3/23/26 Legislative Update
This is the final week before Spring Break begins on Monday March 31st. The Delaware General Assembly will return for session on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.
Last week, Senate Bill 1, which limits how hospitals will be reimbursed from state-run health insurance plans, was passed out of the Senate Health Committee and placed in Senate Finance. SB 1 is part of a long fight that goes back to the failed attempt to bring Medicare Advantage to Delaware, and went through the passage of House Bill 350 and its subsequent gutting after a Supreme Court challenge.
Representative Frank Burns has introduced the first leg of a constitutional amendment to establish the right for all employees to organize and bargain collectively. This would give all employees the right to unionize— and strengthen the power of workers to earn fair pay and demand safer working conditions. HB 234 will be in the House Administration Committee Wednesday at 3:00 PM.
Representative Eric Morrison has introduced legislation (HB 291) to stop the Department of Corrections from entering into contracts with any for-profit entity for the use of inmate labor. This would help protect incarcerated individuals from exploitation from companies seeking cheap labor sources. It still allows outside employment and work release. This will be heard in the House Corrections Committee this Tuesday at 10 AM.
This week, Republicans Rep. Spiegelman and Sen. Pettyjohn introduced HB 289, which would repeal the Richard “Mouse” Smith Compassionate Release Act, a law that allows sick and/or elderly incarcerated people to apply directly to the courts for a sentence modification. In the past, compassionate release was inaccessible, over-restrictive, and rarely used. The goal of compassionate release is to ensure all people applying for sentence modification are considered individually, rather than judged simply on the classification of their offense. However, many criminal justice reform advocates, including the ACLU-DE, Home Team Chosen Ones, and Tide Shift Justice Project, say that HB 289 would essentially repeal the law that was just signed into law in late 2025. HB 289 will be heard in the House Corrections Committee this Tuesday at 10 AM.
Make Your Voice Heard
See below for some of the most notable bills in committee this week and how to give public comment. For length and clarity, we are only putting bills that need the most public input below. Bills in green are bills we generally support, bills in red are bills we generally oppose, and bills in yellow are neutral or unknown.
You can also check here for the full list of committee meetings and click “view” next to each meeting for the full agenda and additional information.
Bills the Week of 3/23
| Bill # | Sponsor | Summary/Description | Committee and Sign-Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| HB 234 | Burns | First leg of a constitutional amendment that would establish a fundamental right for all employees to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing for the purpose of negotiating wages, hours, and working conditions, and to protect their economic welfare and safety at work. | House Administration Committee Wednesday 3/25/26 at 3:00PM JFC Hearing Room 411 Legislative Ave, Dover DE Zoom here |
| HB 291 | Morrison | For-profit inmate labor ban. Prohibits the Department of Corrections from entering into contracts with any for-profit entity for the use of inmate labor. This Act does not apply to § 6533 of Title 11 relating to outside employment and work release. |
House Corrections Committee Tuesday 3/24/2026 at 10AM House Majority Hearing Room (H217) 411 Legislative Ave, Dover DE Zoom here |
| HB 289 | Spiegelman | Rolls back the Richard Mouse Smith Compassionate Release Act by excluding a person convicted and sentenced for a class A felony from being able to have their sentence of incarceration modified. | House Corrections Committee Tuesday 3/24/2026 at 10AM House Majority Hearing Room (H217) 411 Legislative Ave, Dover DE Zoom here |
| SB 65 | Hocker | Removes Delaware from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. | Senate Environmental Committee Wednesday 3/25/26 at 12:00 PM Senate Chamber 411 Legislative Ave, Dover DE Zoom here |