HB27 • 2025

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE ANTI-TRAFFICKING ACTION COUNCIL.

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: K. Williams
Last action: 2025-05-07
Official status: Signed 5/7/25
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Changes to Delaware Anti-Trafficking Action Council Rules

This law lowers the number of members needed for a quorum, updates how funding is reported in annual reports, and allows virtual meetings if a staff member stays at a public location.

What This Bill Does

Reduces the number of council members needed to hold an official meeting from 13 to 10.
Allows most decisions to pass with a majority vote of members present at the meeting.
Requires a majority vote of all full council members to approve hiring or firing the Executive Director.
Updates annual reports to include spending details for state, federal, and other funds received by the Council, excluding funding used only for staff positions.
Permits virtual meetings if a staff member is physically present at an open public location.

Who It Names or Affects

The Delaware Anti-Trafficking Action Council
Council members who attend or vote on decisions
The Executive Director of the Council

Terms To Know

Quorum: The minimum number of members that must be present to hold an official meeting.
Anchor location: A physical place open to the public where a staff member sits during a virtual meeting.

Limits and Unknowns

The law does not specify an exact effective date in the provided text.
Current state funding for the Council is limited to personnel positions, so reporting on other funds may reflect very little activity at this time.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HA 1

1 • K. Williams

Passed 1/30/25

Plain English: This amendment changes House Bill No. 27 by adding a retired judge who knows about human trafficking as a new member of Delaware's Anti-Trafficking Action Council.

Adds one new council member: a retired judicial officer with knowledge of human trafficking appointed by the Speaker of the House.
Updates technical wording in the list of members to match official writing rules.

Bill History

2025-05-07 Delaware General Assembly
Signed by Governor
2025-04-17 Delaware General Assembly
Passed By Senate. Votes: 19 YES 2 ABSENT
2025-03-26 Delaware General Assembly
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits
2025-01-30 Delaware General Assembly
Amendment HA 1 to HB 27 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
2025-01-30 Delaware General Assembly
Amendment HA 1 to HB 27 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
2025-01-30 Delaware General Assembly
Passed By House. Votes: 36 YES 5 ABSENT
2025-01-30 Delaware General Assembly
Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate
2025-01-29 Delaware General Assembly
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 4 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits
2024-12-19 Delaware General Assembly
Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE ANTI-TRAFFICKING ACTION COUNCIL.
This Act makes changes to the operating requirements for the Delaware Anti-Trafficking Action Council.
It reduces the members required for quorum from 13 to 10. Since the quorum requirement has been reduced to less than a majority of the Council, the bill also specifies that the Council may generally take action upon the vote of a majority of members present at a meeting, but that a majority vote of the Council members is required to approve the appointment of an Executive Director. Consistent with current practice, the Executive Director has the authority to hire staff and contract for services within the limits of available funds.
The Act also revises the reporting on funds spent to be part of the annual report and include state, federal, or other funding received by the Council other than State-funded positions. At the present time, the Council does not receive state funding other than allocated personnel positions.
Finally, the Act allows the Council to have a virtual meeting with a physical location open to the public (anchor location) so long as a staff member of the Council is present at the anchor location. Without this authorization, a member of the Council would be required to attend at the anchor location in order to comply with the State’s open meeting rules.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Rep. K. Williams & Rep. Michael Smith & Sen. Poore & Sen. Richardson

Reps. Dukes, Gorman, Griffith, Bush, Romer; Sens. Hocker, Lawson

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 27

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE ANTI-TRAFFICKING ACTION COUNCIL.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend § 787, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 787. Trafficking an individual, forced labor and sexual servitude; class D felony; class C felony; class B felony; class A felony.

(k)

(4) Meetings; quorum; officers; committees; procedure.

a. The Council shall meet at least 4 times per year.

Thirteen

Ten

members constitute a quorum.

Except as set forth under paragraph (k)(5) of this section, the Council may take action upon the affirmative vote of a majority of Council members present at a meeting.

f.

3.

The Council shall include in the annual report

that it submits under paragraph (k)(4)f.1. of this section how the Council spent any state funds received for the previous fiscal year.

an explanation of the spending of any state, federal, or other funds received. For purposes of this paragraph (k)(4)f.3., “state funds” means any state money allocated to the Council other than funding for staff positions.

4.

At each full council meeting, the Council shall provide a report to meeting attendees on how it has, since the previous full council meeting, spent any state funding received.

[Repealed.]

g. The Council may hold a virtual meeting in compliance with § 10006A of Title 29, except that the Council is permitted to have a staff member present at an anchor location in lieu of or in addition to having a member of the council present.

(5)

a. The Council shall employ an Executive Director to be appointed by the Chair with approval of a

quorum

majority

of the

full membership of the

Council. The Executive Director will serve at the pleasure of a

quorum

majority

of the

full membership of the

Council.

A vacant position is not counted for purposes of calculating full membership of the Council under this paragraph (k)(5).

c.

Subject to the approval of a quorum of the Council and within

Within

the limits of any appropriation made by the General Assembly or available funding from another funding source, the Executive Director of the Council shall employ staff and contract for services as necessary to carry out the functions of the Council.

SYNOPSIS

This Act makes changes to the operating requirements for the Delaware Anti-Trafficking Action Council.

It reduces the members required for quorum from 13 to 10. Since the quorum requirement has been reduced to less than a majority of the Council, the bill also specifies that the Council may generally take action upon the vote of a majority of members present at a meeting, but that a majority vote of the Council members is required to approve the appointment of an Executive Director. Consistent with current practice, the Executive Director has the authority to hire staff and contract for services within the limits of available funds.

The Act also revises the reporting on funds spent to be part of the annual report and include state, federal, or other funding received by the Council other than State-funded positions. At the present time, the Council does not receive state funding other than allocated personnel positions.

Finally, the Act allows the Council to have a virtual meeting with a physical location open to the public (anchor location) so long as a staff member of the Council is present at the anchor location. Without this authorization, a member of the Council would be required to attend at the anchor location in order to comply with the State’s open meeting rules.