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In 1945 the Legislative Reference Bureau was created consisting of the Governor, the President Pro Tem of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.¹ They were to serve as members thereof during their term of office.
The Bureau was to prepare or cause to be prepared and drafted, bills and amendments, joint resolutions, resolutions, memorials revisions, and substitutes to be introduced to the General Assembly as requested by any member of the General Assembly.
The Bureau was to select such subjects of the statutory law as were deemed most in need of revision, and then to recommend revisions, amendments, simplification and/or rearrangement of existing statutory laws and the elimination and repeal of laws that were deemed obsolete.
It was the duty of the Bureau to collect all available information relating to any matter which was the subject of proposed legislation before the General Assembly.
This Bureau was responsible for answering any and all inquiries for abstracts, excerpts or copies of the laws of Delaware and of furnishing other information which might be sought by any State officer, department, commission, bureau, or agency.
All state officers, departments, bureaus, commissions or other state agencies were to refer to the Bureau any bills or amendments to laws which they had drafted between sessions of the General Assembly.
The Governor was to appoint an attorney-at-law, licensed to practice law in Delaware, as the executive director of the Bureau to carry out the above responsibilities. The executive director of the Bureau was to be the chief attorney for the Senate and the House of Representatives when in session and was appointed by the Governor to hold office at his pleasure.²
In May of 1966, a Legislative Council, consisting of 10 members of the General Assembly was created as follows: (1) From the Senate: the President Pro Tem, the Majority Leader, the Minority Leader, one member appointed by the President Pro Tem and one member appointed by the Minority Leader. (2) From the House; the Speaker of the House, the Majority Leader, the Minority Leader, one member appointed by the Speaker and one member appointed by the Minority Leader.³
Duties of the Council are the same as those of the Legislative Reference Bureau, including summarizing and digesting information on matters relating to the general welfare of the state; initiating necessary studies and recommending appropriate legislation; and cooperating with and assisting interim committees or commissions.
A Director of Research was appointed to organize and supervise the Research Division of the Council and to submit and publish such reports as the council directs. The Council is to submit an annual report of its activities to the members of the General Assembly and to the Governor; this report becomes part of the Journals of the Senate and House.
The Controller General appointed by the Council primarily works with and assists the Joint Finance Committee of the General Assembly.
The custody, sale and distribution of Session Laws and Legislative Journals is controlled by the Director of the Legislative Council.

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LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU/LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
In February of 1974 the Legislative Reference Bureau was abolished and all its duties assumed by the Legislative Council.⁴
In January of 1977 a “Division of Maintenance, Communications, and Capitol Security was established and placed under the direction and supervision of the Legislative Council.⁵ This division was shortly thereafter moved to the Department of Administrative Services.

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¹ 45 DL, ch. 296

² 55 DL, ch. 332

³ 55 DL, ch. 322

⁴ 59 DL, ch. 235

⁵ 61 DL, ch. 4
clf/March 28, 1988; April 23, 1988