| HA 1 to SCR 18 | PWB | Hilovsky | This amendment requires the Task Force created by SCR 18 to also explore nuclear fusion energy generation technology. | |
| HA 1 to HB 57 | PWB | Morrison | This Amendment will aid both consumers and contractors by adding clarity to HB 57. Established Delaware contract law prohibits a penalty provision in a contract. Because consumers are unaware of the invalidity of such a provision, they frequently do not know they may challenge such a provision and are put in a position in which they believe they have no choice but to pay such penalties. This Amendment will inform well-meaning contractors so that they don’t use boilerplate contracts from other states that have such a provision. | |
| SB 100 | Committee | Huxtable | This Act is the first leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution establishing that the right to marry is a fundamental right and that Delaware and its political subdivisions shall recognize marriages and issue marriage licenses to couples regardless of gender. The right to marry regardless of gender does not infringe upon the right to freedom of religion because religious organizations and members of the clergy have the right to refuse to solemnize a marriage.
Amending the Delaware Constitution requires not only the passing of the changes in this Act, but also passage of the same changes after the next general election by the next General Assembly.
This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the Delaware Constitution. | AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE I OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO THE RIGHT TO MARRY. |
| SB 83 | Committee | Huxtable | This Act amends the long-term care resident’s bill of rights to provide that residents may not be subject to discrimination based on their membership in a protected class. Specifically, this Act does the following:
1. Adds “or domestic partner” to the provision of the resident’s bill of rights that gives spouses the right to visit and, if feasible and not medically contraindicated, to share a room if both are residents of the facility. This addition is being made to ensure that domestic partnerships entered into in other states are recognized.
2. Adds a non-discrimination provision to § 1121 of Title 16, which enumerates the rights of residents of long-term care facilities.
3. Requires the Department of Health and Social Services (“Department”) to provide a revised notice of resident rights under § 1121 of Title 16 to each resident or the resident’s authorized representative within 30 days of any changes to those rights.
4. Requires each facility to provide appropriate staff training whenever there is a revision to the resident’s bill of rights within 60 days of that revision.
The purpose of this Act is to protect long-term care facility residents from discrimination and to ensure that residents, their representatives, and facility staff are aware of residents’ rights. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE RIGHTS OF RESIDENTS OF LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES. |
| SB 84 | Committee | Huxtable | This Act strengthens Delaware’s existing Right to Farm laws by expanding protections for agricultural operations against nuisance lawsuits. Specifically, this Act removes the current requirement that an agricultural operation have existed for 1 year or more in order to benefit from statutory protections against nuisance suits. Under this Act, an agricultural operation cannot be deemed a nuisance as long as it is operating in accordance with all applicable local, state, and federal requirements and is not being conducted in a negligent or improper manner. This protection cannot be used against a federal, state, or local agency that is enforcing air, water quality, or other environmental standards under federal, state, or local law.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 3 AND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS. |
| SB 85 | Committee | Huxtable | This Act creates the criminal offense of endangering the welfare of a vulnerable adult. A person found guilty of endangering the welfare of a vulnerable adult is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 28 of Article IV of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO VULNERABLE ADULTS. |
| SB 86 | Committee | Huxtable | Currently, the Delaware Volunteer Fire Service Revolving Loan Fund may only obtain funding from the General Assembly through appropriation. This Act would allow for funding and donations to be made by any person, charitable organizations, and counties of the State. When a county contributes to the Fund, the Act requires the Fund ensure county specific contributions are spent on loans to fire companies within that county.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE VOLUNTEER FIRE SERVICE REVOLVING LOAN FUND. |
| HS 1 for HB 15 | Out of Committee | S. Moore | Like House Bill No. 15, this Act permits early childhood educators in the public schools to use and encourage play-based learning in their classrooms and in their curriculum. This Act permits local education agencies to provide early childhood professional development in play-based learning, which may include professional development programs developed by the Department of Education. This Act also permits the Department to promulgate regulations for purposes of implementing this Act.
This House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 15 incorporates the changes from House Amendment 1 to House Bill No. 15 with respect to the definitions of early childhood education and early childhood educators encompassing education from prekindergarten through second grade, adding topics that may be included in materials developed to provide ongoing early childhood professional development in play-based learning, and making technical corrections for clarity.
This House Substitute also updates the definition of “play” and “play-based learning” contained in House Bill No. 15 and adds a definition for “guided play”. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PLAY-BASED LEARNING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION. |
| SB 87 | Committee | Huxtable | Accessory dwelling units (ADUs), also known as in-law units or garage apartments, are valuable and convenient forms of housing that can help to increase Delaware’s housing supply. In order to expand affordable housing opportunities, this Act requires local governments to permit the construction of ADUs within their jurisdictions without prohibitive barriers or onerous application or zoning requirements.
This Act carries a 2/3 vote requirement as it may indirectly affect municipal charters.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 25 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO HOUSING. |
| HS 1 for HB 83 | Committee | Wilson-Anton | This House Substitute No. 1 provides that if a school board allows school board members to attend meetings remotely through electronic means, then permission to attend remotely must be granted in the case of any of the following: illness of the school board member; illness of an individual in the school board member’s family where that individual requires caretaking; a public health emergency; pregnancy or immediate postpartum care responsibilities of the school board member or the school board member’s spouse or partner; or military deployment of the school board member.
This substitute for House Bill No. 83 differs from the original in that it does not require school boards to allow remote attendance. But if the school board does allow remote attendance, it provides the permissible reasons remote attendance may be allowed, allows a school board to limit the number of times permission to attend remotely may be granted, and indicates that a school board may not add to the statutory reasons for remote attendance. It also expands the permissible reasons from the original bill to include pregnancy or postpartum complications of a board member’s spouse or partner. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS. |
| HS 1 for HB 13 | Committee | Lynn | This Act adjusts the existing personal income tax brackets and applicable tax rates. Like under House Bill No. 13, under House Substitute No. 1 for HB 13, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025, income between $60,000 and $125,000 will continue to be taxed at a rate of 6.6%, but income above $125,000 will be taxed at higher rates. The result of the changes under this Act will be that those with a taxable income of $134,667 or less will see no increase in personal income taxes, with 92% of Delaware taxpayers receiving an overall tax decrease.
House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 13 differs from HB 13 as follows:
• Creates additional tax brackets for taxable income not in excess of $60,000.
• Decreases the tax rate for all tax brackets for taxable income not in excess of $60,000.
• Creates 3 additional tax brackets for taxable income above $60,000 instead of 2.
In addition, HS 1 for HB 13 is named the “The John Kowalko, Jr., Fairness in Taxation Act”. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PERSONAL INCOME TAX. |
| SB 89 | Committee | Huxtable | This Act prohibits a seller that regularly accepts payment by credit card from (1) imposing a credit card surcharge greater than the percentage processing fee charged by the credit card company, for transactions of $1,500 or less, and (2) refusing to accept payment by credit card or imposing any credit card surcharge, for transactions that exceed $1,500. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CREDIT CARD TRANSACTIONS. |
