| HB 197 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Griffith | This Act expands the definition of a “course of conduct” in the stalking statute and also provides that if the court finds as a matter of law that acts subject to this statute are in fact constitutionally protected activities, then all evidence associated with those activities must be excluded.
This Act raises stalking under § 1312(c) from a class F to a class D felony. And also raises stalking under § 1312 (b) from a class G to a class E felony.
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 STALKING. |
| SB 185 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Lockman | This Act would allow valid on-premise license holders to sell 1 bottle of a private label spirit purchased from a Delaware licensed importer that is either limited availability or limited allocation.
The Act also corrects a typographical error and changes 2750 ML bottles of wine to 2 750 bottles of wine. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS SOLD FOR OFF-PREMISE CONSUMPTION. |
| HB 254 | Signed | Morrison | This Act changes the name of the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to the Division of People and Culture. Renaming the division from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to People and Culture signifies a broader, more comprehensive approach to cultivating an inclusive and engaging workplace. The new designation underscores the focus on the overall employee experience, organizational culture, and people-centered initiatives. This change positions the division as a key contributor to both cultural development and organizational success. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 AND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES. |
| HB 256 | Signed | Morrison | This Act requires public schools serving grades 7 to 12 that issue pupil identification cards to print on either side of the card the following information, which previously was optional for the public schools:
(1) Teen Dating Violence Hotline:1-866-331-9474 or Text “loveis” to 22522.
(2) Stop Bullying Now Hotline: 1-800-273-8255(TALK).
Sections 1 and 2 of this Act remove application dates from the previous enactments of laws related to information printed on pupil identification cards for public schools serving grades 7 to 12 and on student identification cards for public institutions of higher learning. These application dates could be interpreted to mean that the previous enactments of these laws were to be effective only during the stated school years. By removing these application dates and establishing the effective date in Section 5 of this Act, these laws will be effective on July 1, 2026.
This Act also makes technical corrections in Sections 3 and 4 of this Act to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 404 OF VOLUME 83 AND CHAPTER 108 OF VOLUME 84 OF THE LAWS OF DELAWARE AND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUPIL AND STUDENT IDENTIFICATION CARDS. |
| SB 226 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Pinkney | This Act provides that health care facilities must permit patients who have been issued and possess a valid registry identification card for the medical use of marijuana and have a terminal illness to use medical marijuana on the health care facilities’ premises, subject to certain restrictions. However, a health care facility may prohibit or suspend such use of medical marijuana under some circumstances, such as if the facility's medical professionals determine that use of medical marijuana may have an adverse impact on the medical care and treatment of the patient or is otherwise contraindicated, or if a federal regulatory agency, the United States Department of Justice, or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services initiates an enforcement action against a health care facility based on the use of medical marijuana on the facility's premises or issues a rule or guidance prohibiting the use of medical marijuana at health care facilities.
In addition, the Act provides that a person is not subject to civil or criminal liability or professional discipline for complying with the Act, except in cases of gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct.
This Act is modeled on a 2021 California law known as "Ryan's Law." | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA. |
| HB 269 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Burns | This Act requires that an electric supplier’s interconnection rules, for purposes of net-metering, align with the most recent version of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s Model Interconnection Procedures (Procedures) within 12 months of the Procedures’ latest publishing date. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 26 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO NET-METERING AND INTERCONNECTION RULES. |
| SS 1 for SB 220 | Signed | Seigfried | Among other changes, this Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 220 and does all the following related to the Charter of the Village of Arden:
(1) Adds a preamble to the Charter.
(2) Amends the boundaries of the Village to include the Sherwood Forest Addition and the Mill Race Addition and, in Section 2 of this Act, makes clear the General Assembly’s inherent power to set the boundaries of a municipality.
(3) Adds definitions of certain terms.
(4) Provides that regular meetings of the Town Assembly are to be held at the Gild Hall or other suitable public physical or virtual venue in the village.
(5) Clarifies and amends the procedures for Special Town Meetings.
(6) Clarifies and revises the procedures for enacting, amending, and repealing ordinances.
(7) Provides that a referendum may be called by a majority vote at a Town Assembly Meeting.
(8) Adds a non-voting, alternate member to the Board of Assessors; removes a provision for the election of the Board of Assessors, which is transferred to an ordinance.
(9) Requires the Board of Assessors to assess the community standard of living, in addition to the full rental value of leased lands.
(10) Removes provisions for the election of the Budget Committee and the budget referendum voting process, which are transferred to an ordinance.
(11) Updates language relating to responsibilities of the Budget Committee.
(12) Provides that if a budget referendum fails, then the town will use the previous year's budget until a new budget can be approved.
(13) Removes provisions relating to the election of the Registration Committee, which are transferred to an ordinance.
(14) Revises the fines and penalties that may be imposed by a Justice of the Peace for violations of the Charter or village ordinances and revises the appeals process for convictions thereof.
(15) Simplifies the Charter's provisions for town law enforcement officials.
(16) Requires that town contracts must be witnessed by a second Village official, in addition to signed by the Chair of the Town Assembly.
(17) Deletes the section of the Charter relating to fire, zoning, and housing codes, as those subjects are already handled by New Castle County.
(18) Replaces gender-specific language with gender-neutral language.
(19) Makes other, minor changes to the language of the Charter. | AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE VILLAGE OF ARDEN. |
| HB 287 | Signed | Romer | This Act changes the name of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee to "the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee."
When the Committee was first codified in 1980, it was named the "the Joint Sunset Committee." In 2016, the Committee voted to change its name to "the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee." The Committee had "sunsetted" only 2 reviewed entities up to that point. Because "sunsetting" was only one of the Committee's many functions and used the function rarely, its name had grown confusing to the public. Adding "Legislative Oversight" more fully represented the Committee's purpose.
Over the last 7 years, the Committee has reviewed 40 entities and "sunsetted" only 6 of them. In January 2026, the Committee voted to update its name to more accurately reflect its evolved purpose. Like most similar committees in other states, Delaware's committee has significantly downsized its focus on the "sunsetting" process in favor of conducting oversight and performance evaluation. This Act does not eliminate or lessen the Committee's authority to "sunset" an entity when a review demonstrates that doing so is the best outcome, and this Act does not amend the Committee's overall authority, focus, or purpose.
This Act also makes a technical correction to the title of Chapter 102, Title 29. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 AND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE JOINT LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT AND SUNSET COMMITTEE. |
| HB 288 | Signed | Romer | This Act is a result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's focused review of the Division of Developmental Disabilities Services' (DDDS) adult day and employment services. This Act requires that DDDS submit an annual report relating to its services to increase the transparency of the services and highlight unmet needs for efficient service delivery.
In § 7909A(c)(2)a. of Title 29, DDDS will provide data on census, new applications, demographics of those groups, and the size and diversity of the provider system. Section 7909A(c)(2)b. allows DDDS to demonstrate that its services, and how the services are accessed, change over time. Section 7909A(c)(2)c. gives DDDS the flexibility to provide information on service requests that could not be met, why service requests could not be met, and observed gaps in service delivery, or other information related to challenges DDDS identifies related to the service system.
This Act also makes technical changes 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 DIVISION OF DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES SERVICES. |
| SB 243 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Cruce | This Act cleans up antiquated portions of The Liquor Control Act, under Title 4, by updating provisions that have been in the Code since the 1930s and making technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act also creates two new license types: (1) a special event license and (2) a bottle club license for businesses offering creative arts experiences like painting, candle-making, and other arts and engagement activities.
In addition to technical changes, this Act makes all of the following changes to Title 4 of the Code:
Sections 2, 7, 8, 15, 11, and 22 changes “retailer” or “retail” to “package store” in § 512A, § 512C, § 524, and § 904.
Section 1 updates and modernizes definitions in § 101 by lowering the number of customers for concert hall licenses, clarifying that IRS-recognized 503(c)(3) or similar organizations may obtain gathering licenses, clarifying that an “importer” also means a wholesaler or distributor because the terms are used interchangeably throughout Title 4 and the Office of the Alcoholic Beverage Commissioner (“Office”) regulations, renaming a “retailer” as a “package store” and providing a clearer definition, and adding a new definition of “special event” for the special event license created by this Act.
Section 2 requires the Office, under § 304, to provide current licensing data on its public-facing website rather than submitting annual reports to the Governor and the General Assembly. The Office already provides the licensing data on its website in lieu of paper reports that become stale quickly. Section 2 also updates how the Office provides notice of a hearing to consider a license application and the protests to the license application by removing the requirement to post the notice on the entrance door of the proposed licensee’s establishment and requiring the Office to mail notice by first class mail instead of registered mail. These changes reflect modern practices.
Section 3 updates antiquated fiscal provisions in § 310 by requiring the Office to deposit receipts with the Office of the State Treasurer instead of the Division of Revenue and by requiring the Office to maintain receipt records and make the records available to the Division of Accounting instead of the Office of the State Treasurer.
Section 4 allows the Auditor of Accounts (“Auditor”) to audit the Office, under § 313, as often as the Auditor considers necessary instead of requiring the Auditor to conduct an annual audit of the Office.
Section 5 clarifies, under §501, that importers licensed as suppliers must deliver products directly to a licensed warehouse of a Delaware licensed importer because brokerage import firms licensed by the federal government as importers are also licensed as suppliers by the Office and act as agents of suppliers.
Section 6 cleans up sentence structure in § 508 to clarify manufacturer and distillery reporting requirements.
Section 9 removes the domestic sales cap on production for distilleries licensed under § 512E, because no other state has a similar production cap.
Section 10 creates a new § 512H that allows the Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner (“Commissioner”) to grant to a qualified applicant a special event license for festivals, arts, crafts fairs, and other similar open-air events. The special event license permits the service and sale of alcoholic liquors for consumption on the licensed premises at special events hosted on the licensed premises by the landowner or tenant (the landowner could contract with a promotional company. A qualified applicant may hold only 1 special event license. The licensed premises must meet certain requirements, including having controlled ingress and egress. Also, at each special event sufficient food must be available at all times when alcohol is sold. A licensee must submit each special event to the Commissioner for review and approval at least 30 days prior to the special event (caterers have 20 days to provide the same materials but the Office feels the 10 extra days are needed for larger events), and the appropriate political subdivision must have approved the special event. The Commissioner may suspend a special event license, deny future licenses, or impose a fine of up to $10,000 per violation if the special event license holder has made misrepresentations on its application materials or fails to comply with the requirements of § 512H.
Section 11 updates § 514 to allow an in-state manufacturer to donate alcoholic liquors to gathering license holders and require applicants for a biennial premises type gathering license to provide notice of application under § 524, unless the applicant has already been granted a biennial premises type gathering license and has no violations.
Section 12 expands § 515A to allow the Commissioner to grant a bottle club license to a business establishment where customers pay a fee to participate in a creative arts experience, including painting, pottery-making, candle-making, or other similar activities. Some of these types of businesses already tell customers that the customers may bring alcohol, like a bottle of wine, on the premises. The bottle club license allows a licensed business’s customers to bring alcohol onto the business’s premises for on-premises consumption by the customer if sufficient food is provided while alcohol is being consumed.
Section 13 updates § 516 by replacing “store” with “package store”, which eliminates off-premises licenses for restaurants and clubs because these establishments can now sell alcohol to-go. But the few existing licenses will be grandfathered, just like the taproom off-premises license that was eliminated in 1983.
Section 14 gives a property owner or governing body who receives a notice of application under § 524 the option to file protests with the Office by email and updates the Office’s mailing address.
Section 16 changes hearing requirements under § 541 so that the Office is not required to hold a hearing to consider a license application and the protests to the application, unless at least 5 persons who filed protests and who reside or own property located within 1 mile of the premises or in any incorporated areas located within 1 mile of the premises pre-register to testify at the hearing. Community members often will sign a filed protest, but then not show up to testify at the hearing. Yet the Office incurs hundreds of dollars in costs, including hiring a court reporter and publishing the hearing notice in 2 newspapers. This causes delay in approving an application and causes the State to incur costs for a hearing it did not need to hold because the application could have been granted on the paperwork. Requiring at least 5 persons to pre-register to testify should help small businesses open more quickly and still preserve a community’s opportunity to address concerns about an application at a hearing. The Office is sensitive to community concerns about license applications and believes that the communities should be able to voice their concerns at a hearing. But the Office also believes that having the option to cancel a hearing, if the persons who file a protest choose not to follow through with the protest, would alleviate unnecessary costs and delays in processing license applications. Section 16 also requires the Office to post the hearing notice on the State Public Meeting Calendar instead of publishing the hearing notice in a newspaper, because hearing notices are already mailed and emailed to individuals who have filed a protest with the Office.
Section 18 adds a new license fee under § 554 for the new special event license. Section 18 also adds holders of a beer garden license to the list of licensees required to pay an additional $100 biennial license fee to be deposited in the Overservice Investigation Fund used to implement, administer, and enforce the Delaware Responsible Alcohol Beverage Server Training Program. All other on-premises license types pay the fee and the omission of the beer garden licenses appears to be a statutory oversight.
Sections 19 and 21 remove an antiquated provision that permits spouses, brothers, sisters, other family members, and employers to appeal to the Commissioner to investigate, decide, and then prohibit the sale of alcohol to certain people.
Section 20 adds requirements for labeling batched cocktails and infused beverages prepared by licensees to § 712, so that customers know the ingredients used in the cocktails and beverages.
Section 23 delays implementation of Section 10 and Section 12 of this Act, so that the Office may prepare to implement the new special event license and the new bottle club license. This Act takes effect on the Act’s enactment into law and Section 10 and Section 12 of this Act are to be implemented the earlier of the following:
(1) Six months from the date of the Act’s enactment into law.
(2) Notice by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner published in the Register of Regulations that final regulations to implement Section 10 and Section 12 of this Act have been adopted.
This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 11 of Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to impose or levy a tax or license fee. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ALCOHOL. |
| SB 246 w/ SA 2 | Signed | Sturgeon | This Act updates how academic eligibility for driver education certification is calculated because many high schools have moved from the traditional 7-period school day to various forms of block scheduling. Under this Act, the Department of Education must establish, through regulations, how equivalent credit is calculated for courses taught on a block schedule or when the full length of a course is less than 1 year. This Act also adds world language to the academic courses from which a student may satisfy the credit requirement.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DRIVER EDUCATION CERTIFICATION. |
| HB 304 | Signed | Romer | This Act mandates that all current and prospective employees or contractors of the Office of Auditor of Accounts submit to state and federal criminal background checks. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE AUDITOR OF ACCOUNTS AND BACKGROUND CHECKS. |
| HJR 9 | Signed | Lynn | This Joint Resolution extends the reporting date of the Driving Under the Influence Prevention Task Force from January 1, 2026, to January 1, 2027. | EXTENDING THE REPORTING DATE OF THE DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE PREVENTION TASK FORCE |
| SB 247 | Signed | Mantzavinos | This bill clarifies that counties and municipalities can deposit their revenues in any depository bank or credit union. The State of Delaware already can choose where it deposits its money, and this legislation would extend that ability to counties and municipalities. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 9 AND 22 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT DEPOSITS OF FUNDS. |
| HB 312 | Signed | K. Williams | This Act amends the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act to update the statutory definition of confirmatory blood lead testing for children under 16 years of age. The Act allows a confirmed elevated blood lead level to be established either through a venous blood lead test or through two capillary blood lead screenings collected within 12 weeks of each other, provided that the applicable lead reference value is met or exceeded. Two positive capillary blood lead screenings yield an effective specificity of approximately 99.75% when properly collected. This change is consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveillance case definition, reduces barriers to case identification and management, and requires conforming regulatory updates.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LEAD TESTING. |
| SB 260 | Signed | Cruce | According to the Arts Education Partnership, 27 states currently include arts course credits as a requirement for high school graduation, and several states have implemented diploma seals or similar recognition programs to incentivize participation.
This Act directs the Department of Education to establish the Delaware Certificate of Arts Excellence to recognize high school students who demonstrate sustained engagement and achievement in the arts. Establishing a similar program in Delaware could help increase arts enrollment, elevate the value of arts education, and support students interested in pursuing creative professions. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE CERTIFICATE OF ARTS EXCELLENCE. |
| HB 400 w/ HA 2 | Signed | Harris | This Act alters various fees assessed by the Delaware Secretary of State. The Act provides that most changes to the fees will take effect on August 1, 2026, however changes to the partnership, limited partnership, and limited liability company annual tax and changes to the annual tax on registered series of limited partnerships and limited liability companies will take effect on January 1, 2026.
This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 10 of Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to increase the effective rate of a tax levied by the State.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 5, TITLE 6, TITLE 8, TITLE 12, AND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FEES AND TAXES ADMINISTERED BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE. |
| HS 2 for HB 151 | Signed | Gorman | House Substitute No. 2 for House Bill No. 151 prohibits the State, a unit of local government, or any agency, officer, employee, or agent thereof, from doing the following with respect to a detention facility owned, managed, or operated by a private entity: (1) Enter into an agreement of any kind for the detention of an individual with; (2) Pay, reimburse, subsidize, or defray in any way any cost related to the sale, purchase, construction, development, ownership, management, or operation of; (3) Receive per diem, per detainee, or any other payment related to the detention of an individual in; (4) Give any financial incentive or benefit to any private entity or person in connection with the sale, purchase, construction, development, ownership, management, or operation of.
This House Substitute is different from House Bill No. 151 in the following ways:
(1) It adds an exemption that excludes Residential Alternative to Detention facilities from the definition of a private detention facility.
(2) It exempts facilities that house a program to provide services in a nonsecure residential setting for juveniles under the jurisdiction of Family Court from the definition of a private detention facility. It also provides a definition of “nonsecure residential setting”. The exemption for nonsecure residential settings for juveniles sunsets on February 1, 2028.
This Substitute makes technical corrections to Section 3 of House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 151. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DETENTION FACILITIES. |
| SS 1 for SB 282 | Signed | Hoffner | This Act amends the Delaware Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act (DWCCSA) in several ways. First, in order to make a prima facie showing of entitlement to compensation, under the Act, a petitioner must show that the petitioner did not commit a felony arising from the same transaction as the crime for which the petitioner was originally convicted.
Second, the Act modifies what attorneys' fees may be recovered for an action to overturn, reverse, or vacate a conviction and an action under the DWCCSA. Under the Act, a petitioner who prevails on a cause of action against the state for wrongful conviction shall be awarded reasonable attorneys' fees, based on hours reasonably expended at the prevailing market rate for similar legal services in the state at the time of an award for damages for wrongful conviction, regardless of when the legal services were actually provided. Attorneys' fees of $300,000 or less will be paid to the petitioner's attorneys in a lump sum; attorneys' fees in excess of $300,000 will be paid in annual installments of not more than $300,000, until the award is satisfied.
Third, under the Act, the Office of Management and Budget takes over tasks and responsibilities that currently belong to the State Treasurer, including the annual adjustment in the amount of damages available under § 7005(a) of Title 10, management of the Wrongful Conviction Compensation Fund will exist with the legal services appropriation within the Office of Management and Budget, and the obligation to report quarterly to the Joint Finance Committee and the Controller General.
The Act takes effect upon its enactment into law.
This Act is a substitute for and differs from SB 282 in that it omits a provision limiting the attorneys' fees a petitioner may recover to 15% of the damages awarded under § 7005(a) of Title 10. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO WRONGFUL CONVICTION COMPENSATION AND SERVICES. |
