This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment to allow the General Assembly to enact laws for the registration of voters without restrictions on the time period in which registration must be closed prior to an election. It also requires the General Assembly to provide by law for means to ensure the accuracy and integrity of voter registration. This Act is in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Albence v. Higgin, 2022 Del. LEXIS 377 (Del. 2022) which found a same-day registration statute to be “incompatible with Section 4 [of Article V of the Constitution]’s registration deadline and its relationship to the appeal and correction process.” Amending the Delaware Constitution requires not only the passing of the changes in this Act, but also passage of the same changes after the next general election by the next General Assembly. House Substitute No. 1 to House Bill No. 88 restores language requiring voters to be registered in order to vote at a general election that was mistakenly struck from the original bill. It also updates the section to conform to technical revisions made by 84 Del. Laws, c. 281 and 85 Del. Laws, c. 5. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the Delaware Constitution.
This Senate Concurrent Resolution adopts a rule applicable to both the Senate and House of Representatives to limit the number of bills introduced by members of the General Assembly to 5 bills each regular session. The rule provides for exceptions for certain types of bills and for a process to request a waiver of the bill introduction limit by filing a request with the Senate Rules & Ethics Committee, for Senators, or the House Rules Committee, for Representatives. The rule requires the Secretary of the Senate and Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives to keep records on and issue a report by November 1 of each year containing the following information: (1) The number of bills introduced by each member. (2) The number of bills introduced by a member under each individual exception under subsection (c) of this rule. (3) The number of bills introduced by a member under subsection (d) of this rule. (4) The number of times each member seeks to introduce a bill that is denied introduction under subsection (e) of this rule. For purposes of the application of this Senate Concurrent Resolution to this General Assembly, because this session is nearly complete, bills introduced to date do not count for purposes of determining the limit and each legislator starts at zero bills introduced. This Senate Concurrent Resolution also recommends that the 154th General Assembly adopt a similar rule when it convenes.
This Act clarifies that the existing law, which makes it a Class D felony when a person intentionally causes physical injury to any state employee or officer, when that employee or officer is discharging or attempting to discharge a duty of employment or office, applies to elected officials. This Act provides that it is a Class D felony when the assault of the state employee or officer is related to the person’s official position, whether or not the person assaulted is on or off duty at the time. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act removes the up to 10% increase in school property taxes allowed after reassessment This Act takes effect July 1, 2025, and applies to all public school tax rates after July 1, 2025.
This bill excludes a person convicted and sentenced for a class A felony from being able to have their sentence of incarceration modified under § 4217 of Title 11.
Sports betting is legal in at least 39 states, including Delaware. The increase in sports betting has also seen an increase in threats to and harassment of student athletes. A September 2023 National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) survey of campus administrators found 10% of Division I respondents said they were aware of student-athletes being harassed online or in person by someone with gambling interests. And, data from the 2024 March Madness indicated 1 in 3 high-profile student athletes received abusive messages from someone with a gambling interest. With the increase in student athlete harassment, the NCAA and others are urging states to take action. To that end, this Act seeks to protect student athletes from harassment by doing all of the following: (1) Creating a criminal offense of student athlete harassment. (2) Permitting a student athlete who is the victim of student athlete harassment to sue a person convicted of student athlete harassment. (3) Requiring the Director of the State Lottery Office (“Director”) to exclude a person from participating in the play of any table game, sports lottery game, video lottery game, or Internet lottery game in Delaware if the person is convicted of student athlete harassment. (4) Permitting the Director, on an emergency basis, to exclude a person from participating in the play of a sports lottery game if the Director finds the person threatened violence or harm against a student athlete if the threat is related to a sports lottery game. (5) Requiring the Director and Division of Gaming Enforcement to establish and publicize a method of receiving reports from a student athlete or a coach of an intercollegiate sport relating to student athlete harassment.
HB 239 is a proposed constitutional amendment to Delaware's Constitution that would change the voting requirement for suspending legislative rules. Specifically, it would require a three-fifths vote (instead of a simple majority) in the Delaware General Assembly to suspend the rules governing legislative proceedings. This change directly affects how state legislators can modify procedural rules during committee or floor debates. The bill, introduced on December 18, 2025, is currently under review by the House Administration Committee and has not yet been enacted.
HB 73 increases Delaware's maximum annual property tax credit for seniors from $500 to $1,000. This change directly benefits eligible Delaware seniors who pay property taxes by allowing them to receive up to $1,000 in tax relief each year. The bill amends specific sections of Delaware Code (Titles 14 and 29) to adjust the credit cap without altering eligibility requirements. This policy change provides greater financial relief for seniors with property tax burdens.
This resolution acknowledges the tragedy of loss of life, affirms the importance of peaceful protest, and recognizes the challenging conditions faced during law enforcement operations. It emphasizes respect for due process and the need for a careful, fact-based review of events.
To protect the integrity of our elections, this Act provides that in order to vote, a voter, prior to being permitted to vote, must be able to present a photographic identification, specifically a Driver’s License or a Nondriver Identification Card issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles, or a United States Passport or a military identification card. In order to make obtaining an identification card easier on the general public, the first nondriver identification card issued by the Division shall be free, as opposed to the current fee of $40.00. Subsequent cards, upon expiration, will be issued for a reduced fee of $20.00. Department of Elections for each county will now be required to conduct at lest 2 countywide programs at locations reasonably convenient and accessible to the citizens.
SCR 114 is a procedural bill that applied for a Convention of the States under Article V of the U.S. Constitution. It requested the federal government to call a convention where states could propose amendments to the Constitution, directly affecting the state legislature as the applicant. The bill did not create new laws or policies but initiated a formal state-level request for a federal convention process. It was introduced in the Senate on January 13, 2026, and defeated with 7 votes in favor, 7 against, and 7 abstentions.
Like under House Bill No. 13 (HB 13) and House Substitute No. 1 for HB 13 (HS 1 for HB 13), this Act adjusts the existing personal income tax brackets and applicable tax rates. Under this Act, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025, taxable income between $60,000 and $150,000 will continue to be taxed at a rate of 6.6%, but taxable income above $150,000 will be taxed at higher rates. The result of the changes under this Act will be that those with a taxable income of $188,500 or less will see no increase in personal income taxes, with 94% of Delaware taxpayers receiving an overall tax decrease. Like HS 1 for HB 13, House Substitute No. 2 for HB 13 differs from HB 13 as follows: • Creates additional tax brackets for taxable income not in excess of $60,000. • Decreases the tax rate for all tax brackets for taxable income not in excess of $60,000. • Creates 3 additional tax brackets for taxable income above $60,000 instead of 2. • Names this Act the “The John Kowalko, Jr., Fairness in Taxation Act”. In addition, House Substitute No. 2 for HB 13 differs from HS 1 for HB 13 as follows: • Further decreases the tax rate for all tax brackets for taxable income not in excess of $60,000. • Revises the tax brackets so that tax rates increase for taxable income above $150,000 instead of $125,000. • Adjusts the personal income tax filing threshold to align with the revised tax brackets. • Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
