Delaware 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026) Status: Enacted Bipartisan · 5 D · 1 R cosponsors

SB 327 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 5 AND TITLE 12 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FAMILY TRUST COMPANIES.

Last action — Signed by Governor

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Senate
  4. ✓
    Passed House
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced May 19, 2026. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Matt Meyer (Democratic) on July 13, 2026.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 98% · high confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 6 sponsors

    6 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (5 D · 1 R) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

This bill creates a new type of trust company for families in Delaware.

The Act establishes a family trust company charter, allowing families to create trust companies that manage their assets and related entities. It sets specific regulations and requirements for their operation to ensure they meet fiduciary obligations.

What this means for you
  • Families: Families can now establish trust companies specifically to manage their assets and charitable entities.

Summary

This Act builds upon the reputation of Delaware’s trust laws and trust services infrastructure by creating a trust company charter designed for families desiring a family trust company. This Act authorizes the formation of a new type of Delaware regulated trust company, a “family trust company,” serving a single family and its related trusts, entities, and charities. This Act further authorizes and directs the State Bank Commissioner to establish regulations, application forms, and practices that distinguish the regulatory requirements for a family trust company from commercial trust companies serving the public, based on their differing risk profiles. A principal purpose of the supervision and examination of family trust companies by the Office of the State Bank Commissioner under this Act will be to address and facilitate record-keeping, auditing and reporting, and risk management, in significant part by assisting management of family trust companies in understanding and performing their fiduciary and other legal obligations owed to the family members they serve. This Act limits family trust companies to exercising the trust company powers permitted to other State-chartered trust companies and defines the family members it may serve based on their being descended from or otherwise related to a single family member (either alone or together with their spouse) designated by the family. This Act provides for the organization, minimum capital and surplus requirements, and permissible range of license fees of a family trust company, as well as the criteria for approval of an application for a certificate of authority to establish a family trust company, and additional criteria to consider for the capital and surplus requirements of family trust companies, in order to assure their safe, sound, and effective operation. It also encourages family trust companies to be audited, requires certain insurance coverages, and provides for supervision, examination, and enforcement of their compliance with the Act and safe and sound trust company practices. This Act also requires that material trust administration occur in Delaware in instances in which the laws of Delaware are intended to govern the administration of the trust administered by a family trust company. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the general corporation law.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Signed by Governor

  2. Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES

  3. Reported Out of Committee (Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce) in House with 8 On Its Merits

  4. Assigned to Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce Committee in House

  5. Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT

  6. Reported Out of Committee (Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 6 On Its Merits

  7. Introduced and Assigned to Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology Committee in Senate

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

6 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 56 not signed on

Sponsors (6)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (56)

56 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 56 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

3/4

Passed 41 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 27000
Republican 14000
Total 41000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (41)
Member Party Vote
Alonna Berry Democratic Yea
Claire Snyder-Hall Democratic Yea
Cyndie Romer Democratic Yea
DeShanna U Neal Democratic Yea
Debra Heffernan Democratic Yea
Edward S. Osienski Democratic Yea
Eric Morrison Democratic Yea
Frank Burns Democratic Yea
Franklin D. Cooke Democratic Yea
Josue O Ortega Democratic Yea
Kamela T Smith Democratic Yea
Kendra Johnson Democratic Yea
Kerri Evelyn Harris Democratic Yea
Kimberly Williams Democratic Yea
Krista Griffith Democratic Yea
Larry Lambert Democratic Yea
Madinah Wilson-Anton Democratic Yea
Mara Gorman Democratic Yea
Melanie Ross Levin Democratic Yea
Melissa Minor-Brown Democratic Yea
Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha Democratic Yea
Sean M. Lynn Democratic Yea
Sherae'a Moore Democratic Yea
Sophie Phillips Democratic Yea
Stephanie T. Bolden Democratic Yea
William Bush Democratic Yea
William J. Carson Democratic Yea
Bryan W. Shupe Republican Yea
Charles S Postles Jr. Republican Yea
Daniel B. Short Republican Yea
Jeff Hilovsky Republican Yea
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman Republican Yea
Jesse R. Vanderwende Republican Yea
Kevin S Hensley Republican Yea
Lyndon D. Yearick Republican Yea
Michael F. Smith Republican Yea
Richard G. Collins Republican Yea
Ronald E. Gray Republican Yea
Shannon Morris Republican Yea
Timothy D. Dukes Republican Yea
Valerie Jones Giltner Republican Yea

Official roll call →

2/3

Passed 20 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 14001
Republican 6000
Total 20001
% of votes cast 95%0%0%5%
How each member voted (21)
Member Party Vote
Bryan Townsend Democratic Yea
Daniel Cruce Democratic Yea
Darius J. Brown Democratic Not Voting
David P. Sokola Democratic Yea
John "Jack" Walsh Democratic Yea
Kyra L. Hoffner Democratic Yea
Laura V. Sturgeon Democratic Yea
Marie Pinkney Democratic Yea
Nicole Poore Democratic Yea
Ray Seigfried Democratic Yea
Russell Huxtable Democratic Yea
S. Elizabeth Lockman Democratic Yea
Spiros Mantzavinos Democratic Yea
Stephanie L. Hansen Democratic Yea
Trey Paradee Democratic Yea
Brian Pettyjohn Republican Yea
Bryant L. Richardson Republican Yea
Dave G. Lawson Republican Yea
David L. Wilson Republican Yea
Eric Buckson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

finance
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 327 do?
This Act builds upon the reputation of Delaware’s trust laws and trust services infrastructure by creating a trust company charter designed for families desiring a family trust company. This Act authorizes the formation of a new type of Delaware regulated trust company, a “family trust company,” serving a single family and its related trusts, entities, and charities. This Act further authorizes and directs the State Bank Commissioner to establish regulations, application forms, and practices that distinguish the regulatory requirements for a family trust company from commercial trust companies serving the public, based on their differing risk profiles. A principal purpose of the supervision and examination of family trust companies by the Office of the State Bank Commissioner under this Act will be to address and facilitate record-keeping, auditing and reporting, and risk management, in significant part by assisting management of family trust companies in understanding and performing their fiduciary and other legal obligations owed to the family members they serve. This Act limits family trust companies to exercising the trust company powers permitted to other State-chartered trust companies and defines the family members it may serve based on their being descended from or otherwise related to a single family member (either alone or together with their spouse) designated by the family. This Act provides for the organization, minimum capital and surplus requirements, and permissible range of license fees of a family trust company, as well as the criteria for approval of an application for a certificate of authority to establish a family trust company, and additional criteria to consider for the capital and surplus requirements of family trust companies, in order to assure their safe, sound, and effective operation. It also encourages family trust companies to be audited, requires certain insurance coverages, and provides for supervision, examination, and enforcement of their compliance with the Act and safe and sound trust company practices. This Act also requires that material trust administration occur in Delaware in instances in which the laws of Delaware are intended to govern the administration of the trust administered by a family trust company. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the general corporation law.
Who sponsors SB 327?
SB 327 is sponsored by Kerri Evelyn Harris (Democratic), William J. Carson (Democratic), Bryan Townsend (Democratic), William Bush (Democratic), Brian Pettyjohn (Republican), and Spiros Mantzavinos (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 327?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced May 19, 2026. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 327?
Track SB 327 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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