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SB177 • 2025

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO A TRANSPORTATION APPEALS BOARD.

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO A TRANSPORTATION APPEALS BOARD.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Hocker
Last action
2025-06-05
Official status
Senate Environment, Energy & Transportation 6/5/25
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide specific details on the budget or funding for running the Transportation Appeals Board.

Creating a Transportation Appeals Board in Delaware

This act establishes the Transportation Appeals Board within the Delaware Department of Transportation to handle appeals related to transportation decisions.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates a new Transportation Appeals Board inside DelDOT, which is like a court that listens to complaints about transportation decisions made by DelDOT.
  • The Board has seven members appointed by the Governor for up to three-year terms. The Governor can initially appoint some members for shorter terms to ensure staggered expiration of terms.
  • People who disagree with DelDOT's decisions on permits or grants have 20 days to appeal to the Board after receiving a decision from DelDOT.
  • The Board must hold a hearing within 30 days of an appeal and give its decision in writing within 90 days after the hearing ends.
  • If someone disagrees with the Board's decision, they can take it to Superior Court for further review.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who are affected by DelDOT’s decisions on transportation permits or grants.
  • DelDOT and its Department of Transportation.

Terms To Know

quasi-judicial
A process that is like a court but not exactly one, where people can appeal decisions made by government agencies.
staggered terms
When the end dates of different positions are spread out so they don’t all expire at once.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if someone misses a deadline to appeal.
  • It is unclear how many people will be affected by this new board in practice.
  • There is no information on the budget or funding for running the Transportation Appeals Board.

Bill History

  1. 2025-06-05 Delaware General Assembly

    Introduced and Assigned to Environment, Energy & Transportation Committee in Senate

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO A TRANSPORTATION APPEALS BOARD.
This Act creates a Transportation Appeals Board (“Board”) within the Delaware Department of Transportation (“DelDOT”). The Board is a quasi-judicial body that hears appeals of DelDOT actions such as grants or denials of transportation-related permits. The Board consists of 7 members (2 from each county and a Chair) who are appointed by the Governor for terms of up to 3 years. The Governor is initially permitted to appoint members for less than 3 years to ensure that terms expire on a staggered basis. A Board member can serve no more than 2 consecutive full terms. This Act also adds the newly created Board to the list of agencies to which Chapter 101 of Title 29, regarding administrative procedures, applies.

In creating the Transportation Appeals Board, which is modeled on and intended to function like the Environmental Appeals Board in Title 7, this Act gives businesses and members of the public who are substantially affected by DelDOT actions a process by which they can appeal those actions. Under that process, a party aggrieved by a DelDOT decision has 20 days from receipt or publication of the decision to appeal to the Board. Within 30 days of receiving that appeal, the Board must schedule a hearing on the matter, which must be conducted within 180 days following the receipt of the appeal, and must be conducted in accordance with Chapter 101 of Title 29. The Board then has 90 days to give a written decision. If the aggrieved party disagrees with the Board’s decision, that party may, within 30 days of the Board’s decision, make an appeal to the Superior Court.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Sen. Hocker & Rep. Carson

Sens. Buckson, Lawson, Pettyjohn, Richardson, Wilson; Reps. Bolden, Collins, D. Short

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE BILL NO. 177

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO A TRANSPORTATION APPEALS BOARD.

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

Section 1. Amend Chapter 84, Title 29 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 8423. Establishment of Transportation Appeals Board; members; terms; removal; quorum.

(a) The Transportation Appeals Board (“Board”) is hereby created. The Board is a quasi-judicial review board that is constituted to hear appeals of decisions of the Department.

(b) The Board consists of 7 Delaware residents who are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Governor shall appoint 2 members from each county and shall appoint a Chair who may reside in any county and who serves at the Governor’s pleasure. No more than a simple majority of the Board may be of one political party.

(c) The Board shall annually elect a Vice-Chair and other officers as it deems necessary from among its members.

(d) Each member of the Board is appointed for a term of up to 3 years and may serve no more than 2 consecutive full terms. The Governor may initially appoint a member for a term of less than 3 years to ensure terms expire on a staggered basis.

(e) A member of the Board receives no compensation but may be reimbursed for the member’s actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of the member’s official duties.

(f) The Governor may remove a member of the Board for gross inefficiency, misfeasance, nonfeasance, malfeasance, or neglect of duty in office.

(1) A member is deemed in neglect of duty in office if the member is absent from 3 consecutive Board meetings without good cause or fails to attend at least 50% of all regular Board meetings in a calendar year.

(2) A member who is deemed in neglect of duty is deemed to have resigned.

(g) The Governor shall fill any vacancies in Board membership for the remainder of the unexpired term.

(h) A member of the Board with a personal or private financial interest in the outcome of an appeal before the Board is disqualified from any consideration of that matter and must inform the Chair, who must note such interest on the record of the hearing.

(i) A majority of the members must be present at a Board meeting in order to have a quorum and conduct official business. A vacancy on the Board is not counted for quorum.

(j) The Board may issue a subpoena for a witness and compel the witness’s attendance or compel the production of a document, book, record, paper, or other object that may be necessary or proper for the purpose of deciding an appeal. Testimony taken under subpoena must be given under oath subject to the penalties of perjury and must be reduced to writing.

(k) The Board may administer oaths to witnesses and conduct prehearing conferences for the simplification of issues by consent, for the disposal of procedural requests or disputes, or to regulate and expedite the course of a hearing.

(

l

) The Board may adopt procedural rules to carry out its functions under §§ 8423 through 8425 of this title.

(m) The Department shall provide reasonable staff support to assist the Board in performing its duties under §§ 8423 through 8425 of this title.

§ 8424. Appeals to Transportation Appeals Board.

(a) A person whose interest is substantially affected by an action of the Department may appeal to the Transportation Appeals Board within 20 days after receipt of the Department’s decision or publication of the decision. The Board shall conduct a public hearing for the appeal in accordance with Chapter 101 of Title 29. Deliberations of the Board may be conducted in executive session.

(b) When the Board receives an appeal, the Board shall schedule a hearing within 30 days following the receipt of the appeal. The Board shall conduct a hearing within 180 days following the receipt of the appeal. The Board may verbally announce its decision at the conclusion of the hearing. A written decision must be mailed to the parties by certified mail within 90 days after the completion of the hearing. If the Board fails to conduct the hearing or to issue the written decision as required, the decision of the Department is considered a final decision for the purposes of appeal.

(c) The record before the Board on appeal must include the entire record before the Department. Each party to the appeal may appear personally or by counsel at the hearing and may produce any competent evidence on that party’s behalf. The Board may exclude evidence that is plainly irrelevant, immaterial, insubstantial, cumulative, or unduly repetitive, and may limit unduly repetitive proof, rebuttal, and cross-examination.

(d) The burden of proof in an appeal is upon the appellant to show that the Department’s decision is not supported by the evidence on the record before the Board. The Board may affirm, reverse, or remand with instructions an appeal of a case decision before the Department.

(e) An appeal of a regulation must be on the record before the Department. The Board may hear new evidence if it is relevant to or clarifies an issue in the record before the Department. The Board may exclude new evidence that is plainly irrelevant, immaterial, insubstantial, cumulative, or unduly repetitive. A regulation is presumed valid, and the burden is upon the appellant to show that the regulation is arbitrary and capricious, or adopted without a reasonable basis in the record. The Board shall take due account of the Department’s experience and specialized competence and of the purposes of this chapter in making its determination. The Board may affirm, reverse, or remand any appeal of a regulation that the Department promulgates.

(f) Each member of the Board who votes must indicate the nature of the member’s vote in the written decision.

(g) There may be no appeal of the Department’s decision to deny a permit on a matter involving state-owned land, including subaqueous lands, except for an appeal based on the sole ground that the decision was discriminatory in that the applicant, whose circumstances are like or similar to those of other applicants, was not afforded like or similar treatment.

(h) An appeal under this section does not automatically stay an action of the Department, but upon application and for good cause, the Department or the Court of Chancery may stay the action pending disposition of the appeal.

(i) After an appeal is filed with the Board, the parties may, by stipulation, proceed directly to Superior Court, in which case the Court may affirm, reverse, or remand the Department’s decision based on the record before the Department and the Board and other evidence the parties may submit by stipulation. The standard of review for an appeal is governed by subsections (d) and (e) of this section.

(j) If the Board concludes that an immediate or expedited review of a decision of the Department is appropriate or necessary, the Board may hold a public hearing on the appeal at the earliest possible time and issue a decision on the appeal. If the Board concludes that an immediate or expedited review of a decision of the Department is appropriate or necessary, the notice requirements of this section and of Chapter 101 of Title 29 do not apply, and the Board shall give advance notice of the hearing only to the extent reasonably possible.

§ 8425. Appeals from the Transportation Appeals Board’s decision.

(a) A person or an officer, department, board, or bureau of this State aggrieved by a decision of the Board may appeal to the Superior Court (“Court”) in and for the county in which the activity in question is wholly or principally located. An appeal under this section must be made within 30 days of the receipt of the Board’s written decision.

(b) The Court may affirm, reverse, or modify the Board’s decision. The Court may not set aside the Board’s finding of fact unless the Court determines that the records contain no substantial evidence that would reasonably support the findings. If the Court finds that additional evidence should be taken, the Court may remand the case to the Board for completion of the record.

(c) An appeal under this section does not automatically stay an action of the Department. Upon application and for good cause, the Board or the Court of Chancery may stay the action pending the disposition of the appeal.

Section 2. Amend § 10161, Title 29 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 10161. State agencies affected.

(a) This chapter shall apply only to the following agencies:

(51) Board of Home

Inspectors; and

Inspectors;

(52) Board of Elevator

Mechanics.

Mechanics; and

(53) Transportation Appeals Board.

SYNOPSIS

This Act creates a Transportation Appeals Board (“Board”) within the Delaware Department of Transportation (“DelDOT”). The Board is a quasi-judicial body that hears appeals of DelDOT actions such as grants or denials of transportation-related permits. The Board consists of 7 members (2 from each county and a Chair) who are appointed by the Governor for terms of up to 3 years. The Governor is initially permitted to appoint members for less than 3 years to ensure that terms expire on a staggered basis. A Board member can serve no more than 2 consecutive full terms. This Act also adds the newly created Board to the list of agencies to which Chapter 101 of Title 29, regarding administrative procedures, applies.

In creating the Transportation Appeals Board, which is modeled on and intended to function like the Environmental Appeals Board in Title 7, this Act gives businesses and members of the public who are substantially affected by DelDOT actions a process by which they can appeal those actions. Under that process, a party aggrieved by a DelDOT decision has 20 days from receipt or publication of the decision to appeal to the Board. Within 30 days of receiving that appeal, the Board must schedule a hearing on the matter, which must be conducted within 180 days following the receipt of the appeal, and must be conducted in accordance with Chapter 101 of Title 29. The Board then has 90 days to give a written decision. If the aggrieved party disagrees with the Board’s decision, that party may, within 30 days of the Board’s decision, make an appeal to the Superior Court.

Author: Senator Hocker