Delaware 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026) Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 7 R · 4 D cosponsors

SB 37 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 13 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FREE LEGAL COUNSEL FOR RELATIVES OF CERTAIN CHILDREN IN ADOPTION PROCEEDINGS.

Last action — Stricken in Senate

Track this bill free

No card. One bill, free forever — alerts when it moves.

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

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced January 10, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Prognosis

Advancing 42% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 12 sponsors

    12 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (7 R · 4 D) — cross-party backing.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

This Act creates a right to free legal counsel for a relative seeking to adopt a child in the relative’s family after parental rights over the child have been terminated and the child is in the custody of the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. Relatives of a child for whom adoption is being sought who are eligible for free legal counsel in adoption proceedings include siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts, first cousins, first cousins once removed, great-grandparents, grandaunts or granduncles, half-siblings, stepparents, stepsiblings, stepaunts or stepuncles, or stepgrandparents. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Stricken in Senate

  2. Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

12 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 50 not signed on

Sponsors (12)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (50)

50 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 50 →

"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

Subjects

civil-rights labor education
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 37 do?
This Act creates a right to free legal counsel for a relative seeking to adopt a child in the relative’s family after parental rights over the child have been terminated and the child is in the custody of the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. Relatives of a child for whom adoption is being sought who are eligible for free legal counsel in adoption proceedings include siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts, first cousins, first cousins once removed, great-grandparents, grandaunts or granduncles, half-siblings, stepparents, stepsiblings, stepaunts or stepuncles, or stepgrandparents. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
Who sponsors SB 37?
SB 37 is sponsored by Stell Parker Selby, Michael F. Smith (Republican), Bryan W. Shupe (Republican), Ray Seigfried (Democratic), Ronald E. Gray (Republican), Bryant L. Richardson (Republican), Spiros Mantzavinos (Democratic), Dave G. Lawson (Republican), Claire Snyder-Hall (Democratic), Franklin D. Cooke (Democratic), Valerie Jones Giltner (Republican), and David L. Wilson (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 37?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced January 10, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 37?
Track SB 37 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on SB 37

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of SB 37

Last checked for changes about 2 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →