Why Should Delaware Care?
Delaware’s legislative session ended after lawmakers sent scores of bills to the desk of Gov. Matt Meyer. Amid negotiations over the state’s capital spending bill, they also overrode a veto that Meyer issued last year.
The fate of Delaware’s billion-dollar Bond Bill as well as a string of other measures was in question until early Wednesday morning as lawmakers jockeyed over which bills they could squeeze into the final hours of the state’s 2026 legislative session.
In the end, they passed a mountain of legislation, including new data center regulations, wetlands rules, omnibus spending bills, and the first leg Constitutional amendment to codify the legality of marriage between people of any gender and any race.
The lawmakers also voted to override Gov. Matt Meyer’s veto last year of a bill that limits the land-use restrictions a county can impose on marijuana shops.
Notable bills that did not pass the legislative chambers included a measure to require union workers on school construction sites, and another that would remove a statute of limitations on certain sexual assault claims.
Lawmakers ended the all-night session just as the sun was beginning to rise. For many, it also marked an unofficial beginning of what is expected to be a contentious summer political campaign.
Asked whether the early-morning rush of bills was a cause for concern, Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend (D-Newark) said the time it took lawmakers to consider legislation reflected the “sorting out of a lot of viewpoints.”
“And to some extent, the piling up of items on the final day is part of the nature of the beast,” Townsend said.
Expressing similar comments was House Minority Whip Jeff Spiegelman (R-Clayton) who called the early morning proceedings the end of a normal June.
“It’s a normal June between Republican and Democrat, and House and Senate,” he said.
In closing remarks to her chamber, House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown (D-New Castle) celebrated the dozens of bills that passed the legislature in recent days and weeks, including those that she described as protecting “fundamental freedoms” and expanding “healthcare access.”
And in a possible scolding of certain legislators, she said she was grateful to those who “chose collaboration over division” and “solutions over headlines.”
House deliberates Bond Bill
The biggest bill considered Tuesday into Wednesday was the state’s Bond Bill – a $1.26 billion spending package that funds public construction projects, including a planned port container terminal in Edgemoor.
Bill sponsor Rep. Debra Heffernan (D-Bellefonte) called the bill the “largest jobs bill that we pass in Delaware.”
And just like one year ago when Republicans blocked the Bond Bill to gain concessions on wind energy, the legislation sat at the center of late-night negotiations.
Just before 3 a.m., the Delaware House opened its debate on the spending bill. Republicans almost immediately requested a recess to deliberate among themselves.
They briefly left the House chamber as a group. When they returned, the GOP leaders, including Spiegelman, gathered with Minor-Brown and other Democrats to quietly negotiate further.
The remaining Republicans continued to quietly talk among themselves. References to veto overrides could be heard coming from the group.
Shortly thereafter, the House session resumed with Heffernan asking her colleagues to table the Bond Bill. They promptly approved the request.
House Majority Whip Ed Osienski (D-Newark) then brought a motion for the chamber to consider an override of Gov. Matt Meyer’s veto of Senate Bill 75, which would have prohibited county governments from creating restrictive zoning regulations on legal marijuana shops.
The Delaware Senate overrode the veto in January.
Rep. Shannon Morris (R-Harrington) rose to question why the House would consider the move in the early morning hours on the final day of the Legislative Session.
“We had six months to do this. Why wait until July 1 when the state of Delaware is asleep,” Morris asked.
Osienski said the override decision came after a Delaware Supreme Court ruling in May that declared the state government has ultimate authority over land-use issues.
“The General Assembly controls zoning power,” Osienski said. His comments highlighted a persistent debate in Delaware politics around the power of localities to control their land-use decisions.
Ultimately the House voted to override the veto. Following the vote, legislators turned back to the Bond Bill, which subsequently passed.
Asked about the quiet discussions that preceded the votes, Spiegelman said they were to ensure “we are all on the same page.”
Sexual assault bill blunders
During the early Wednesday morning hours, after both chambers had already passed the Bond Bill and were nearing the end of a marathon final day, a prolonged debate over a proposal surrounding child sexual abuse legal claims gripped the Senate.
House Bill 75, originally passed in the House last year, would have removed the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse civil claims.
The bill also removed the state’s immunity in those types of lawsuits, meaning a sexual abuse survivor could theoretically sue the Delaware government for damages should they believe the state enabled their abuse.
Introduced by House Minority Leader Tim Dukes, HB 75 received strong bipartisan support in the House last year and was sponsored by Sen. Nicole Poore (D-South New Castle) in the Senate.
But a late-stage amendment to the bill, introduced this week by Senate President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola (D-Newark), led to nearly an hour of debate.
Sokola’s amendment added new definitions and clarifying language to the bill stipulating that an alleged abuser and their employer do not automatically share a civil liability for harm done to a survivor.
The amendment drew criticism from both sides of the aisle, with both Sens. Poore and Bryant Richardson (R-Seaford) condemning its inclusion into the bill. Poore said the amendment would close the door on those looking for justice.
“When a child has lost their innocence, should they also lose their access to justice?” Poore asked during a lengthy speech opposing Sokola’s amendment.
Senators ultimately added Sokola’s amendment to the bill, sending it back to the House for a final consideration with the controversial changes added.
But once back in the House, Dukes made the shock decision to kill the bill instead of considering it with Sokola’s amendment. Officially known as “striking” the bill, he removed it from consideration before it could be voted on.
Dukes’ move was met with a standing ovation from the entire House chamber.
In an interview with Spotlight Delaware, Dukes said it was better to strike the bill than pass it with Sokola’s amendment.
“It really gutted the bill,” Dukes said, “and it weakened the hope for victims.”
Following the HB 75 strike, the House unceremoniously passed the state’s annual grant-in-aid funding package, which allocated nearly $100 million to nonprofit organizations across the state.
At just before 6 a.m., the House gaveled out for a final time, ending the 153rd General Assembly with a marathon 16-hour day of legislating.
As lawmakers enter their six-month off-season, many are gearing up for what will be contentious elections in an attempt to hold onto their seat.
