This Act adds any act that contains the characteristics of a hate crime to the definitions of crimes for the purposes of the Victims Compensation Assistance Program.
This Act continues the practice of amending periodically the Delaware Statutory Trust Act (the “Statutory Trust Act”) to keep it current and to maintain its national preeminence. The following is a section-by-section review of proposed amendments to the Statutory Trust Act: Section 1 adds a new § 3802(d) to the Statutory Trust Act to clarify that a subscription for a beneficial interest may be irrevocable if the subscription states it is irrevocable to the extent provided by the terms of the subscription. Section 2 amends § 3803(c) of the Statutory Trust Act to provide that advisers, as defined in § 3313 of Title 12 of the Delaware Code, shall receive the same liability protections as officers, employees, managers and other persons acting pursuant to § 3806(b)(7) or § 3806(i) of the Statutory Trust Act. Section 3 amends § 3805 of the Statutory Trust Act to include the word “statutory” before the word “trust” in the heading. Section 4 amends § 3806(b) of the Statutory Trust Act, which relates to the provisions that may be included in a governing instrument, to clarify that the limitation on those provisions is that they cannot be contrary to any provision or requirement of the Statutory Trust Act and not just to Subchapter I thereof. Section 4 also amends § 3806(b)(9) of the Statutory Trust Act to confirm that a governing instrument may be amended in connection with a division of a statutory trust as specifically contemplated by § 3825(f) of the Statutory Trust Act. Section 5 amends § 3806(o) of the Statutory Trust Act to provide that § 3806(o) applies to ratification or waiver of a void or voidable act or transaction by any trustee, beneficial owner or other person in respect of a statutory trust, in addition to acts or transactions by a statutory trust. This Section also amends § 3806(o) to provide that ratification or waiver pursuant to § 3806(o) may be express or implied, including by the statements, action, inaction, or acquiescence of or by trustees, beneficial owners or other persons. Further, this Section amends § 3806(o) to clarify that in a circumstance in which § 3806(o) requires notice of the ratification or waiver to be given, the giving of the notice is not a condition to the effectiveness of the ratification or waiver. The amendments to § 3806(o) in this Section are intended to provide rules different from the rules applied in existing case law that § 18-106(e) of the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act, which is the same in all material respects as § 3806(o), is limited to ratification or waiver of a limited liability company’s own acts and transactions and that § 18-106(e) of the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act does not apply to ratification or waiver by conduct. Section 6 amends § 3807 of the Statutory Trust Act, which addresses certain duties of a registered agent of a statutory trust. Amended § 3807 specifies that a registered agent may not perform its duties or functions solely through the use of a virtual office, the retention by the agent of a mail forwarding service, or both. Amended § 3807 defines “virtual office” as the performance of duties or functions solely through the internet or solely through other means of remote communication. Section 7 amends § 3808(c) of the Statutory Trust Act to confirm and clarify certain of the mechanisms for revoking dissolution of a statutory trust. Specifically, this Section amends § 3808(c) to confirm and clarify that the references to “other persons” in § 3808(c)(1) and (2) are references to other persons whose approval is required for such dissolution of the statutory trust pursuant to the governing instrument. Section 8 amends § 3808(f) of the Statutory Trust Act. Currently, § 3808(c) of the Statutory Trust Act permits revocation of dissolution of a statutory trust prior to the filing of a certificate of cancellation of the certificate of trust in the office of the Secretary of State; however, the Statutory Trust Act does not currently address revocation of dissolution of a series prior to the completion of the winding up of the series. This amendment adds new language to permit revocation of dissolution of a series prior to the completion of the winding up of the series. Section 9 amends § 3809 of the Statutory Trust Act, which relates to the application of Delaware trust law, to clarify that those laws are applicable to statutory trusts except to the extent otherwise provided in the governing instrument of a statutory trust or to the extent otherwise provided in the Statutory Trust Act and not just in Subchapter I thereof. Section 10 amends § 3810(d) and (e) of the Statutory Trust Act, which provides for the correction of certificates filed with the Secretary of State. The amendment confirms that, in addition to correcting a previously filed certificate, a certificate of correction may nullify a previously filed certificate by specifying the inaccuracy or defect with respect to such previously filed certificate and providing that the previously filed certificate is nullified. Such a provision is sufficient if it states that the previously filed certificate is nullified or void or uses words of similar meaning. Section 10 also amends § 3810 of the Statutory Trust Act to include the word “statutory” before the word “trust” in §3810(d) and to clarify that § 3810 applies to the Statutory Trust Act and not just to Subchapter I thereof. Section 11 and Section 12 amend § 3812 of the Statutory Trust Act, which relates to filing of certificates, to clarify that § 3812 applies to the Statutory Trust Act and not just to Subchapter I thereof. Section 13 amends § 3813(a)(3) of the Statutory Trust Act, which relates to the payment of certain fees, to clarify that § 3813(a)(3) applies to the Statutory Trust Act and not just to Subchapter I thereof. Section 14 amends § 3815(b)(4) of the Statutory Trust Act to permit a certificate of merger to state any amendments to the certificate of trust of a surviving domestic statutory trust in a merger as are desired to be effected by the merger. This Section also amends § 3815(b)(5) of the Statutory Trust Act to provide that a certificate of trust must be attached to a certificate of consolidation for a consolidation in which the resulting entity from such consolidation is a domestic statutory trust. Section 15 amends § 3825(h) of the Statutory Trust Act. Currently, among other requirements, a certificate of division must state the name and business address of the division contact and the name and address of the division trust where the plan of division is on file. Because this information may change over time, this amendment permits or requires the filing of a certificate of amendment of certificate of division to amend the name or business address of the division contact or the name and address of the division trust where the plan of division is on file. The requirement to update such information in a certificate of division ends after the expiration of a period of 6 years following the effective date of the division. Section 16 amends § 3825(l)(1) of the Statutory Trust Act to clarify that pursuant to a division, a dividing trust is divided into distinct and independent division trusts as such term is used in the Statutory Trust Act. Section 16 also amends § 3825(l)(9) of the Statutory Trust Act. Currently, under § 3825 of the Statutory Trust Act, a dividing trust does not need to survive a division. This amendment confirms that a dividing trust need not be a surviving trust. Section 17 amends § 3852(a)(1)e. of the Statutory Trust Act to include the words “foreign statutory” before the word “trust”. Section 18 amends § 3881(c) of the Statutory Trust Act to confirm that the definition of “associate” of a person includes any investment fund or other collective investment vehicle or separate account managed or advised by the person specified. Section 19 amends § 3881(d)(1) of the Statutory Trust Act to reflect that beneficial interests are not control beneficial interests until after a control beneficial interest acquisition. This Section also amends §3881(d)(2) of the Statutory Trust Act to replace the words “target shares” with the words “beneficial interests” and to replace the words “target party” with the words “statutory trust which is not the surviving or resulting person”. Section 20 amends § 3881(e)(2) of the Statutory Trust Act to clarify that reductions in the outstanding beneficial interests of a statutory trust for any reason can cause beneficial interests that previously were not control beneficial interests to become control beneficial interests. This Section also amends § 3881(e)(2) of the Statutory Trust Act to confirm that, except as provided in § 3881(e)(2)a. and §3881(e)(2)b. of the Statutory Trust Act, beneficial interests in the range of voting power below ten percent of all voting power are not control beneficial interests. Section 21 amends § 3881(f) of the Statutory Trust Act to delete redundant language. Section 22 amends § 3882 of the Statutory Trust Act to clarify that approvals and exemptions, unless otherwise explicitly provided, cover all of the beneficial interests acquired at any time within the range of voting power to which such approval or exemption applies. This amendment also removes the requirement that beneficial interests acquired within 90 days or acquired in a series of related transactions be considered acquired in the same acquisition. Section 23 amends § 3883(b) of the Statutory Trust Act to confirm that approvals and exemptions of beneficial interests from Subchapter III of the Statutory Trust Act can occur before, at the time of, or after the acquisition of such beneficial interests. Section 24 amends § 3888 of the Statutory Trust Act to expand the categories of information that a holder of beneficial interests or an associate of such a holder must disclose to the trustees in connection with determinations by the trustees relating to control beneficial interests and control beneficial interest acquisitions and authorizes the trustees to adopt procedures that the trustees reasonably believe are necessary or desirable to determine whether and how many control beneficial interests will be or have been voted in violation of Subchapter III of the Statutory Trust Act. Section 25 provides that the proposed amendments to the Statutory Trust Act take effect on August 1, 2026.
This Act provides limited immunity from prosecution for persons who seek to report a sexual offense. Under this Act a person who is a victim or witness or otherwise seeks law enforcement assistance in relation to a sexual offense may not be charged, arrested, or prosecuted, or issued a civil citation for low-level crimes relating to drug or alcohol use or possession. This Act also provides that a person’s probation or pretrial release status may not be revoked or changed based on an incident for which the person would receive the limited immunity from prosecution provided under this statute.
This bill adds a new crime of application insurance fraud under the criminal code to include fraudulent statements submitted in support of an application to obtain or renew insurance or made for purposes of obtaining a commission or other payment from an insurer. This bill makes application-related insurance fraud a class A misdemeanor unless the benefits wrongfully obtained or sought to be obtained is at least $1,000, in which case application insurance fraud is a class G felony.
This bill allows auction houses that are licensed by the Delaware Office of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner to auction spirits, so long as the spirits being auctioned are not made available for sale in any licensed facility or store.
Maddy summaryThis Senate Concurrent Resolution designates October 12, 2026, as "National Farmer's Day" within the State of Delaware. The bill directly affects the state's calendar by officially recognizing this specific date to honor farmers. It does not create new laws or change any existing regulations, but rather serves as a commemorative designation. The measure was passed by both the Senate and the House without further debate.
This Act updates auto insurance protections by prohibiting carriers from limiting repair or replacement work to particular facilities, individuals, or business establishments as a condition of payment of a claim. This Act makes technical corrections to conform the statute with the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act creates a privilege for confidential communications between a victim and a victim advocate. The victim can waive the privilege with a signed waiver. The privilege may also be overcome in certain circumstances, including mandated reporting of child abuse, communications relating to the intent to commit a violent crime, and in state custody and child abuse cases. This Act defines a victim advocate as an employee of a victim services agency, or formal volunteer under the supervision of an employee of a victim services agency who has completed a minimum of 20 hours of advocacy training. This substitute bill incorporates the change from HA1 to House Bill No. 213 regarding the exception for child abuse and state custody cases. It also explicitly excludes law-enforcement agencies and the Department of Justice from the definition of victim services agency. It clarifies that the victim advocate may claim the privilege but only on behalf of the victim. Finally, it adds a process and criteria for a defendant in a criminal case to overcome the privilege in certain circumstances. This is intended to mirror the exception to the therapist-client privilege articulated in Burns v. State, 968 A.2d 1012 (2009).
Maddy summaryThis Senate Concurrent Resolution designates November 2026 as "National Adoption Month" within the State of Delaware. The bill serves as a symbolic gesture to highlight the importance of adoption during that specific month. It does not create new laws, allocate funding, or change any existing policies. Instead, it functions as a commemorative measure intended to raise awareness about adoption issues.
Maddy summaryThis bill designates August 26, 2026, as "Women's Equality Day" within the State of Delaware. It serves as a commemorative resolution to honor the historical significance of that date rather than establishing new laws or regulations. The measure requires no changes to existing policies or funding and affects only the official state calendar.
