THE HONORABLE JEFFREY W. BULLOCK
Delaware Secretary of State
Jeffrey W. Bullock was sworn in as Delaware’s 80th Secretary of State on January 21, 2009. As Secretary of the most diverse department in state government, Bullock oversees nearly twenty different agencies including Corporations, Historical and Cultural Affairs, Arts, Libraries, Veterans Affairs, Professional Regulation, and Human Relations. In addition, Secretary Bullock has a number of constitutional responsibilities, including serving on the Board of Pardons.
Secretary Bullock has dedicated most of his professional career to public service. He shares Governor Jack Markell’s strong commitment to providing outstanding customer service and making state government work better for the people it serves. In his first two years as Secretary of State, Bullock has been a transformational leader in advancing Governor Markell’s priorities in the areas of education, job creation and more efficient and effective government.
Under Secretary Bullock’s direction, the Department of State continues to raise significant revenue for the State of Delaware. Through the Division of Corporations and the State Bank Commissioner, the Department contributed $915 million of net General Fund revenue in Fiscal Year 2010. The Division of Corporations continues to be a leader in new product development, recently unveiling a 30-minute expedited service for filings to further enhance service delivery.
Secretary Bullock has focused on maintaining Delaware’s preeminence as the “Corporate Capital of the World” by seeking to protect the State’s General Corporation Law from federal encroachment. For over a century, Delaware’s General Corporation Law has served as a model for other states. With a hands-on approach, Secretary Bullock has led a coordinated effort to prevent passage of federal legislation that would jeopardize Delaware’s unique position in corporate governance.
In 2009, Secretary Bullock brought the International Trade and Development Group (ITG) into the Secretary of State’s Office, leveraging the marketing “brand” of Delaware’s corporate law reputation to pursue economic development opportunities around the world. ITG has worked to expand Delaware exports and attract job-creating businesses including green industries such as wind turbine production.
Library improvements are also at the top of Secretary Bullock’s agenda. He signed an agreement to bring the New Castle County Libraries into the Delaware Library Catalog along with Kent and Sussex Counties, as well as other public, private and academic libraries. This development will dramatically increase the number of books, videos and other library holdings that are accessible to Delawareans throughout the State. Over the past two years, Bullock has also pushed for increased library construction and expansion, as well as new and expanded access to wireless internet technology, that will help Delaware improve its reputation for building a first-rate library system.
One of Secretary Bullock’s great interests is promoting the arts and arts organizations in Delaware to help them flourish, not only as cultural assets, but also as engines for economic growth. He has worked to establish public-private partnerships to help bring the arts to more people across the state and to expand statewide and regional marketing initiatives to boost arts audiences and attract visitors to our state.
Bullock and his leadership team have overseen a number of changes to make state government more efficient and better serve Delawareans. To improve citizen access to public records and information services, he co-located the Division of Archives, Division of Libraries and Government Information Center from three buildings to one. In addition to the financial benefits, this arrangement is boosting collaboration among the agencies, resulting in increased public access to government information both in our libraries and through social media on State of Delaware websites.
Secretary Bullock has also brought new leadership into the Delaware Veterans Home in Milford to ensure top-notch care for our veterans and to set this long-term care facility on a path of consistent improvement and excellence.
In December 2009, Delaware and the nation were rocked by a heart-wrenching revelation that a local pediatrician had abused more than 100 of his young patients over the course of more than a decade. In the months that have followed, Secretary Bullock and the Division of Professional Regulation’s leadership successfully sought landmark legislation to improve the oversight of medical professionals to better protect the public.
Recognizing the increase of prescription drug abuse and diversion in Delaware, Secretary Bullock and his team have launched an aggressive effort to combat this serious and deadly problem. The State’s new Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) requires pharmacies to submit critical information regarding the dispensing of controlled substances that can be accessed by physicians and other prescribers to track patient histories of controlled substance use. In addition, working with the Attorney General, Bullock is using his legal authority to revoke the licenses of doctors, pharmacists and pharmacies who have abused the privilege of prescribing or dispensing controlled substances.
Secretary Bullock has a wide range of executive public sector experience, including prominent roles in leading Delaware’s two largest governments. From 1994-2001, he served as the chief of staff to Governor Thomas R. Carper. More recently, Bullock was the Chief Administrative Officer for New Castle County, Delaware’s largest county.
Secretary Bullock is a native Delawarean who grew up in Claymont and holds a degree from the University of Delaware in Economics and Political Science. He lives in Wilmington with his wife, Susan Frank, and their two daughters, Kate and Caroline.
