Delaware 152nd General Assembly (2023-2024) Status: Enacted Bipartisan · 18 D · 2 R cosponsors

SB 1 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 25 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD-TENANT CODE.

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 March 23, 2023. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 98% · high confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 27 sponsors

    27 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (18 D · 2 R) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 3 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

This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 1. Like Senate Bill No. 1, this Act creates a right to representation for tenants in evictions and other landlord-tenant actions. The disruptive displacement that accompanies eviction proceedings creates significant costs for state and local government related to shelter funding, education funding, health care provided in hospitals instead of community-based providers, transportation costs for homeless youth, and foster care. Evictions and disruptive displacement also have significant, well-documented, and long-lasting effects on the lives of individuals and families, including poorer physical and mental health, increased risk of homelessness, increased risk of employment loss, loss of personal property, damage to credit standing, and relocation into substandard housing. Further, evictions fall disproportionately on Black and Latinx families, who have also been the hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis. Section 1 of this Act establishes a right to representation for evictions and other landlord-tenant actions for covered individuals with household incomes below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. The Attorney General shall contract with legal services providers for the provision of representation in proceedings covered by this Act. The Right to Representation Coordinator will manage the contracts and work with community organizations to do outreach and education regarding the right to representation. Section 1 of this Act requires landlords to provide notice of the right to representation at periodic designated intervals in the tenancy and in eviction proceedings. Section 2 of this Act authorizes the creation of a residential eviction diversion program modeled after the Superior Court’s Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program. Section 3 of this Act is a severability clause. Section 4 of this Act makes Sections 1 and 6 effective 120 days after the Act's enactment. Section 5 of this Act makes Section 2 of this Act contingent on funding. Section 6 requires the Coordinator to provide the General Assembly with a copy of the first annual report required under § 5605 of Title 25, as contained in this Act, to determine if additional funding is needed to address the fiscal impact of the Act on the Justice of the Peace Court. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 1 as it does all of the following: (1) Removes a judicial or administrative proceeding to remedy a violation of law related to security deposit from the list of proceedings included in a covered proceeding. (2) Replaces “covered individual” with “tenant” in the provision determining a tenant’s eligibility to be a covered individual. (3) Makes clear that a covered individual’s household income is to be determined over the immediately preceding 12 months. (4) Makes clear how to determine household income for a full-time student. (5) Tabulates the list of notices provided by a landlord that trigger a covered individual’s receipt of legal representation and further clarifies the notice related to termination of a rental agreement. (6) Provides that a designated organization may decline representation if an attorney deems the covered individual’s defense to lack merit, in addition to a determination by the attorney that an appeal lacks merit. (7) Provides that a covered individual is entitled to receive legal representation as soon as practicable after the initiation of a covered proceeding, rather than just an eviction proceeding. (8) Removes the requirement that a court, at a covered individual’s first appearance in a covered proceeding, provide a covered individual with notice of the individual’s right to, and the availability of, legal representation under this Act. This notice is intended to be provided earlier by the Right to Representation Coordinator (“Coordinator”). (9) Requires that events planned for, and information distributed to, tenants also be made available to landlords and property managers. (10) Requires that the Coordinator include a full accounting of their expenditures as part of the required annual report. (11) Provides that the Coordinator is to prepare information explaining legal representation available to tenants, provides that the information is known as “informational materials”, requires the Coordinator to prepare the informational materials in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole, and clarifies the events that require the informational materials to be provided to a tenant. (12) Clarifies the date from which actions are to be taken by the Coordinator and the Justice of the Peace Courts. (13) Makes clear that the provision of legal representation to a covered individual under Section 1 of this Act is not intended to be the sole basis for a continuance of a covered proceeding scheduled before the effective date of Section 1 of this Act for a hearing on or after the effective date of Section 1 of this Act. (14) Provides that the residential eviction diversion program includes an initial mediation conference rather than a conciliation conference. (15) Makes technical corrections, including to use the defined term “rental agreement” instead of “lease” and to insert “Delaware” before “Supreme Court” for clarity.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

276 added · 27 removed

276 line(s) added, 27 removed.

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Latest
Rep.
Sen.
Minor-Brown HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 152nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE AMENDMENT NO.
Townsend & Sen.
1 TO SENATE SUBSTITUTE NO.
Hoffner & Sen.
Pinkney & Rep.
Minor-Brown & Rep.
K.
Johnson & Rep.
Lambert & Rep.
Bush Sens.
Buckson, Gay, Hansen, Huxtable, Lockman, S.
McBride, Poore, Sokola, Sturgeon, Walsh;
Reps.
Baumbach, Bolden, Chukwuocha, Dorsey Walker, Griffith, Harris, Heffernan, Longhurst, S.
Moore, Morrison, Neal, Parker Selby, Phillips, Romer, K.
Williams, Wilson-Anton DELAWARE STATE SENATE 152nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY SENATE SUBSTITUTE NO.
1 AMEND Senate Substitute No.
1 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 25 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD- TENANT CODE.
1 for Senate Bill No.
WHEREAS, before the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 18,000 eviction cases were filed each year in this State which has only 101,000 rental households;
1 by inserting the following after line 115 and redesignating accordingly:
and WHEREAS, evictions create significant costs for state and local government related to shelter funding, education funding, health care provided in hospitals instead of community–based providers, transportation costs for homeless youth, and foster care;
“(5) The number of covered individuals who have previously been represented in covered proceedings.
and WHEREAS, the Delaware Access to Justice Commission has found that “Legal aid organizations have the resources to serve the civil legal needs of only one-eighth of Delaware’s low-income population, leaving a large justice gap”;
(6) Metrics on the level of experience of Form 50 agents, as authorized by Delaware Supreme Court Rule 57, who litigate against represented tenants, including the number of previous entries of appearance by each agent in a 12- month period, and the number of units owned by the entity being represented by the agent as documented on Form 50, if available.
and WHEREAS, numerous studies from around the country have shown that many tenants have defenses to the eviction that they are not able to assert, either at all or successfully, without the assistance of representation;
Form 50 is to be updated to include an optional field that requests the number of units owned or managed by the entity.”.
and WHEREAS, evictions have a disparate impact on Black and Latinx households in this State;
FURTHER AMEND Senate Substitute No.
and WHEREAS, the General Assembly seeks to end the disparate impact of evictions based on race and gender;
1 for Senate Bill No.
and WHEREAS, evictions have significant, well-documented, and long-lasting effects on the lives of individuals and families, including poorer physical and mental health, increased risk of homelessness, increased risk of employment loss, loss of personal property, damage to credit standing, and relocation into substandard housing;
1 on line 119 by deleting “(b)” and inserting “(c)”.
and WHEREAS, evictions, and the subsequent housing instability and displacement, damage the lives of children by negatively impacting their mental and physical health, decreasing school attendance rates, impeding academic performance, increasing instances of school discipline, and increasing the likelihood of out of home placement;
FURTHER AMEND Senate Substitute No.
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1 by deleting lines 174 and 175 in their entirety and substituting in lieu thereof the following:
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“engage in mediation within 15 calendar days after service of process.
03/23/2023 09:27 AM WHEREAS, providing a right to representation to tenants in eviction cases is a proven means of significantly reducing the disruptive displacement of families and the resulting social, economic, and public health costs of such displacement;
Mediation must be scheduled and completed at least 48 hours before the trial date.
and WHEREAS, tenants must be able to invoke and enforce the right to legal representation in any eviction–related proceeding to provide for equal access to justice and the courts;
A tenant’s failure to engage in or complete mediation may not delay the scheduling or commencement of trial.”.
and WHEREAS, the General Assembly declares that tenants facing an eviction from their home have a right to legal representation in eviction proceedings and related matters, and that the State should provide this legal representation to tenants to assist in the fair administration of justice.
SYNOPSIS This Amendment does all of the following:
NOW, THEREFORE:
(1) Inserts 2 additional forms of information that the Right to Representation Coordinator must include in the Coordinator’s annual report.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
(2) Clarifies that mediation must be scheduled and completed no later than 48 hours before the trial date, and that a tenant’s failure to complete mediation may not delay the scheduling or commencement of trial.
Section 1.
(3) Makes a technical correction.
Amend Part III, Title 25 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
Chapter 56.
Right to Legal Representation in Evictions and Other Landlord-Tenant Actions.
§ 5601.
Definitions.
For purposes of this chapter:
(1) “Coordinator” means the Right to Representation Coordinator within Delaware Volunteer Legal Services.
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(2) “Covered individual” means a tenant who is eligible for legal representation under this chapter.
(3) “Covered proceeding” means any of the following:
a.
A judicial or administrative proceeding to evict, terminate the tenancy of, or terminate the housing subsidy of a covered individual.
b.
A proceeding deemed by a designated organization as the functional equivalent of a proceeding described in paragraph (3)a.
of this section.
c.
A judicial or administrative proceeding to remedy a violation of law related to landlord-tenant matters, such as retaliatory actions, habitability, illegal eviction, or violation of quiet use and enjoyment.
(4) “Designated organization” means a nonprofit entity designated by the Attorney General that has the ability to provide legal representation to covered individuals.
(5)a.
“Legal representation” means ongoing high-quality representation provided by a designated organization to a covered individual, and all legal advice, advocacy, and assistance associated with that representation.
b.
“Legal representation” includes all of the following:
1.
The filing of a notice of appearance on behalf of the covered individual in a covered proceeding.
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Representation of covered individuals by non-attorneys, if the Rules of the Delaware Supreme Court permit the representation.
§ 5602.
Right to legal representation.
(a)(1)a.
Except as provided under paragraph (a)(2) of this section, a tenant has the right to legal representation as provided under this chapter if the tenant’s household income over the immediately preceding 12 months is not greater than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, as established and updated periodically by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
b.
For the purpose of determining household income, a co-signor of a rental agreement and all members of the co-signor’s family who reside with the co-signor are included in the household income calculation if the tenant is a full-time student, as designated by the institution in which the tenant is enrolled.
(2) A tenant is not eligible to receive legal representation from a designated organization if any of the following apply:
a.
The tenant’s landlord has an ownership interest in 3 or fewer rental units and is not represented by an attorney or an agent authorized by a rule of the Delaware Supreme Court.
b.
A designated organization determines that there is a conflict of interest.
c.
A designated organization declines representation for one or more of the following reasons:
1.
A tenant does not comply with the application or representation process.
2.
Rules of professional conduct warrant withdrawal.
3.
An attorney deems the tenant’s defense or appeal to lack merit.
d.
Other circumstances exist which make legal representation infeasible to render.
(b) A covered individual is entitled to receive legal representation from a designated organization in a covered proceeding and as soon as practicable after any of the following:
(1) A landlord provides a notice to the tenant as follows:
a.
Under § 5502 of this title that rent is past due.
b.
Under § 5513 of this title that the tenant has violated a material provision of the rental agreement.
c.
Under § 5106 of this title that the rental agreement is terminated, if the rental agreement is one that may only be terminated for good cause or a material violation by the tenant.
(2) The initiation of a covered proceeding.
(3) The covered individual has been notified that the covered individual’s housing subsidy has been terminated.
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03/23/2023 09:27 AM 79 (4) The determination by a designated organization that a proceeding arising from the landlord-tenant relationship on behalf of a covered individual should be initiated.
(c) A covered individual’s opportunity to receive legal representation must be provided by the time of a covered individual’s first scheduled appearance in a covered proceeding.
(d) In a case involving rental arrears, a covered individual shall immediately be referred by the covered individual’s legal representative to the Delaware Housing Assistance Program, or any successor rental assistance program, and shall receive assistance in applying for and obtaining housing assistance as part of the individual’s legal representation.
(e) The rights in this section are subject to, and qualified by, the availability of legal representation under § 5604 of this title and the implementation period under § 5607 of this title.
An individual does not have a cause of action against the Coordinator or designated organization based on the unavailability of legal representation.
§ 5603.
Right to Representation Coordinator duties.
(a) The Coordinator shall manage the contracts awarded by the Attorney General under § 5604 of this title.
(b) The Coordinator shall conduct outreach, engagement, and education events and activities regarding the rights in this chapter and may enter into contracts or issue grants to fulfill the Coordinator’s duty under this section.
Subject to the availability of appropriate funding, the education events and activities must include all of the following:
(1) Hosting in-person and virtual know-your-rights trainings and other workshops for tenants, rental property owners, and property managers.
(2) Distributing written information to tenants and providing landlords with the written information that must be distributed to tenants.
(3) Outreach to tenants regarding how to form and maintain tenant associations.
(4) Referring tenants to designated organizations as appropriate.
§ 5604.
Attorney General powers and duties.
(a) The Attorney General, within the limits of an appropriation from the General Assembly, shall designate and contract with one or more designated organizations to provide the services required under this chapter and shall provide each designated organization contracted with under this chapter with fair and just compensation to allow each designated organization to provide an organizational structure with appropriate supervision, caseloads, and oversight of staff and service delivery to promote high quality legal representation and legal work.
(b) The Attorney General may adopt rules and regulations to implement this chapter.
§ 5605.
Annual report.
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03/23/2023 09:27 AM (a) Not later than August 31 of each year, each designated organization shall report to the Coordinator information on services provided in conformity with requirements developed by the Coordinator.
(b) Not later than November 30 of each year, the Coordinator shall prepare a report, which must be approved by the Attorney General and include information from the prior fiscal year regarding all of the following:
(1) The number of covered individuals served.
(2) The extent of legal representation performed.
(3) Metrics on evaluating outcomes.
(4) The engagement and education of tenants.
(5) The Justice of the Peace Court’s experience with the process.
(6) A full accounting of expenditures by the Attorney General and Right to Representation Coordinator under this chapter.
(b) The annual report must be posted on the Attorney General’s website.
§ 5606.
Additional required disclosures.
A landlord, or housing authority as defined under § 4301 of Title 31, shall provide a tenant with informational materials approved by the Coordinator that explain legal representation available to tenants, including a right to representation under this chapter, and identifies available resources.
The Coordinator shall prepare the informational materials in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole.
The informational materials must be provided by the landlord or housing authority at all of the following events:
(1) After [the effective date of Section 1 of this Act], on signing a written rental agreement or entering into a rental agreement that is oral.
(2) On the first renewal or modification of a rental agreement occurring after [the effective date of Section 1 of this Act].
(3) When the landlord provides any of the notices under § 5602(b)(1) of this title.
(4) When a tenant receives notice of the termination of a housing subsidy.
§ 5607.
Implementation.
(a) The Coordinator shall phase in, over a period of time not to exceed 3 years from [the effective date of Section 1 of this Act], in a manner that the Coordinator determines appropriate, the legal representation required to be provided under § 5602 of this title.
(b) The Coordinator shall consider all of the following in determining how services are prioritized during the implementation period:
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03/23/2023 09:27 AM (1) Prioritizing households that include a child or pregnant woman.
(2) Prioritizing households with household income below 100% of federal poverty guidelines.
(3) Prioritizing targeted zip codes with high eviction rates.
(4) Prioritizing veterans or active duty members of the United States Armed Forces, including the National Guard or the reserves.
(5) The availability of funding.
(6) The availability of trained and qualified attorneys to provide legal representation.
(7) Any other appropriate consideration.
(c) The provision of legal representation to a covered individual is not intended to be the sole basis for a continuance of a covered proceeding scheduled before [the effective date of Section 1 of this Act] for a hearing on or after [the effective date of Section 1 of this Act].
Section 2.
Amend Chapter 57, Title 25 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
§ 5702A.
Residential eviction diversion program.
(a)(1) Not later than 270 days after [the effective date of Section 2 of this Act], the Justice of the Peace Court or the Court’s designee shall establish a residential eviction diversion program to facilitate post-filing eviction dispute resolution between landlords and tenants, which must include all of the following:
a.
An initial mediation conference between a landlord and tenant to facilitate an agreement for asserted rental agreement violations or non-payment of rent.
b.
A designated United States Housing and Urban Development certified housing counselor or other representative approved by the Justice of the Peace Court or the Court’s designee for the tenant that does all of the following:
1.
Participates in the initial mediation conference.
2.
Engages with the tenant before the initial mediation conference to educate and discuss available resources.
c.
Any other dispute resolution methods established under the residential eviction diversion program.
(2) The Justice of the Peace Court or the Court’s designee may limit or otherwise modify the scope of services provided by the residential eviction diversion program to ensure that the cost of the program does not exceed the funding allocated to the program and to ensure that the number of staff required to run the program does not exceed the number of staff available.
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03/23/2023 09:27 AM (b) In designing and implementing the residential eviction diversion program, the Justice of the Peace Court or the Court’s designee may be guided by the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program established by the Superior Court under Superior Court Administrative Directive 2013-2 and any subsequent changes made by Superior Court.
(c)(1) Except as provided under paragraph (c)(2) of this section, after a landlord has filed an action for possession under this chapter, the case is to be scheduled for mediation.
Mediation is to be scheduled during the period between filing and trial.
A trial may not commence until the landlord has engaged in mediation, except in cases where a tenant fails to engage in mediation within 15 calendar days after service of process.
A tenant’s failure to engage in mediation may not delay the scheduling or commencement of trial.
(2) A landlord may not be required to participate in the residential eviction diversion program in a proceeding under §§ 5115, 5513(b), or 5513(c) of this title, or where the landlord alleges and by substantial evidence demonstrates to the Court that a tenant has caused or threatens to cause substantial or irreparable harm to landlord’s or other tenant’s person or property.
Section 3.
If any provision of this Act or the application of this Act to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the provisions of this Act are severable if the invalidity does not affect the other provisions of this Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or the application of this Act that can be given effect without the invalid application.
Section 4.
Sections 1 and 6 of this Act take effect 120 days after its enactment into law.
Section 5.
Section 2 of this Act takes effect on the date of publication in the Register of Regulations of a notice by the Controller General that funds are appropriated to implement Section 2 of this Act.
The Controller General shall provide notice to the Registrar of Regulations that the funds were appropriated.
Until Section 2 of this Act takes effect, the Justice of the Peace Court shall adapt its Online Dispute Resolution program to function as a mandatory mediation process to facilitate post-filing eviction dispute resolution between landlords and tenants.
Section 6.
The Right to Representation Coordinator shall provide the General Assembly with a copy of the first annual report due under § 5605 of Title 25 of the Delaware Code to determine if additional funding is needed to address the fiscal impact of this Act on the Justice of the Peace Court.
SYNOPSIS This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No.
1.
Like Senate Bill No.
1, this Act creates a right to representation for tenants in evictions and other landlord-tenant actions.
The disruptive displacement that accompanies eviction proceedings creates significant costs for state and local government related to shelter funding, education funding, health care provided in hospitals instead of community-based providers, transportation costs for homeless youth, and foster care.
Evictions and disruptive displacement also have significant, well-documented, and long-lasting effects on the lives of individuals and families, including poorer physical and mental health, increased risk of homelessness, increased risk of employment loss, loss of personal property, damage to credit standing, and relocation into substandard housing.
Further, evictions fall disproportionately on Black and Latinx families, who have also been the hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis.
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03/23/2023 09:27 AM Section 1 of this Act establishes a right to representation for evictions and other landlord-tenant actions for covered individuals with household incomes below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines.
The Attorney General shall contract with legal services providers for the provision of representation in proceedings covered by this Act.
The Right to Representation Coordinator will manage the contracts and work with community organizations to do outreach and education regarding the right to representation.
Section 1 of this Act requires landlords to provide notice of the right to representation at periodic designated intervals in the tenancy and in eviction proceedings.
Section 2 of this Act authorizes the creation of a residential eviction diversion program modeled after the Superior Court’s Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program.
Section 3 of this Act is a severability clause.
Section 4 of this Act makes Sections 1 and 6 effective 120 days after the Act's enactment.
Section 5 of this Act makes Section 2 of this Act contingent on funding.
Section 6 requires the Coordinator to provide the General Assembly with a copy of the first annual report required under § 5605 of Title 25, as contained in this Act, to determine if additional funding is needed to address the fiscal impact of the Act on the Justice of the Peace Court.
This Act differs from Senate Bill No.
1 as it does all of the following:
(1) Removes a judicial or administrative proceeding to remedy a violation of law related to security deposit from the list of proceedings included in a covered proceeding.
(2) Replaces “covered individual” with “tenant” in the provision determining a tenant’s eligibility to be a covered individual.
(3) Makes clear that a covered individual’s household income is to be determined over the immediately preceding months.
(4) Makes clear how to determine household income for a full-time student.
(5) Tabulates the list of notices provided by a landlord that trigger a covered individual’s receipt of legal representation and further clarifies the notice related to termination of a rental agreement.
(6) Provides that a designated organization may decline representation if an attorney deems the covered individual’s defense to lack merit, in addition to a determination by the attorney that an appeal lacks merit.
(7) Provides that a covered individual is entitled to receive legal representation as soon as practicable after the initiation of a covered proceeding, rather than just an eviction proceeding.
(8) Removes the requirement that a court, at a covered individual’s first appearance in a covered proceeding, provide a covered individual with notice of the individual’s right to, and the availability of, legal representation under this Act.
This notice is intended to be provided earlier by the Right to Representation Coordinator (“Coordinator”).
(9) Requires that events planned for, and information distributed to, tenants also be made available to landlords and property managers.
(10) Requires that the Coordinator include a full accounting of their expenditures as part of the required annual report.
(11) Provides that the Coordinator is to prepare information explaining legal representation available to tenants, provides that the information is known as “informational materials”, requires the Coordinator to prepare the informational materials in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole, and clarifies the events that require the informational materials to be provided to a tenant.
(12) Clarifies the date from which actions are to be taken by the Coordinator and the Justice of the Peace Courts.
(13) Makes clear that the provision of legal representation to a covered individual under Section 1 of this Act is not intended to be the sole basis for a continuance of a covered proceeding scheduled before the effective date of Section 1 of this Act for a hearing on or after the effective date of Section 1 of this Act.
(14) Provides that the residential eviction diversion program includes an initial mediation conference rather than a conciliation conference.
(15) Makes technical corrections, including to use the defined term “rental agreement” instead of “lease” and to insert “Delaware” before “Supreme Court” for clarity.
Author:
Senator Townsend LC :
MJC :
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Action History

  1. Signed by Governor

  2. Passed By Senate. Votes: 19 YES 1 NOT VOTING 1 ABSENT

  3. Passed By House. Votes: 25 YES 12 NO 1 NOT VOTING 3 ABSENT

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

  5. Amendment HA 1 to SS 1 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

  6. Reported Out of Committee (Appropriations) in House with 1 Favorable, 3 On Its Merits

  7. Not Enough Signatures to Release

  8. Assigned to Appropriations Committee in House

  9. Reported Out of Committee (Housing) in House with 5 Favorable, 1 On Its Merits, 1 Unfavorable

  10. Assigned to Housing Committee in House

  11. Passed By Senate. Votes: 19 YES 1 NOT VOTING 1 ABSENT

  12. was introduced and adopted in lieu of SB 1

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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27 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 35 not signed on · 12 voted No

Sponsors (27)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (35)

35 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 35 →

"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 19 Yea · 0 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 12001
Republican 5001
Unaffiliated 2000
Total 19002
% of votes cast 90%0%0%10%
How each member voted (21)
Member Party Vote
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
Kyra L. Hoffner Democratic Yea
Laura V. Sturgeon Democratic Yea
Marie Pinkney Democratic Yea
Nicole Poore Democratic Yea
Russell Huxtable Democratic Yea
S. Elizabeth Lockman Democratic Yea
Spiros Mantzavinos Democratic Yea
Stephanie L. Hansen Democratic Yea
Trey Paradee Democratic Not Voting
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 Not Voting

Official roll call →

SM

Passed 25 Yea · 12 Nay · 4 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 6200
Democratic 19001
Republican 01003
Total 251204
% of votes cast 61%29%0%10%
How each member voted (41)
Member Party Vote
Michael Ramone — Nay
Paul S. Baumbach — Yea
Peter C. Schwartzkopf — Yea
Ruth Briggs King — Nay
Sean Matthews — Yea
Sherry Dorsey Walker — Yea
Stell Parker Selby — Yea
Valerie Longhurst — Yea
Cyndie Romer Democratic Yea
DeShanna U Neal Democratic Yea
Debra Heffernan Democratic Yea
Edward S. Osienski Democratic Yea
Eric Morrison Democratic Yea
Franklin D. Cooke 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
Melissa Minor-Brown Democratic Yea
Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha Democratic Yea
Sean M. Lynn Democratic Yea
Sherae'a Moore Democratic Not Voting
Sophie Phillips Democratic Yea
Stephanie T. Bolden Democratic Yea
William Bush Democratic Yea
William J. Carson Democratic Yea
Bryan W. Shupe Republican Nay
Charles S Postles Jr. Republican Nay
Daniel B. Short Republican Not Voting
Jeff Hilovsky Republican Nay
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman Republican Nay
Jesse R. Vanderwende Republican Nay
Kevin S Hensley Republican Not Voting
Lyndon D. Yearick Republican Nay
Michael F. Smith Republican Nay
Richard G. Collins Republican Nay
Ronald E. Gray Republican Not Voting
Shannon Morris Republican Nay
Timothy D. Dukes Republican Nay

Official roll call →

SM

Passed 19 Yea · 0 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 13000
Republican 4002
Unaffiliated 2000
Total 19002
% of votes cast 90%0%0%10%
How each member voted (21)
Member Party Vote
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
Kyra L. Hoffner Democratic Yea
Laura V. Sturgeon Democratic Yea
Marie Pinkney Democratic Yea
Nicole Poore 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 Not Voting
Eric Buckson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

Subjects

housing civil-rights labor
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Frequently asked questions

What does SB 1 do?
This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 1. Like Senate Bill No. 1, this Act creates a right to representation for tenants in evictions and other landlord-tenant actions. The disruptive displacement that accompanies eviction proceedings creates significant costs for state and local government related to shelter funding, education funding, health care provided in hospitals instead of community-based providers, transportation costs for homeless youth, and foster care. Evictions and disruptive displacement also have significant, well-documented, and long-lasting effects on the lives of individuals and families, including poorer physical and mental health, increased risk of homelessness, increased risk of employment loss, loss of personal property, damage to credit standing, and relocation into substandard housing. Further, evictions fall disproportionately on Black and Latinx families, who have also been the hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis. Section 1 of this Act establishes a right to representation for evictions and other landlord-tenant actions for covered individuals with household incomes below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. The Attorney General shall contract with legal services providers for the provision of representation in proceedings covered by this Act. The Right to Representation Coordinator will manage the contracts and work with community organizations to do outreach and education regarding the right to representation. Section 1 of this Act requires landlords to provide notice of the right to representation at periodic designated intervals in the tenancy and in eviction proceedings. Section 2 of this Act authorizes the creation of a residential eviction diversion program modeled after the Superior Court’s Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program. Section 3 of this Act is a severability clause. Section 4 of this Act makes Sections 1 and 6 effective 120 days after the Act's enactment. Section 5 of this Act makes Section 2 of this Act contingent on funding. Section 6 requires the Coordinator to provide the General Assembly with a copy of the first annual report required under § 5605 of Title 25, as contained in this Act, to determine if additional funding is needed to address the fiscal impact of the Act on the Justice of the Peace Court. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 1 as it does all of the following: (1) Removes a judicial or administrative proceeding to remedy a violation of law related to security deposit from the list of proceedings included in a covered proceeding. (2) Replaces “covered individual” with “tenant” in the provision determining a tenant’s eligibility to be a covered individual. (3) Makes clear that a covered individual’s household income is to be determined over the immediately preceding 12 months. (4) Makes clear how to determine household income for a full-time student. (5) Tabulates the list of notices provided by a landlord that trigger a covered individual’s receipt of legal representation and further clarifies the notice related to termination of a rental agreement. (6) Provides that a designated organization may decline representation if an attorney deems the covered individual’s defense to lack merit, in addition to a determination by the attorney that an appeal lacks merit. (7) Provides that a covered individual is entitled to receive legal representation as soon as practicable after the initiation of a covered proceeding, rather than just an eviction proceeding. (8) Removes the requirement that a court, at a covered individual’s first appearance in a covered proceeding, provide a covered individual with notice of the individual’s right to, and the availability of, legal representation under this Act. This notice is intended to be provided earlier by the Right to Representation Coordinator (“Coordinator”). (9) Requires that events planned for, and information distributed to, tenants also be made available to landlords and property managers. (10) Requires that the Coordinator include a full accounting of their expenditures as part of the required annual report. (11) Provides that the Coordinator is to prepare information explaining legal representation available to tenants, provides that the information is known as “informational materials”, requires the Coordinator to prepare the informational materials in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole, and clarifies the events that require the informational materials to be provided to a tenant. (12) Clarifies the date from which actions are to be taken by the Coordinator and the Justice of the Peace Courts. (13) Makes clear that the provision of legal representation to a covered individual under Section 1 of this Act is not intended to be the sole basis for a continuance of a covered proceeding scheduled before the effective date of Section 1 of this Act for a hearing on or after the effective date of Section 1 of this Act. (14) Provides that the residential eviction diversion program includes an initial mediation conference rather than a conciliation conference. (15) Makes technical corrections, including to use the defined term “rental agreement” instead of “lease” and to insert “Delaware” before “Supreme Court” for clarity.
Who sponsors SB 1?
SB 1 is sponsored by Stell Parker Selby, Paul S. Baumbach, Sherry Dorsey Walker, Valerie Longhurst, Madinah Wilson-Anton (Democratic), Brian Pettyjohn (Republican), Cyndie Romer (Democratic), David L. Wilson (Republican), Eric Morrison (Democratic), Kerri Evelyn Harris (Democratic), Darius J. Brown (Democratic), John "Jack" Walsh (Democratic), Laura V. Sturgeon (Democratic), David P. Sokola (Democratic), Nicole Poore (Democratic), S. Elizabeth Lockman (Democratic), Russell Huxtable (Democratic), Franklin D. Cooke (Democratic), William Bush (Democratic), Spiros Mantzavinos (Democratic), Kendra Johnson (Democratic), Trey Paradee (Democratic), Marie Pinkney (Democratic), Bryan Townsend (Democratic), Peter C. Schwartzkopf, Sean Matthews, and Sarah McBride.
What is the current status of SB 1?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced March 23, 2023. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 1?
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