SB 34 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 AND TITLE 28 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS.

Summary

On March 1, 1875, the federal Civil Rights Act was enacted. Following the end of the Civil War and the adoption of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, the goal of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was to guarantee Blacks equal treatment in places of public accommodation and on public transportation. On March 25, 1875, the General Assembly enacted Chapter 194 of Volume 15 of the Laws of Delaware to permit places of public accommodation and public transportation to exclude individuals “whose presence there would be offensive to the major part of the proprietor’s customers and thereby injure the proprietor’s business”. Newspaper reports from the time indicate that this law was specifically designed to “neutralize the effects of” the Civil Rights Act of 1875. Almost 100 years later, in December 1963, the 122nd General Assembly enacted the Delaware Equal Accommodations Law, Chapter 45 of Title 6 of the Delaware Code, to prevent in places of public accommodations practices of discrimination against any person because of race, creed, color, or national origin. As part of this legislation, the 122nd General Assembly provided that “§ 1501 of Title 24, § 902 of Title 28, and § 703 of Title 26 of the Delaware Code of 1953, and all laws or parts of laws inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed insofar as such inconsistency does occur.” Despite the General Assembly’s intent, these provisions were not repealed at the time and, with the exception of § 703 of Title 26, which was repealed in 1974 with the rest of Chapter 7 of Title 26 as part of reorganization of Title 26, have continued to persist to this day. This Act explicitly repeals § 1501 of Title 24 and § 902 of Title 28, fulfilling the intent of the 122nd General Assembly that § 1501 of Title 24 and § 902 of Title 28 be repealed as inconsistent with the purposes of the Delaware Equal Accommodations Law that General Assembly adopted. This Act also serves to repudiate the State’s past involvement in racial discrimination that occurred in reliance on and under color of laws adopted by this State.

Bill Text

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This bill repeals discriminatory provisions in Delaware law regarding public accommodations.

• § 1501, Title 24

  No keeper of an inn, tavern, hotel or restaurant or other place of public entertainment or refreshment of travelers, guests or customers shall be obliged, by law, to furnish entertainment or refreshment to persons whose reception or entertainment by the proprietor would be offensive to the major part of the proprietor’s customers and would injure business. As used in this section, “customers” includes all who have occasion for entertainment or refreshment.

  This change removes the legal justification for excluding customers based on perceived offensiveness, aligning with anti-discrimination principles.

• § 902, Title 28

  The proprietor of a theatre or other public place of amusement is not obliged to receive into the proprietor’s show, or admit into the place where the proprietor is pursuing the proprietor’s occupation, any person whose presence there would be offensive to the major part of the proprietor’s spectators or patrons and thereby injure the proprietor’s business.

  This change eliminates a provision that allowed proprietors to exclude patrons based on their perceived offensiveness, supporting equal access to public amusement venues.

Action History

1. May 16, 2023

   Signed by Governor

2. May 02, 2023

   Passed By House. Votes: 40 YES 1 ABSENT

3. April 04, 2023

   Reported Out of Committee (Sunset Committee (Policy Analysis & Government Accountability)) in House with 4 Favorable

4. March 30, 2023

   Assigned to Sunset Committee (Policy Analysis & Government Accountability) Committee in House

5. March 29, 2023

   Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

6. March 15, 2023

   Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 6 Favorable

7. March 07, 2023

   Re-Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate

8. January 25, 2023

   Introduced and Assigned to Legislative Oversight & Sunset Committee in Senate

Sponsors

• Paul S. Baumbach · Primary
• Cyndie Romer · Primary
• Eric Morrison · Primary
• Sean M. Lynn · Primary
• Kerri Evelyn Harris · Primary
• David L. Wilson · Primary
• John "Jack" Walsh · Primary
• Bryan Townsend · Primary
• Laura V. Sturgeon · Primary
• David P. Sokola · Primary
• Bryant L. Richardson · Primary
• Nicole Poore · Primary
• Brian Pettyjohn · Primary
• Trey Paradee · Primary
• Spiros Mantzavinos · Primary
• Russell Huxtable · Primary
• Franklin D. Cooke · Primary
• Darius J. Brown · Primary
• Kendra Johnson · Primary
• Marie Pinkney · Primary
• S. Elizabeth Lockman · Primary
• Stell Parker Selby · Primary
• Sean Matthews · Primary
• Peter C. Schwartzkopf · Primary
• Valerie Longhurst · Primary
• Sarah McBride · Primary

Votes

Subjects