SB 339 Delaware Senate · 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026)

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ADVANCE HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVES.

Summary
This Act makes a technical correction to the optional special powers form in the Uniform Health Care Decisions Act in Title 16. Currently, the existing language in the form implies any number of days can be written in to the advance directive when designating a maximum length of time for a mental health care related admission. However, under § 2518(e) of Title 16, an agent or default surrogate may not consent to voluntary admission of an individual to a facility for mental health treatment for longer than 72 hours. This Act removes the open-ended language in the form, so that a voluntary admission to a mental health facility by an agent may not exceed 72 hours.
Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
May 2026
Committee Review
Jun 2026
Senate Passage
Jun 2026
House Passage
Jun 2026
Governor
Introduced May 28, 2026 Last action Jun 30, 2026
Floor votes · Senate Jun 11, 2026 · House Jun 30, 2026

How they voted

200
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 21
Jun 11, 2026
D Democratic15
14 Yea 1
93% 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 30, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES
lower
Jun 17, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported Out of Committee (Health & Human Development) in House with 11 On Its Merits
lower
Jun 11, 2026
Introduced
Assigned to Health & Human Development 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 (Health & Social Services) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 5 On Its Merits
upper
May 28, 2026
Introduced
Introduced and Assigned to Health & Social Services Committee in Senate
upper
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors