SB 115 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE CREATION, REGULATION, OPERATION, AND DISSOLUTION OF DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS AND THE REGISTRATION AND REGULATION OF FOREIGN LIMITED LIABILITY PARTNERSHIPS.
Last action — Signed by Governor
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✓Introduced
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✓In Committee
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✓Passed Senate
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✓Passed House
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✓To Executive
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6Enacted
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced April 21, 2021. Enacted.
Odds of enactment
High chanceBased on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.
Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.
A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.
Prognosis
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Enacted
Current position in the legislative process.
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11 sponsors
3 primary, 8 co-sponsors signed on.
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Bipartisan support
Sponsored across 2 parties (6 D · 1 R) — cross-party backing.
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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.
Summary
This bill continues the practice of amending periodically the Delaware Revised Uniform Partnership Act (the “Act”) to keep it current and to maintain its national preeminence. The following is a section-by-section review of the proposed amendments of the Act. Section 1. This section amends Section 15-103 of the Act to confirm and clarify the effect of modifications provided in a statement of partnership existence or a statement of qualification and in a partnership agreement as contemplated by Sections 15-201(a), 15-203, and 15-501. Notwithstanding any modifications provided, such as, that a partnership is not a separate legal entity, all other provisions of this chapter, including Section 15-801, continue to apply, unless the partnership agreement provides that such other provisions do not apply. Section 2. This section amends Section 15-202 of the Act to add subsection (g) to provide a safe harbor procedure for ratifying acts or transactions that may be taken by or in respect of a partnership under the Act or a partnership agreement that are void or voidable and waiving failures to comply with requirements of a partnership agreement that make such acts and transactions void or voidable. New subsection (g) is intended to provide a rule different from the rule applied in Composecure, L.L.C. v. Cardux, LLC, 206 A.3d 807 (Del. 2018), and Absalom Absalom Trust v. Saint Gervais LLC, 2019 WL 2655787 (Del. Ch. June 27, 2019), that acts or transactions determined to be void generally may not be ratified. The penultimate sentence of new subsection (g) confirms that void or voidable actions may be ratified or requirements may be waived by other means permitted by law, and accordingly, new subsection (g) is not intended to preempt or restrict other valid means of ratifying acts or transactions or waiving requirements or to impair the effectiveness of any valid ratification or waiver previously effected. Section 3. This section amends Section 15-401(l) of the Act to provide that a partner may delegate any of its rights, powers or duties irrespective of whether it has a conflict of interest with respect to the matter as to which such rights, powers or duties are being delegated, and that the person or persons to whom any such rights, powers or duties are being delegated shall not be deemed conflicted solely by reason of the conflict of interest of the partner. The amendments to Section 15-401(l) create a different rule than the rule applied in cases such as Wenske v. Bluebell Creameries, Inc., 214 A.3d 958 (Del. Ch. 2019), that a conflicted principal is legally disabled from delegating authority over the subject matter as to which the principal is conflicted even to an independent delegatee. Section 4. This section amends Section 15-403 of the Act to make certain clarifying and conforming changes, and to provide that when a partner is entitled to obtain information for a stated purpose (whether pursuant to Section 15-403 or a partnership agreement), the partner’s right shall be to obtain such information as is necessary and essential to achieving that purpose, unless such right has been expanded or restricted in the partnership agreement. To the extent current law is that the “necessary and essential” test does not apply by default to (i) a partner’s right under Section 15-403(a) of the Act to obtain information from a partnership for a purpose reasonably related to the partner’s interest as a partner, or (ii) a partner’s right under a partnership agreement to obtain information from a partnership for a stated purpose, the first sentence of subsection (f) is intended to change that law. Section 5. This section provides that the proposed amendments to the Act shall become effective August 1, 2021.
Bill Text
- Bill Text View text Current pdf
Action History
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Signed by Governor
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Passed By House. Votes: 40 YES 1 ABSENT
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Suspension of Rules in House
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Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 1 Favorable, 7 On Its Merits
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Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House
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Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
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Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 4 Favorable, 1 On Its Merits
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Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate
Sponsors
- Darius J. Brown · Primary
- Bryan Townsend · Primary
- Sean M. Lynn · Primary
- Stephanie L. Hansen · Cosponsor
- Brian Pettyjohn · Cosponsor
- Kyle Evans Gay · Cosponsor
- William Bush · Cosponsor
- Krista Griffith · Cosponsor
- John L. Mitchell · Cosponsor
- Sarah McBride · Cosponsor
- Gerald L. Brady · Cosponsor
Sponsorship breakdown
Export CSV (upgrade) →3 sponsors · 8 co-sponsors · 51 not signed on
Sponsors (3)
- Darius J. Brown Democratic
- Bryan Townsend Democratic
- Sean M. Lynn Democratic
Co-sponsors (8)
- Stephanie L. Hansen Democratic
- Brian Pettyjohn Republican
- Kyle Evans Gay
- William Bush Democratic
- Krista Griffith Democratic
- John L. Mitchell
- Sarah McBride
- Gerald L. Brady
Not signed on (51)
51 members have not signed on to this bill.
Show all 51 →"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.
Votes
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Democratic | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 40 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| % of votes cast | 98% | 0% | 0% | 2% |
How each member voted (41)
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Democratic | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| % of votes cast | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
How each member voted (21)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Bruce C. Ennis | — | Yea |
| Colin Bonini | — | Yea |
| Ernesto B Lopez | — | Yea |
| Kyle Evans Gay | — | Yea |
| Sarah McBride | — | Yea |
| Bryan Townsend | Democratic | Yea |
| Darius J. Brown | Democratic | Yea |
| David P. Sokola | Democratic | Yea |
| John "Jack" Walsh | Democratic | Yea |
| Laura V. Sturgeon | Democratic | Yea |
| Marie Pinkney | Democratic | Yea |
| Nicole Poore | 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 |
| Gerald W. Hocker | Republican | Yea |
Subjects
Frequently asked questions
- What does SB 115 do?
- This bill continues the practice of amending periodically the Delaware Revised Uniform Partnership Act (the “Act”) to keep it current and to maintain its national preeminence. The following is a section-by-section review of the proposed amendments of the Act. Section 1. This section amends Section 15-103 of the Act to confirm and clarify the effect of modifications provided in a statement of partnership existence or a statement of qualification and in a partnership agreement as contemplated by Sections 15-201(a), 15-203, and 15-501. Notwithstanding any modifications provided, such as, that a partnership is not a separate legal entity, all other provisions of this chapter, including Section 15-801, continue to apply, unless the partnership agreement provides that such other provisions do not apply. Section 2. This section amends Section 15-202 of the Act to add subsection (g) to provide a safe harbor procedure for ratifying acts or transactions that may be taken by or in respect of a partnership under the Act or a partnership agreement that are void or voidable and waiving failures to comply with requirements of a partnership agreement that make such acts and transactions void or voidable. New subsection (g) is intended to provide a rule different from the rule applied in Composecure, L.L.C. v. Cardux, LLC, 206 A.3d 807 (Del. 2018), and Absalom Absalom Trust v. Saint Gervais LLC, 2019 WL 2655787 (Del. Ch. June 27, 2019), that acts or transactions determined to be void generally may not be ratified. The penultimate sentence of new subsection (g) confirms that void or voidable actions may be ratified or requirements may be waived by other means permitted by law, and accordingly, new subsection (g) is not intended to preempt or restrict other valid means of ratifying acts or transactions or waiving requirements or to impair the effectiveness of any valid ratification or waiver previously effected. Section 3. This section amends Section 15-401(l) of the Act to provide that a partner may delegate any of its rights, powers or duties irrespective of whether it has a conflict of interest with respect to the matter as to which such rights, powers or duties are being delegated, and that the person or persons to whom any such rights, powers or duties are being delegated shall not be deemed conflicted solely by reason of the conflict of interest of the partner. The amendments to Section 15-401(l) create a different rule than the rule applied in cases such as Wenske v. Bluebell Creameries, Inc., 214 A.3d 958 (Del. Ch. 2019), that a conflicted principal is legally disabled from delegating authority over the subject matter as to which the principal is conflicted even to an independent delegatee. Section 4. This section amends Section 15-403 of the Act to make certain clarifying and conforming changes, and to provide that when a partner is entitled to obtain information for a stated purpose (whether pursuant to Section 15-403 or a partnership agreement), the partner’s right shall be to obtain such information as is necessary and essential to achieving that purpose, unless such right has been expanded or restricted in the partnership agreement. To the extent current law is that the “necessary and essential” test does not apply by default to (i) a partner’s right under Section 15-403(a) of the Act to obtain information from a partnership for a purpose reasonably related to the partner’s interest as a partner, or (ii) a partner’s right under a partnership agreement to obtain information from a partnership for a stated purpose, the first sentence of subsection (f) is intended to change that law. Section 5. This section provides that the proposed amendments to the Act shall become effective August 1, 2021.
- Who sponsors SB 115?
- SB 115 is sponsored by Darius J. Brown (Democratic), Bryan Townsend (Democratic), Sean M. Lynn (Democratic), Stephanie L. Hansen (Democratic), Brian Pettyjohn (Republican), Kyle Evans Gay, William Bush (Democratic), Krista Griffith (Democratic), John L. Mitchell, Sarah McBride, and Gerald L. Brady.
- What is the current status of SB 115?
- This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced April 21, 2021. Enacted.
- Where can I track SB 115?
- Track SB 115 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.
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