Compiling a Delaware Legislative History

Widener Law Home | Law Library | Research | Online Resources | Delaware Resources | Compiling a Delaware Legislative History

The information on this page was compiled by Janet Lindenmuth, Reference/Electronic Services Librarian, Widener University School of Law.

This page includes:

• Purpose of Legislative History
• The Delaware Legislative Process
• Legislative Documents
• Compiling a Legislative History
• Delaware Public Archives
• Legislative History of Delaware Corporation Law

Purpose of Legislative History
A legislative history is a compilation of documents relating to a piece of legislation. These documents are compiled to discover the intent of the legislature in passing the law.

The Delaware Legislative Process
The legislative process in Delaware is similar to the federal legislative process. For more information on the Delaware legislative process see the General Assembly's website: http://legis.delaware.gov/.

Much of the legislation passed in the Delaware General Assembly is done in caucus, with little debate. For this reason, there are few legislative documents published and legislative intent can be difficult to find.

Legislative Documents
The basic documents of Delaware legislative history are listed below. Information on the paper documents refers to copies in the Widener Legal Information Center.

• Delaware Code Annotated -- codified laws are published in the Delaware Code Annotated
  • Paper - call number KFD30 1974 .A24, 1 copy on closed reserve, 1 copy in Treatise section, older versions of the Delaware Code in archives.
  • Internet - An unannotated version of the current Delaware Code is available at www.delcode.state.de.us
  • Lexis - DECODE database
  • Westlaw - DE-ST or DE-ST-ANN
• Laws of Delaware - Passed acts are published in the Laws of Delaware. These are the session laws of the state of Delaware.
  • Paper - call number KFD25 .D4, 1 copy in special collections (1776-current)
  • Lexis - DE Advanced Legislative Service database (1989-current)
  • Westlaw - DE-LEGIS and DE-LEGIS-OLD (1990-current)
• Delaware House and Senate Journals - House and Senate Journals are published for each session of the General Assembly. The Journals give information on who sponsored each bill; the voting record and the date the Governor signed the bill. Additionally, the Journals contain the minutes of the proceedings of the General Assembly prior to 1967.
  • House Journal
  • Paper - call number KFD18 .H6 (1905-current)
  • Microfilm - (1792-current)
  • Senate Journal
  • Paper - call number KFD18 .S4 (1899-current)
  • Microfilm - (1776-current)
  • Internet - House and Senate Journals are not available on the internet, although some of the information in them (bill sponsors, voting records, etc.) can be found on the General Assembly's webpage www.legis.state.de.us
• Delaware Bills and Resolutions - The bill and its amendments (passed and not passed) are found in Delaware Bills and Resolutions.
  • Paper - call number KFD6 .A2, 1 copy in Treatise section (1976-current)
  • Microfilm - (1961-1976)
  • Earlier bills can be ordered from the Delaware Archives, 302-744-5000
  • Internet - Bills from the current session are available in the "Bill Tracking" section of the General Assembly's webpage www.legis.state.de.us. For bills from earlier sessions (139th session onward), click on "Bill Tracking Archive"
  • Lexis - DE Advanced Legislative Service database (1989-current)
  • Westlaw - DE-BILLS and DE-BILLS-OLD(1991-current)
• The Synopsis Note - Beginning in the mid-1970s, synopsis notes have been attached to all bills and amendments to bills. The synopsis note gives a brief statement of the purpose of the bill. The synopsis note will only be found on the bill, not in the Laws of Delaware or Delaware Code.
  • Paper - at the end of the bill in Delaware Bills and Resolutions - call number KFD6 .A2
  • Internet - at the end of the bill in the Bill Tracking section of www.legis.state.de.us (1997-current)
  • Lexis - DE Advanced Legislative Service database (1989-current).
  • Westlaw - on the bill in the DE-BILLS database (current session only) or DE-LEGIS or DE-LEGIS-OLD (1990-current)

Compiling a Legislative History

• Find the History of a Code Section
  
  To research the history of a particular section of the Delaware Code, look at the end of the section as it is published in the Delaware Code. In parentheses you will find the history of the code section.
  
  For instance 8 Del. Code §101 has this history: (8 Del. C. 1953, § 101; 56 Del. Laws, c. 50; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 587, § 1; 71 Del. Laws, c. 339, § 1.) This means it was in the Code of 1953, and has been revised 4 times, by acts that were published in volumes 56, 70 (chapters 186 and 587) and 71 of the Laws of Delaware.
  
  
• Find the bill number and date of an act
  
  To research the legislative history of a particular act you will need to find the bill number. Look the act up in Laws of Delaware and the bill number will be given in the heading before the act. The date the act was approved can be found at the end of the act.
  
  Using the example above 71 Del. Laws, c. 339, § 1 was formerly Senate Bill no. 311 and was approved June 29, 1998.
  
  
• Find the bill and any amendments
  
  Using the date and bill number, locate the bill in the Bills and Resolutions for that session. Any amendments or proposed amendments will be filed directly after the bill.
  
  
• Locate the synopsis notes
  
  The synopsis note, which is at the end of the bill, is the main source of legislative intent available. The note may be one or two sentences or can be several paragraphs long. Also, be sure to look at the synopsis notes for any amendments to the bill, passed or not passed.
  
  
• Research online
  
  It is possible to compile a Delaware legislative history online, but only for recent acts (within the last 5 years or so). To research older acts you must use paper sources.
  
  
  • Internet - Bills, amendments, and their synopsis notes are on the Delaware General Assembly's website www.legis.state.de.us from the 139th (1997-1998) session on. Unfortunately the interface for each session is different and can be difficult to use.
  • Westlaw - Bills, amendments and their synopsis notes from 1991 on are in the DE-BILLS and DE-BILLS-OLD databases.
  • Lexis - Bills, amendments and their synopsis notes are in the DE Advanced Legislative Service database (1989-current).

Delaware Public Archives
The Delaware Public Archives maintains a collection of primary materials and records of the General Assembly. These include audiotapes of House and Senate floor activities, bills, individual legislator's papers and other records. For more information see the Archives webpage: www.state.de.us/sos/dpa or call 302-744-5000.

Legislative History of Delaware Corporation Law
When doing legislative history of a section of the Delaware General Corporation Law it is easiest to start with Balotti and Finkelstein's Delaware Law of Corporations and Business Organizations (Reserve KFD213 .B35) or Folk on the Delaware General Corporation Law (Reserve KFD213 .F59). Both sources give a history of each code section (usually to the 1960s or 1970s), and reproduce the synopsis notes from amending bills.

Major amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law were made in 1967. The new law was drafted by the Delaware Corporation Law Revision Committee. Information on the work of this Committee can be found in Review of the Delaware Corporation Law by Ernest L. Folk (Special collections KFD213 .F64 1968) and the Committee’s minutes (Special collections KFD213.A338 A19).  PDF copies of these documents and other information about the Committee are available on our website.