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SPONSOR: Sen. Townsend & Sen. Seigfried & Rep. Harris
DELAWARE STATE SENATE
153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
SENATE BILL NO. 290
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC BODIES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
1 Section 1. Amend § 10004, Title 29 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and
2 insertions as shown by underline as follows:
3 § 10004. Open meetings.
4 (a) (3) A public body has not held a meeting under this chapter solely because a quorum of that public body does
5 either of the following:
6 a. Attends a meeting of another public body.
7 b. Serves as members of another public body holding a meeting.
SYNOPSIS
This Act clarifies that quorum does not define the identity of a public body. Under rules of parliamentary
procedure like Mason’s Manual or Robert’s Rules of Order, quorum is used to determine whether enough of a body is
present to conduct business. Under Delaware’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), quorum is used to determine whether
a public body is holding a “meeting” as defined under FOIA and therefore required to comply with open meeting
requirements. However, quorum is not, under parliamentary procedure or FOIA, dispositive to determining the identity of
the public body that is meeting. The governing document that creates the body determines the identity of the body under
parliamentary law and that, in addition to an examination of the actual public business being conducted, will guide answers
to questions about the identity of the public body for purposes of FOIA.
Author: Senator Townsend
DLS : CGW : AF Page 1 of 1 Released: 04/21/2026 02:46 PM
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