SB 134

Abstract

This Act updates the Legislative Oversight and Sunset Act, the governing statute for the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee (“JLOSC”), to reflect updated and modern review practices and standards. The more significant changes include: - Establishing the term “entity” to denote the organization that is under review. “Agency” has been the term used, but when discussing JLOSC reviews, “agency” could mean either the organization under review or the more common usage of any State agency. Because JLOSC’s reviews routinely include references to or assistance from State agencies that are not under review, using the term “entity” to mean the organization that is under review creates a distinction intended to avoid confusion. - Clarifying quorum, including the impact of participating virtually in a meeting. - Creating a new type of review, a focused review, to replace the antiquated and rarely-used rules review and distinguish a focused review from a “full review.” A full review is the standard review that JLOSC has historically performed, in which the entire entity is assessed. A focused review, in contrast, looks at specific components within an entity. A focused review is a more efficient assessment when only certain areas of an entity need to be reviewed. - Clarifying JLOSC’s powers and duties, including updating JLOSC members’ duties versus staff duties to reflect current, modern practices. - Clearly establishing 3 types of reports produced in JLOSC’s work: self-reports from the entity under review, staff reports from JLOSC staff, and annual reports from JLOSC summarizing the work performed each year. - Codifying the confidentiality with which JLOSC and its staff have treated records from an entity under review and exceptions or waivers of confidentiality. - Establishing that a record protected against public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act does not lose its protection by virtue of the entity submitting the record as part of its review. - Clarifying the purpose and standard for conducting a performance evaluation. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Some of the types of technical corrections include changing the plural to the singular wherever appropriate and consistent with both the Drafting Manual and § 304 of Title 1; replacing passive voice with active voice; and, to increase readability, breaking down large, block paragraphs into lists where possible.