Delaware 149th General Assembly (2017-2018) Status: Enacted 3 D cosponsors

HB 178 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MINORS' PETITIONS FOR NAME CHANGE.

Last action — Signed by Governor

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

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced May 16, 2017. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 82% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 8 sponsors

    2 primary, 6 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (3 D).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

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

The children of parents who divorce or were never married often share a surname with only one parent, which may lead to confusion or hardship when schools, doctors, or others fail to recognize the child’s connection with the parent with whom the child does not share a similar surname. Parents and children in such circumstances have compelling reason to seek to add a second surname to the child’s name. Delaware law currently provides that a petition to change a minor’s surname should be granted if there are no reasons for not granting the petition. This standard applies to changing a minor’s name, regardless of whether the change is to eliminate and replace an existing surname or simply add a second surname, and also puts the burden on the petitioning parent to demonstrate that the petition should be granted. This Act separates circumstance in which a parent seeks to replace a minor’s surname from those in which a parent seeks to add to the minor’s surname, by establishing a presumption in favor of granting a petition to add a parent’s surname to a minor’s surname either as an additional name or hyphenated with the minor’s previously existing surname. The presumption in favor of granting the petition may be overcome by the opposing parent establishing by clear and convincing evidence that the consideration of several, specific factors demonstrate that granting the petition would cause the minor more harm than benefit. The factors specified in this Act are taken from the larger list of factors which Delaware Courts have developed through case law to consider when determining whether to grant a petition to change a minor’s surname and do not include the factors which are relevant only when a parent seeks to replace, rather than add to, the minor’s surname.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Signed by Governor

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

  3. Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES

  4. Amendment HA 1 to HB 178 - Passed In House by Voice Vote

  5. Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 4 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits

  6. Amendment HA 1 to HB 178 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

  7. Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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2 sponsors · 6 co-sponsors · 54 not signed on

Sponsors (2)

Co-sponsors (6)

Not signed on (54)

54 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 54 →

"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

SM

Passed 20 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 11001
Democratic 5000
Republican 4000
Total 20001
% of votes cast 95%0%0%5%
How each member voted (21)
Member Party Vote
Anthony Delcollo — Yea
Brian J. Bushweller — Yea
Bruce C. Ennis — Yea
Catherine Cloutier — Not Voting
Colin Bonini — Yea
David B. McBride — Yea
Ernesto B Lopez — Yea
F. Gary Simpson — Yea
Gregory F. Lavelle — Yea
Harris B. McDowell — Yea
Margaret Rose Henry — Yea
Robert Marshall — Yea
Bryan Townsend Democratic Yea
David P. Sokola Democratic Yea
John "Jack" Walsh Democratic Yea
Nicole Poore Democratic Yea
Stephanie L. Hansen Democratic Yea
Brian Pettyjohn Republican Yea
Bryant L. Richardson Republican Yea
Dave G. Lawson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

SM

Passed 41 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 25000
Democratic 7000
Republican 9000
Total 41000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (41)
Member Party Vote
Andria L. Bennett — Yea
Bryon H. Short — Yea
Charles Potter Jr. — Yea
David Bentz — Yea
Deborah Hudson — Yea
Earl G. Jaques Jr. — Yea
Gerald L. Brady — Yea
Harvey R. Kenton — Yea
Helene M. Keeley — Yea
James Johnson — Yea
John A. Kowalko — Yea
John J. Viola — Yea
John L. Mitchell — Yea
Joseph E. Miro — Yea
Melanie George Smith — Yea
Michael Mulrooney — Yea
Michael Ramone — Yea
Paul S. Baumbach — Yea
Peter C. Schwartzkopf — Yea
Quinton Johnson — Yea
Ruth Briggs King — Yea
Sean Matthews — Yea
Stephen Smyk — Yea
Valerie Longhurst — Yea
William R. Outten — Yea
Debra Heffernan Democratic Yea
Edward S. Osienski Democratic Yea
Kimberly Williams Democratic Yea
Sean M. Lynn Democratic Yea
Stephanie T. Bolden Democratic Yea
Trey Paradee Democratic Yea
William J. Carson Democratic Yea
Charles S Postles Jr. Republican Yea
Daniel B. Short Republican Yea
David L. Wilson Republican Yea
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman Republican Yea
Kevin S Hensley Republican Yea
Lyndon D. Yearick Republican Yea
Richard G. Collins Republican Yea
Ronald E. Gray Republican Yea
Timothy D. Dukes Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

civil-rights
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 HB 178 do?
The children of parents who divorce or were never married often share a surname with only one parent, which may lead to confusion or hardship when schools, doctors, or others fail to recognize the child’s connection with the parent with whom the child does not share a similar surname. Parents and children in such circumstances have compelling reason to seek to add a second surname to the child’s name. Delaware law currently provides that a petition to change a minor’s surname should be granted if there are no reasons for not granting the petition. This standard applies to changing a minor’s name, regardless of whether the change is to eliminate and replace an existing surname or simply add a second surname, and also puts the burden on the petitioning parent to demonstrate that the petition should be granted. This Act separates circumstance in which a parent seeks to replace a minor’s surname from those in which a parent seeks to add to the minor’s surname, by establishing a presumption in favor of granting a petition to add a parent’s surname to a minor’s surname either as an additional name or hyphenated with the minor’s previously existing surname. The presumption in favor of granting the petition may be overcome by the opposing parent establishing by clear and convincing evidence that the consideration of several, specific factors demonstrate that granting the petition would cause the minor more harm than benefit. The factors specified in this Act are taken from the larger list of factors which Delaware Courts have developed through case law to consider when determining whether to grant a petition to change a minor’s surname and do not include the factors which are relevant only when a parent seeks to replace, rather than add to, the minor’s surname.
Who sponsors HB 178?
HB 178 is sponsored by Sean M. Lynn (Democratic), Bryan Townsend (Democratic), Helene M. Keeley, Kendra Johnson (Democratic), John J. Viola, John A. Kowalko, Paul S. Baumbach, and Margaret Rose Henry.
What is the current status of HB 178?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced May 16, 2017. Enacted.
Where can I track HB 178?
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