides clarity that a transfer on death deed controls over any contrary instruction in a will to transfer the same real property. (2) Provides in the optional forms included in this Act, which may be used to create a transfer on death deed or revoke a transfer on death deed, that a transferor is a grantor and a beneficiary is a grantee. This change is made to assist the Recorders of Deeds in integrating the forms in their computerized databases. (3) Authorizes the Registers of Wills to adopt a form to be used by a beneficiary to provide notice of the death of a person whose real property has transferred to the beneficiary by a transfer on death deed. (4) Authorizes a beneficiary to file with a Register of Wills the death certificate of a person whose real property has transferred to the beneficiary by a transfer on death deed. (5) Makes abundantly clear that which is already permitted under the law of this State, that a person may obtain from the Office of Vital Statistics a death certificate to establish their legal right to real property and may disclose that death certificate to a Register of Wills to prove the person’s legal right to real property. This Act differs from House Bill No. 147 as follows: (1) By providing that an owner of real property may transfer the property only to an individual. (2) By making clear that a transfer on death deed, including all signatures required to execute a transfer on death deed, must be notarized. (3) By requiring a transfer on death deed be witnessed by 2 individuals, at least 1 of whom must not be a beneficiary. (4) By requiring a revocation of a transfer on death deed be witnessed by 2 individuals and making a conforming change to the optional form. (5) By making changes to the optional transfer on death deed form in this Act to do the following: a. Making clear a mailing address is required for a beneficiary. b. Making clear on the deed how the deed may be revoked. c. Bolding the acknowledgement related to the effect a transfer on death deed has on a contrary instruction in a will and rewriting this acknowledgement in plainer language. An owner’s transfer of real property to a beneficiary by a transfer on death deed controls over a contrary instruction in a will that is prepared before or after the transfer on death deed. d. Requiring printed names and signatures for owners and witnesses and updating the form to make clear 2 witnesses are required. (6) By making clear that the Court of Chancery has jurisdiction over challenges to the validity or revocation of a transfer on death deed. (7) By relocating Section 5 of this Act to another chapter in the Insurance Code and making other changes to conform the language to existing law.

Section 1 of this Act makes a pattern or practice of violations by a landlord of a Manufactured Home Community of subchapters I through V of Chapter 70 of Title 25 of the Delaware Code, or a provision of a rental agreement, an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud Act, subchapter II, Chapter 70, of Title 25, under specified circumstances. Section 2 of this Act authorizes the Attorney General to file a petition to establish a receivership of a Manufactured Home Community in a Justice of the Peace Court on specified grounds after notice to the landlord. Section 3 of this Act requires the Justice of the Peace Court to send written notice to the Director of Consumer Protection at the Department of Justice within 10 days of its receipt of a petition for tenants’ receivership under Title 25 of the Delaware Code, Sections 5901 or 7061, except in those cases where the Attorney General files the petition.

This Act requires that members of school boards, including charter school boards, receive training on all of the following: 1. Requirements for school board meetings under this title and the Freedom of Information Act, Chapter 100 of Title 29. 2. Best practices regarding the conduct of meetings, including the use of rules of order. 3. The State Employees’, Officers’ and Officials’ Code of Conduct, subchapter I. of Chapter 58 of Title 29. Most school boards already provide training that satisfies the requirements under this Act and the training and notices required under this Act may be combined with the training and notices already required under § 1803 of Title 14 for required financial responsibility training.

Maddy summaryHB 64 requires Delaware school boards to provide remote access for public participation in meetings, directly affecting school board members and community residents. The bill mandates that meetings include a functional online platform - such as live streaming or video conferencing - allowing the public to view proceedings and submit comments remotely. This change ensures that residents who cannot attend in person, including those with mobility challenges or during emergencies, can engage with school governance. The provision applies to all regular and special school board meetings under Delaware law. It focuses on practical accessibility without altering school policies or funding.

Under current law, both school board members who are elected and those who are appointed to fill vacancies until the next election are required to complete a background check. However, the statute is currently unclear as to how a background check gets done and who is responsible for reviewing the background check for an appointment. This Act makes clear that a person may not be appointed unless a background check has been completed and the Commissioner of Elections has determined the person is qualified for the seat, in the same manner the Commissioner completes that duty for candidates for school board elections.

The language of this Act is identical to Senate Bill No. 25 of the 153rd General Assembly. The only difference between this Act and Senate Bill No. 25 is the title, which has been changed to clarify that the language includes the Public Employment Relations Act of Title 19. This Act allows an employee organization to file a petition with the Board to become the exclusive representative of an appropriate bargaining unit for the purpose of collective bargaining. In the event an employee organization provides over 50% of the employees’ approval, through their authorized signatures, then the Board may not order an election but must certify the employee organization. This Act also makes technical corrections to confirm existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This House Substitute No. 1 provides that if a school board allows school board members to attend meetings remotely through electronic means, then permission to attend remotely must be granted in the case of any of the following: illness of the school board member; illness of an individual in the school board member’s family where that individual requires caretaking; a public health emergency; pregnancy or immediate postpartum care responsibilities of the school board member or the school board member’s spouse or partner; or military deployment of the school board member. This substitute for House Bill No. 83 differs from the original in that it does not require school boards to allow remote attendance. But if the school board does allow remote attendance, it provides the permissible reasons remote attendance may be allowed, allows a school board to limit the number of times permission to attend remotely may be granted, and indicates that a school board may not add to the statutory reasons for remote attendance. It also expands the permissible reasons from the original bill to include pregnancy or postpartum complications of a board member’s spouse or partner.

This Act addresses information and access rights relating to bargaining units, which are defined under existing law as groups of public employees designated by the Public Employment Relations Board as appropriate for representation by an employee organization for purposes of collective bargaining. Section 1 of the Act amends the Public School Employment Relations Act in Title 14 of the Delaware Code. It provides that a public employer must provide an exclusive bargaining representative with certain contact information of bargaining unit employees, (i) within 14 calendar days of their hiring and (ii) in January and October of each year, starting in January 2026. In addition, a public employer must allow an exclusive representative to communicate with bargaining unit members using their employer-issued email addresses regarding collective bargaining, the administration of collective bargaining agreements, the investigation of grievances, workplace-related complaints and issues, and internal matters involving the exclusive representative's governance or business. Section 2 of the Act makes these same amendments to the Public Employment Relations Act in Title 19 of the Delaware Code.

Maddy summarySB 70 amends Delaware law to allow licensed genetic counselors to directly order genetic tests, which previously required physician authorization. This change directly affects licensed genetic counselors and their patients in Delaware, streamlining access to genetic testing. The key provision removes the prior requirement that counselors obtain orders from physicians for genetic tests, enabling counselors to make these clinical decisions independently within their scope of practice.

This Act establishes an independent and nonpartisan Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the position of the Inspector General. Under this Act, the OIG would be unique in state government as a non-political agency with a sole mission to investigate and prevent fraud, waste, mismanagement, corruption, and other abuse of governmental resources. The OIG will protect the health and safety of Delaware residents, assist in the recovery of misspent or inappropriately paid funds, and strengthen government integrity and the public trust in government operations by doing all of the following: 1. Investigating the management and operation of state agencies to determine if there has been waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement, corruption, or other abuse of governmental resources that is harmful to the public interest, including the General Assembly’s management of governmental resources and routine administrative operations, such as requirements related to employment practices and procurement. The OIG authority in regard to the General Assembly is limited under the Delaware Constitution and thus cannot include the General Assembly’s legislative functions or disciplinary authority which are governed by the Delaware Constitution and the rules of proceedings adopted under § 9 of Article II of the Delaware Constitution. 2. Coordinating with other investigative and law-enforcement agencies, including the Attorney General and the Auditor of Accounts (Auditor). 3. Recommending corrective actions and statutory revisions, and, if necessary, make referrals to other law-enforcement agencies. 4. Providing reports to the Governor, Attorney General, and General Assembly, and these reports will be available to the public on the OIG website. The Inspector General will not duplicate the work of the Auditor, Attorney General, Public Integrity Commission, or other investigative or law-enforcement agencies and will work collaboratively, including through memoranda of understanding, with these agencies for the purposes of efficiency and coordination. Specifically, the Inspector General can be distinguished from these agencies as follows: • Under the generally accepted government auditing standards in the Yellow Book produced by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, both financial and performance audits are only designed to detect fraud, illegal activity, noncompliance, abuse, and waste. An auditor determines whether the subject matter meets criteria, reaches reasonable assurance, and follows directive standards. If an auditor detects fraud or other bad behavior, they must report it to an investigation agency. • The OIG will be an entirely independent investigation agency, charged with gathering evidence to identify the individual responsible for the bad behavior identified through an audit and prove that it occurred. For complaints the received from other sources, the OIG will investigate to determine if there is or has been bad behavior. In addition to proving instances of bad behavior, these investigations may also prove that an allegation is false or incorrect. • The OIG will not duplicate the work of existing ombudsperson offices because the OIG is primarily concerned with detecting and preventing fraud, waste, mismanagement, corruption, and abuse of governmental resources while ombuds programs are concerned with violations of the rights and treatment of specific populations. • If the OIG believes, based on an investigation, that there has been or continues to be significant problem regarding fraud, waste, mismanagement, corruption, or evidence of a crime, the Inspector General must report the finding to the Department of Justice (DOJ). If the DOJ does not take action on a referral, the OIG may pursue a civil action on behalf of the State. • The OIG will be unique in State government because the Inspector General is not elected and will be an entirely independent agency. The Inspector General will be selected through a process that requires a Selection Panel to provide 3 names to the Governor for consideration. The Governor will select a nominee from these 3 names for appointment as Inspector General and submit the nominee to the Senate for confirmation. Once confirmed, the Inspector General serves a term of 5 years. In addition, the DOJ is not responsible for providing legal advice, counsel, services, and representation to the OIG. In other states, the financial impact of investigations by the Office of Inspector General has exceeded the annual budget for that office by millions of dollars. Some examples of conduct that have been identified in states where an Inspector General has responsibilities similar to those under this Act include the following: • In Georgia, an agency administrator who faked multiple pregnancies, receiving 265 hours of leave for which she was not otherwise eligible to receive. • Massachusetts has recovered more than $245,000 from 13 former troopers within the State Police for overtime pay they received for hours they did not actually work. • In Indiana, a Department of Child Services worker was found to have falsified case notes regarding child welfare assessments. • In Louisiana, state agencies were found to have wasted more than $500,000 in non-refundable airline tickets that were allowed to expire and lose value. Under this Act, the selection process for the Inspector General begins within 60 days of enactment. This Act also makes corresponding clarifications to existing law and technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.