Bill Commons

DE HB 287

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 AND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE JOINT LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT AND SUNSET COMMITTEE.

Delaware · 2025-2026 Regular Session (153rd General Assembly) · lower

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Quick answers

Did DE HB 287 pass?

Yes. DE HB 287 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-05-21): Signed by Governor

What is DE HB 287 about?

This Act changes the name of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee to "the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee." When the Committee was first codified in 1980, it was named the "the Joint Sunset Committee." In 2016, the Committee voted to change its name to "the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee." The Committee had "sunsetted" only 2 reviewed entities up to that point. Because "sunsetting" was only one of the Committee's many functions and used the function rarely, its name had grown confusing to the public. Adding "Legislative Oversight" more fully represented the Committee's purpose. Over the last 7 years, the Committee has reviewed 40 entities and "sunsetted" only 6 of them. In January 2026, the Committee voted to update its name to more accurately reflect its evolved purpose. Like most similar committees in other states, Delaware's committee has significantly downsized its focus on the "sunsetting" process in favor of conducting oversight and performance evaluation. This Act does not eliminate or lessen the Committee's authority to "sunset" an entity when a review demonstrates that doing so is the best outcome, and this Act does not amend the Committee's overall authority, focus, or purpose. This Act also makes a technical correction to the title of Chapter 102, Title 29.

Who sponsors DE HB 287?

Bryant L. Richardson, Nicole Poore, Brian Pettyjohn and 8 others are the primary sponsors of DE HB 287, joined by 8 cosponsors.

Description

This Act changes the name of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee to "the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee." When the Committee was first codified in 1980, it was named the "the Joint Sunset Committee." In 2016, the Committee voted to change its name to "the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee." The Committee had "sunsetted" only 2 reviewed entities up to that point. Because "sunsetting" was only one of the Committee's many functions and used the function rarely, its name had grown confusing to the public. Adding "Legislative Oversight" more fully represented the Committee's purpose. Over the last 7 years, the Committee has reviewed 40 entities and "sunsetted" only 6 of them. In January 2026, the Committee voted to update its name to more accurately reflect its evolved purpose. Like most similar committees in other states, Delaware's committee has significantly downsized its focus on the "sunsetting" process in favor of conducting oversight and performance evaluation. This Act does not eliminate or lessen the Committee's authority to "sunset" an entity when a review demonstrates that doing so is the best outcome, and this Act does not amend the Committee's overall authority, focus, or purpose. This Act also makes a technical correction to the title of Chapter 102, Title 29.

Introduced
2026-01-29
Latest action
2026-05-21 — Signed by Governor
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • Bryant L. Richardsonprimary
  • Nicole Pooreprimary
  • Brian Pettyjohnprimary
  • Russell Huxtableprimary
  • Melanie Ross Levinprimary
  • Josue O Ortegaprimary
  • Valerie Jones Giltnerprimary
  • Richard G. Collinsprimary
  • Claire Snyder-Hallprimary
  • Cyndie Romerprimary
  • Kyra L. Hoffnerprimary
  • Richard G. Collinscosponsor
  • Valerie Jones Giltnercosponsor
  • Josue O Ortegacosponsor
  • Melanie Ross Levincosponsor
  • Russell Huxtablecosponsor
  • Brian Pettyjohncosponsor
  • Nicole Poorecosponsor
  • Bryant L. Richardsoncosponsor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-05-21

    Signed by Governor

    executive-signature

  2. 2026-05-07

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 19 YES 2 ABSENT

    passage

  3. 2026-05-06

    Reported Out of Committee (Legislative Oversight & Sunset) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 3 On Its Merits

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  4. 2026-04-21

    Assigned to Legislative Oversight & Sunset Committee in Senate

    introduction,referral-committee

  5. 2026-04-21

    Passed By House. Votes: 37 YES 1 NO 3 ABSENT

    passage

  6. 2026-04-14

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

    committee-passage

  7. 2026-01-29

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

    introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • SM

    2026-04-21 · pass · 37-1

    Member-level votes (41)
    • Alonna Berry: yes
    • Stephanie T. Bolden: yes
    • Frank Burns: yes
    • William Bush: yes
    • William J. Carson: yes
    • Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha: yes
    • Richard G. Collins: yes
    • Franklin D. Cooke: yes
    • Daniel B. Short: yes
    • Timothy D. Dukes: yes
    • Mara Gorman: yes
    • Ronald E. Gray: yes
    • Krista Griffith: yes
    • Kerri Evelyn Harris: other
    • Debra Heffernan: yes
    • Kevin S Hensley: yes
    • Jeff Hilovsky: yes
    • Valerie Jones Giltner: yes
    • Kendra Johnson: yes
    • Kimberly Williams: yes
    • Kamela T Smith: other
    • Larry Lambert: yes
    • Sean M. Lynn: yes
    • Michael F. Smith: yes
    • Melissa Minor-Brown: yes
    • Shannon Morris: other
    • Eric Morrison: yes
    • DeShanna U Neal: yes
    • Josue O Ortega: yes
    • Edward S. Osienski: yes
    • Sophie Phillips: yes
    • Charles S Postles Jr.: yes
    • Cyndie Romer: yes
    • Melanie Ross Levin: yes
    • Sherae'a Moore: yes
    • Bryan W. Shupe: no
    • Claire Snyder-Hall: yes
    • Jeffrey N. Spiegelman: yes
    • Jesse R. Vanderwende: yes
    • Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
    • Lyndon D. Yearick: yes

  • SM

    2026-05-07 · pass · 19-0

    Member-level votes (21)
    • Darius J. Brown: yes
    • Eric Buckson: other
    • Daniel Cruce: yes
    • Stephanie L. Hansen: other
    • Gerald W. Hocker: yes
    • Kyra L. Hoffner: yes
    • Russell Huxtable: yes
    • Dave G. Lawson: yes
    • S. Elizabeth Lockman: yes
    • Spiros Mantzavinos: yes
    • Trey Paradee: yes
    • Brian Pettyjohn: yes
    • Marie Pinkney: yes
    • Nicole Poore: yes
    • Bryant L. Richardson: yes
    • Ray Seigfried: yes
    • David P. Sokola: yes
    • Laura V. Sturgeon: yes
    • Bryan Townsend: yes
    • John "Jack" Walsh: yes
    • David L. Wilson: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=142849

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-10-24T12:45:38.665674Z

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