| SCR 180 | Passed Senate | Buckson | This Senate Concurrent Resolution designates May 6, 2026, as “International Wishbone Day” in the State of Delaware. | DESIGNATING MAY 6, 2026, AS “INTERNATIONAL WISHBONE DAY” IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE. |
| HA 1 to SB 27 | PWB | Ortega | This Amendment does all of the following:
(1) Requires the Office of New Americans (“Office”) to develop strategies to retain immigrant and international students in higher education, convene stakeholders to identify and reduce exploitation and fraud against immigrants, disseminate information about legal services available to new Americans, and coordinate with the State Refugee Coordinator.
(2) Authorizes the Office to raise outside funds and enter into memonanda of understanding and other agreements as necessary to fulfill its statutory duties.
(3) Provides that certain records of the Office are not “public records” under the Freedom of Information Act to protect the privacy of individuals that may seek services or resources from the Office.
(4) Removes certain members from the Advisory Committee to the Office of New Americans (“Advisory Committee”) and replaces them with the Secretary of State, Attorney General, a member of the public appointed by the Governor, a member of the public appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and a member of the public appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
(5) Removes a provision requiring the Advisory Committee to hold 1 public hearing each year to receive public comment because § 10004(a)(2) of Title 29 requires each public body to provide an opportunity for public comment at each meeting. | |
| SB 304 | Committee | Buckson | This Act does the following:
(1) Makes clear that charter schools and private schools may employ a constable or employ or contract for a qualified retired law-enforcement officer to provide security.
(2) Creates an exemption in the Safe School Zone law enacted in 2023, Chapter 175 of Volume 84 of the Laws of Delaware (House Bill No. 201, 152nd General Assembly), for an individual authorized by a private school to serve a “sentry”, an individual authorized by the school to carry a firearm or projectile weapon in a Safe School Zone if certain training and notice requirements are complied with.
Not every school is able to afford to hire a constable or a police officer who is a school resource officer. Therefore, the General Assembly finds that it is necessary to permit private schools in this State to employ or contract for individuals to serve as a sentry for these schools.
The following states have also provided a similar exemption to their equivalent of the Safe School Zone law for a sentry: Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO POSSESSION OF A FIREARM OR PROJECTILE WEAPON IN A SAFE SCHOOL ZONE. |
| HA 1 to HB 405 | PWB | Carson | House Amendment No. 1 to House Bill No. 405 removes "retirement benefits" from the exemption from state income tax. | |
| SB 305 | Committee | Paradee | This bill creates a special license plate for Delaware State University to support student access, academic excellence, and university programs that advance the institution’s mission. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES. |
| SB 306 | Committee | Huxtable | This Act amends the City of Rehoboth Beach’s Charter by making all of the following changes requested by The Commissioners of the City of Rehoboth Beach (Rehoboth Beach):
1. Adds qualifications for candidates to be eligible for election or appointment to serve as a member of The Commissioners, including the Mayor, and requires a candidate to file an affidavit of eligibility attesting that the candidate meets the required qualifications. A candidate for election or appointment must meet all of the following qualifications:
- The candidate is not a spouse, domestic partner, or cohabitant of a serving member of The Commissioners.
- The candidate does not share a financial interest with a serving member of The Commissioners
2. Eliminates mileage reimbursement for non-resident Commissioners.
3. Updates the process for fixing the salaries for members of The Commissioners, including the Mayor, by allowing The Commissioners to fix the salaries by ordinance. An ordinance to increase salaries may not take effect earlier than 6 months after the ordinance is adopted.
4. Eliminates the Mayor’s civil and criminal jurisdiction because Rehoboth Beach has an Alderman and Assistant Alderman with civil and criminal jurisdiction. Also eliminates the Mayor’s duty to keep a docket of official acts and to report fines the Mayor imposes because the Mayor’s Court is eliminated. The Alderman and Assistant Alderman are required to record all official acts in the Alderman’s docket. Also, information regarding actions taken by the Mayor and the other Commissioners is available on Rehoboth Beach’s public website.
5. Adds a new subsection under Section 13 of the Charter to clarify that the Mayor retains the power to solemnize marriages in Rehoboth Beach, even though the Mayor’s Court is eliminated.
6. Eliminates the penalties for the Mayor failing to return documents and moneys belonging to Rehoboth Beach at the end of the Mayor’s term. Due to advancements in technology, the Mayor does not physically hold moneys belonging to Rehoboth Beach and documents belonging to Rehoboth Beach are stored electronically.
7. For violating an ordinance, increases the maximum fine from $500 to $2,500 and removes the penalties of imprisonment and being ordered to work while imprisoned.
8. Updates the Auditors of Accounts section to do all of the following:
- Require the appointment of 1 certified public accountant or accounting firm to serve as an independent Auditor of Accounts (Auditor) for a 5-year term.
- Prohibit reappointment of an Auditor until the expiration of 5 years since the Auditor last served.
- Remove the requirement that the Auditor to be a substantial freeholder in Rehoboth Beach.
- Change publication of the auditor’s report from a newspaper to the Rehoboth Beach website.
9. Removes the minimum valuation for real estate or improvements subject to assessment.
10. Adds the option for Rehoboth Beach to adopt county assessments for municipal tax purposes in compliance with Chapter 11 of Title 22 of the Delaware Code.
11. If Rehoboth Beach does not adopt county assessments, requires the Tax Assessor must reassess property at least every 5 years, to mirror the county reassessments required under § 8306 of Title 9 of the Delaware Code.
12. Updates the deadline for certification of a quarterly supplemental tax list to match Rehoboth Beach’s fiscal year.
13. Requires Rehoboth Beach to calculate the rolled-back rate and to provide notice of the difference between the rolled-back rate and the tax rate set by The Commissioners, as provided in § 1105 of Title 22 of the Delaware Code.
14. Changes the deadline for preparing the City Budget from May to March and changes the deadline for levying annual taxes from June to March because Rehoboth Beach’s fiscal year begins on April 1.
15. Updates the process for fixing the compensation or salary for Rehoboth Beach’s employees, officers, and agents, other than the members of the Commissioners, to conform with modern practices. Salary or compensation is fixed in the City Budget instead of at the annual meeting.
16. Removes The Commissioners’ powers to do all of the following because the powers are no longer relevant to present day and are no longer exercised by The Commissioners:
- Regulate the observance of the Sabbath Day.
- Establish and regulate pounds.
- Prohibit or impound wild or domestic animals.
- Impose taxes on dog owners.
- Collect a per capita tax on all persons who are qualified to vote in the annual municipal election.
17. Changes the cap on real estate taxes from $3,000,000 to 0.1% of the fully assessed value of all real estate located in Rehoboth Beach.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including reorganizing paragraphs, deleting redundant language, correcting typos and misspellings, fixing tabulation, and editing outdated or unclear language. The changes to Sections 7, 29A, and 38 of the Charter are technical changes and not substantive changes. These changes to these Sections to fix typos and misspellings, correct internal references, use consistent terms, and reorganize the Sections so that the language is more clear.
This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend a municipal charter. | AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF REHOBOTH BEACH. |
| SS 1 for SB 278 | Out of Committee | Paradee | Like Senate Bill No. 278, Senate Substitute No. 1 for SB 278 requires that the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) regulations for Purchase of Care (POC), this State's child care assistance program, provide authorization for a child care provider that a child will attend during the summer at any time after January 1 because current regulations do not provide authorization for summer care early enough for families to enroll children in summer camps before camps are full.
SS 1 for SB 278 differs from SB 278 as follows:
• Does not codify the POC eligibility for children in the custody of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families.
• Revises the requirement that a summer child care provider must be authorized after January 1 so it clearly applies to all children receiving POC assistance.
• Clarifies that an authorization for a summer child care provider must be provided in addition to all provider authorizations for the child’s care during the school year.
Like SB 278, SS 1 for SB 278 does all of the following:
• Adds the name of this State's child care assistance program, "Purchase of Care" or "POC" to Chapter 5 of Title 31.
• Codifies the current policy that parent copayments are determined based on household size and income.
• Requires that parent copayments also be based on whether the child receives assistance for a full or half day of child care.
• Provides that the authorization for a summer child care provider provided in advance of attendance may be for purposes of enrollment only and is subject to meeting eligibility requirements at the time the child attends.
• Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act is effective immediately because under § 10113 of Title 29, amendments that make existing regulations consistent with changes in basic law are exempt from the procedural requirements under the Administrative Procedures Act. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 31 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE. |
| SB 307 | Committee | Huxtable | This Act gives Delaware’s Public Service Commission (“Commission”) the authority to designate a telecommunications provider or reseller as an eligible telecommunications carrier (“ETC”) for the purpose of providing Lifeline services. Lifeline is a Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) program that helps make phone and internet services more affordable for low-income consumers. Approximately 8,700 Delawareans participate in Lifeline.
Currently, the determination of which telecommunications services companies can operate as Lifeline ETCs in Delaware is made by the FCC. This Act shifts that authority to the Commission, and in doing so, brings Delaware into line with nearly every other state in the nation. The reason for this nationwide trend is that in the past 15-20 years, the FCC has stopped taking action on approving ETCs for Lifeline on behalf of states. The FCC is not opposed to states stepping into this gap, but Delaware cannot do so absent statutory changes. By giving the Commission the authority to designate Lifeline ETCs, this Act will allow additional Lifeline providers to support this State’s residents. Because the FCC handles the administration and expenses of the program, there is no cost to the State as a result of taking on this authority.
This Act takes effect immediately, but implementation is delayed to give the Commission time to amend its regulations to be consistent with this Act. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 26 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ELIGIBLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIERS FOR LIFELINE SERVICES. |
| SA 1 to SS 1 for SB 58 | PWB | Hoffner | This Amendment to Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill No. 58 replaces “application” with “petition,” in order to maintain consistency in how a petition seeking relief under § 4505 of Title 11 is described.
In addition, this Amendment gives the court discretion to take certain actions if it finds that a petitioner has made a prima facie showing of the requirements for relief under § 4505 of Title 11.
Finally, this Amendment provides that if a petitioner has established entitlement to relief under § 4505 of Title 11, the court shall grant such relief as it deems appropriate, which may include vacating the petitioner’s conviction. | |
