HB 459 Delaware House · 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026)

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ENERGY DRINKS.

This bill prohibits the sale of energy drinks on public middle and high school campuses during school hours and at school events. It directly affects schools, students, and vendors by banning these beverages in specific educational settings. The law applies to all public schools within the state during the times students are officially engaged in school activities.

Issues: ✓ Education

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 30, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HA 1 to HB 459 → Bill Text · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill transitioned from a House Amendment (HA 1) that added a single off-campus exception to the full enacted Bill Text. The final version includes complete statutory definitions for campus, energy drink, and extended school day, and notably does not include the off-campus possession exception that HA 1 had proposed. Additional sponsors were added at both the Senate and House level.

Scope change

The bill's scope is now explicitly limited to public middle and high school campuses (as opposed to all schools), and the off-campus possession exception that HA 1 proposed was not carried into the final text.

SCOPE

The off-campus exception from HA 1 (subsection c) - which would have clarified that students could possess or consume energy drinks they brought from off campus - is absent from the final Bill Text, meaning the bill no longer explicitly protects student possession of off-campus-purchased energy drinks.

The final text specifies the prohibition applies to 'public middle and high school campuses' during regular school hours and the extended school day, making the scope explicit.

DEFINITION

Full statutory definitions were added for 'campus' (areas under school district or charter school jurisdiction accessible to students), 'energy drink' (caffeine beverage advertised as designed to provide energy, excluding coffee and tea), and 'extended school day' (mandatory or voluntary activities including clubs, sports, band, drama, dances).

TECHNICAL

Additional sponsors were added: Sen. Lockman as a Senate co-sponsor, and Reps. Heffernan, Gorman, Morrison, Berry, Lambert, and Harris as House co-sponsors.

Floor votes · Senate Jun 30, 2026 · House Jun 18, 2026

How they voted

21–0

Passed

Total votes 21

Jun 30, 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

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jun 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

upper

Jun 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported Out of Committee (Education) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits

upper

Jun 18, 2026

Introduced

Assigned to Education Committee in Senate

upper

Jun 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed By House. Votes: 39 YES 2 ABSENT

lower

Jun 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

Amendment HA 1 to HB 459 - Passed In House by Voice Vote

lower

Jun 18, 2026

Introduced

Amendment HA 1 to HB 459 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

lower

Jun 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported Out of Committee (Education) in House with 1 Favorable, 9 On Its Merits

lower

Jun 4, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Assigned to Education Committee in House

lower

8 primary · 0 co-sponsors