HB 456 Delaware House · 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026)

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SUBAQUEOUS LANDS.

Summary
This Act streamlines DNREC’s subaqueous lands permitting process by adding permitting exemptions for common activities already authorized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, expanding the use of general permits to provide statewide authorization for certain activities instead of individual permits, clarifying when some decisions may be delegated from the Secretary to Department staff, imposing specific processing timelines for minor structures and standardizing applications to reduce processing delays. It also creates the Marine Contractors and Consultants Licensing Board, to assist DNREC in licensing and regulation of individuals and entities that affect submerged lands or tidelands.
Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jun 2026
Committee Review
Jun 2026
House Passage
Jun 2026
Senate Passage
Jun 2026
Governor
Introduced Jun 4, 2026 Last action Jun 24, 2026
Floor votes · Senate Jun 24, 2026 · House Jun 11, 2026

How they voted

210
Passed
Total votes 21
Jun 24, 2026
D Democratic15
15 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican6
6 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
6
Key actions
4
Committee
2
Jun 24, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
upper
Jun 18, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported Out of Committee (Environment, Energy & Transportation) in Senate with 6 On Its Merits
upper
Jun 11, 2026
Introduced
Assigned to Environment, Energy & Transportation Committee in Senate
upper
Jun 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed By House. Votes: 40 YES 1 ABSENT
lower
Jun 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported Out of Committee (Natural Resources & Energy) in House with 7 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits
lower
Jun 4, 2026
Introduced
Introduced and Assigned to Natural Resources & Energy Committee in House
lower
5 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors