| SB 219 | Committee | Buckson | Of the 41 states with a state income tax, 27 states fully exempt military retirement pay from state income taxes and 12 states partially exempt military retirement pay.
In 2022, Delaware increased the pension exclusion for military pensioners under 60 to $12,500, and in 2024, Delaware expanded the definition of a United States military pension to include a pension received for an individual’s service in the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service and clarified that the armed forces of the United States includes the Space Force and Coast Guard.
This Act phases in, over 3 years, an increased exemption for military pensions from state income taxation, regardless of age, which is currently $12,500, so that in taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2029, the exemption will be $25,000 for all military pensioners. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EXCLUSION OF MILITARY PENSIONS FROM TAXABLE INCOME. |
| SB 215 | Committee | Richardson | This Act generally requires a student athlete to compete for athletic teams or in sports associated with the student athlete’s biological sex, as determined at or near birth and based on the student athlete’s birth certificate or other government record if a birth certificate is unobtainable. An exception is permitted to allow female athletes to compete in male sports if a corresponding female sport is not available.
To facilitate this Act, a school district, charter school, or Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association member school must designate an athletic team or sport sponsored by the school district, charter school, or Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association member school based on the biological sex of students. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE FAIRNESS IN GIRLS’ SPORTS ACT. |
| HB 258 | Committee | Bolden | This Act allows any municipality with a population of 50,000 or more to establish by ordinance rules for the location of liquor stores that are more restrictive than state law, and requires the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner to refuse a license for any new establishment that does not comply with those rules. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LICENSES FOR SALE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. |
| HS 1 for HB 200 | Committee | Chukwuocha | This Act is a substitute for HB 200 and differs from HB 200 by requiring health insurance coverage only for pre-exposure prophylaxis (“PrEP”) medication and post-exposure prophylaxis (“PEP”) medication. This Act also makes technical corrections including updating section numbers and updating the applicability date so insurance companies can file rates that include the cost of the coverage required under this Act.
This Act requires individual health insurance plans, group and blanket health insurance plans, the state employee health plan, and state Medicaid insurance to cover medically necessary PrEP medication for the prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (“HIV”) infection before possible HIV exposure and medically necessary PEP medication for the prevention of HIV infection after possible HIV exposure.
The coverage must include must be provided without any of the following:
1. Cost-sharing requirements, including deductibles, coinsurance, copayments, and out-of-pocket expenses.
2. Prior authorization or step therapy requirements.
3. Unreasonable delay in coverage determination.
This Act applies to all policies, contracts, or certificates that are renewed, modified, altered, amended, or reissued after December 31, 2027. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18, TITLE 29, AND TITLE 31 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR TREATMENT TO PREVENT HIV INFECTION. |
| HB 262 | Committee | Heffernan | This Act clarifies that paid leave for the adoption of a child may begin at one of the following times: (1) when the child is placed for adoption with the employee; (2) when the employee initiates a petition for adoption; or (3) when the adoption process is completed. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PAID LEAVE. |
| HA 1 to HB 174 | PWB | Morrison | This Amendment removes provisions from House Bill No. 174 pertaining to funding the Suicide Assistance Fund through telephone surcharges. This Amendment requires the Suicide Assistance Fund to be be funded through general appropriations.
This Amendment also removes the 3/5 vote requirement contained in House Bill No. 174 because this Amendment removes the surcharge that necessitated the 3/5 vote requirement.
This Amendment also makes a technical correction to a typographical error. | |
| HB 265 | Committee | Ross Levin | This Act provides limited immunity from prosecution for persons who seek to report a sexual offense. Under this Act a person who is a victim or witness or otherwise seeks law enforcement assistance in relation to a sexual offense may not be charged, arrested, or prosecuted, or issued a civil citation for low-level crimes relating to drug or alcohol use or possession. This Act also provides that a person’s probation or pretrial release status may not be revoked or changed based on an incident for which the person would receive the limited immunity from prosecution provided under this statute. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SEXUAL OFFENSE REPORTING AND IMMUNITY FOR CERTAIN CRIMES. |
| SB 214 | Committee | Hoffner | This Act requires the State to preserve all biological evidence in its custody that is secured in relation to an investigation or prosecution of a crime, for the period of time that the crime remains unsolved or the period of time that a person convicted of the crime remains in custody, regardless of whether the person pleaded guilty. “Biological evidence” in this context includes any item that may contain identifiable biological material that was collected as part of a criminal investigation or that may reasonably be used to incriminate or exculpate a person.
The State may destroy evidence that may contain biological material before the expiration of those time periods if all of the following are true: (1) more than 5 years have elapsed since the criminal conviction became final and all appeals are exhausted; (2) the evidence is not in relation to an investigation or prosecution of a Class A to Class E felony; (3) no other provision of federal or state law requires the State to preserve the evidence; (4) the State sends certified delivery of written notice of its intent to destroy the evidence to certain specified recipients, including any person who remains in custody as a result of the criminal conviction, delinquency adjudication, or commitment related to the evidence; and (5) no person who has received such notice, within 180 days of receiving the notice, files a motion for testing of evidence under § 4504 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code or submits a written request for retention of the evidence. In addition, the State is not required to preserve physical evidence that is of a size, bulk, or physical character that makes retention impracticable, but in that case, the State must remove and preserve portions of the evidence that may contain biological evidence related to the offense.
If the State is called upon to produce biological evidence that cannot be located and whose preservation was required under the Act, then the court must hold a hearing to determine whether the failure to produce evidence was the result of intentional and willful destruction. If so, the court then must order a postconviction hearing, at which the court will infer that the results of the postconviction DNA testing would have been favorable to the petitioner, and impose other appropriate sanctions and order appropriate remedies.
In addition, the Act requires the Delaware Police Accreditation Commission and Division of Forensic Science to study, promulgate, and implement procedures that effectuate the legislative intent of the Act regarding the proper preservation of biological evidence.
The Act takes effect 30 days after its enactment into law. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE. |
| SB 220 | Committee | Seigfried | This Act deletes the current Charter of the Village of Arden and replaces it with a new charter that differs in several respects.
Among other changes, this Act adds a preamble to the Charter; amends the boundaries of the Village to include the Sherwood Forest Addition and the Mill Race Addition; adds definitions of certain terms; provides that regular meetings of the Town Assembly are to be held at the Gild Hall or other suitable public physical or virtual venue in the village; clarifies and amends the procedures for Special Town Meetings; clarifies and revises the procedures for enacting, amending, and repealing ordinances; provides that a referendum may be called by a majority vote at a Town Assembly Meeting; adds a non-voting, alternate member to the Board of Assessors; removes a provision for the election of the Board of Assessors, which is transferred it to a village ordinance; requires the Board of Assessors to assess the community standard of living, in addition to the full rental value of leased lands; removes provisions for the election of the Budget Committee and the budget referendum voting process, which are transferred to an ordinance; updating language relating to responsibilities of the Budget Committee; provides that if a budget referendum fails, then the town will use the previous year's budget until a new budget can be approved; removes provisions relating to the election of the Registration Committee, which are transferred to an ordinance; revises the fines and penalties that may be imposed by a Justice of the Peace for violations of the Charter or village ordinances and revises the appeals process for convictions thereof; simplifies the Charter's provisions for town law enforcement officials; requires that town contracts must be witnessed by a second Village official, in addition to signed by the Chair of the Town Assembly; deletes the section of the Charter relating to fire, zoning, and housing codes, as those subjects are already handled by New Castle County; replaces gender-specific language with gender-neutral language; and makes other, minor changes to the language of the Charter. | AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE VILLAGE OF ARDEN. |
| HS 1 for HB 2 | Committee | Carson | Like House Bill No. 2, House Substitute No. 1 for HB 2 makes technical corrections to § 5546 of Title 29 and increases from $7,000 to $8,000, both of the following:
• The amount of the burial benefit under the State Employees’ Pension Plan.
• The amount paid for funeral expenses for a member of a volunteer fire company, volunteer fire company ladies auxiliary, or a volunteer ambulance and rescue company.
HS 1 for HB 2 differs from HB 2 because it changes the effective date to October 1, 2026, and because the enactment of Senate Bill No. 28 (85 Del. Laws, c. 215) on September 9, 2025, included all of the following:
• The technical revisions to § 6750 of Title 18 that were also included in Section 2 of HB 2.
• The transfer of § 6750 of Title 18 to § 6701A of Title 18, which was also included in House Amendment No. 1 to HB 2.
• The enactment of § 6701A of Title 18, which was also included in HA 1 to HB 2. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 AND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DEATH BENEFITS. |
