AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SPECIAL VANITY LICENSE PLATES.
Summary
This Act clarifies that special vanity license plates, which in Delaware are personal property, may be transferred from one owner to another without violating a U.S. District Court injunction that bars Delaware from issuing any new special vanity license plates or recalling any that the Division of Motor Vehicles has already issued.
Bill status
passed both
4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
May 2026
Committee Review
Jun 2026
Senate Passage
Jul 2026
House Passage
Jul 2026
Governor
Introduced May 28, 2026
Last action Jul 1, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
HA 1 to SB 332
→
Bill Text
·
3 edits
MINOR
The final Senate Bill 332 removed the House Amendment's 6-month delayed effective date and instead added a new subsection (l) to Section 2121 that explicitly allows owners of special vanity license plates to transfer them to another person as a gift or for consideration. The transfer is clarified as not constituting a 'new issuance' or 're-issuance,' which matters because a U.S. District Court injunction bars Delaware from issuing new special vanity plates. This lets existing plate owners sell or give away their plates without running afoul of the federal court order.
Scope change
The bill now directly addresses the transferability of existing special vanity license plates between private parties, clarifying that such transfers do not violate a U.S. District Court injunction barring new issuances. This expands the practical effect of the law beyond what the House Amendment version provided.
TIMELINE
The House Amendment's provision setting a 6-month delayed effective date was removed from the final bill text.
SCOPE
New subsection (l) to Section 2121 allows an owner of a special vanity license plate to transfer it to a new owner as a gift or for consideration, and clarifies that such a transfer is not considered a new issuance or re-issuance of the plate.
The bill's purpose shifted from simply delaying the effective date to explicitly addressing the legal status of vanity plate transfers in light of a federal court injunction that prohibits Delaware from issuing new special vanity plates or recalling existing ones.
Floor votes · Senate Jun 11, 2026 · House Jul 1, 2026
How they voted
20–0
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 21
Jun 11, 2026
D
Democratic15
93% Yea
R
Republican6
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
10
Key actions
6
Committee
2
Amendments
2
Jul 1, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT
upper
Jul 1, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES
lower
Jul 1, 2026
Lower · Passed
Amendment HA 1 to SB 332 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
lower
Jul 1, 2026
Introduced
Amendment HA 1 to SB 332 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
upper
Jun 16, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported Out of Committee (Public Safety & Homeland Security) in House with 6 On Its Merits
lower
Jun 11, 2026
Introduced
Assigned to Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee in House
lower
Jun 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT
upper
Jun 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported Out of Committee (Environment, Energy & Transportation) in Senate with 3 Favorable, 2 On Its Merits
upper
May 28, 2026
Introduced
Introduced and Assigned to Environment, Energy & Transportation Committee in Senate
upper
9 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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