Technology

This Act imposes a moratorium, through January 31, 2027, on all applications and permits related to the development of large-scale data centers in this State. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend a municipal charter, whether directly, by amendment to a specific municipality’s charter, or as in this Act, indirectly by a general law.

This Act amends the Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act (DPDPA), Chapter 12D of Title 6, originally enacted in 2023, to more closely align the DPDPA with similar consumer data protection laws enacted in other states. This Act amends the applicability threshold of the DPDPA to entities who process the personal data of not less than 15,000 consumers, which on a population percentage basis closely aligns to thresholds in Connecticut and New Jersey. This Act amends Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) applicability exemptions, adopting approaches to financial data in similar laws in Connecticut, Montana, and Oregon, by exempting all data regulated by GLBA while limiting entity-level exemptions specifically to banks and insurers and their respective affiliates. This Act introduces contracting and due diligence requirements where businesses sell or disclose personal data to third parties and also harmonizes several DPDPA business requirements and consumer rights with personal data privacy laws in other states. This Act also makes technical changes to existing law to conform to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act requires each school district and charter school to adopt a policy, with educator input, about cell phone use by students during school hours. Each policy must contain: (1) Clear guidelines about what constitutes acceptable cell phone use at school. (2) A requirement that limits cell phone use during instructional time. (3) The designation of times and places during which students may use their cell phones at school. (4) Guidelines that encourage communication between the schools, parents or guardians, and students about the cell phone use policy. (5) A system of appropriate consequences for violations of the cell phone use policy. (6) Exceptions that address, and are applicable to, emergency situations and medical or educational accommodations. Each school district and charter school shall provide the Department with its policy. Each school district and charter school shall post its policy on its website by August 1, 2025. School districts and charter schools are free to amend their cell phone use policies as needed. If a school district or charter school adopts an amended cell phone use policy, it must be provided to the Department and posted on that school district or charter school’s website.