3/9/26 Legislative Update

The state legislature goes back into session this week after a six week break for budget hearings. During those hearings, state agencies presented their budget requests for the upcoming fiscal year to the legislators on the Joint Finance Committee. 

With the House and Senate back in session this week, we can hope to move forward with important bills to improve the lives of working families.

A few bills that were originally supposed to be heard in committee in January were rescheduled to be heard this upcoming week:

• The House Labor Committee has two important bills that are both sponsored by WFP legislators. The first is HS 1 for HB 84 from Rep. Eric Morrison, which bans “captive audience” meetings from employers. These meetings are historically used to keep employees from unionizing, but can also be used to force a whole other array of political and religious views, all of which would be prohibited by this bill. SB 26 from Rep. Frank Burns would allow an employee who is subject to a labor dispute, other than a lockout, to collect unemployment benefits after a 2-week waiting period. 

• The House Administration Committee will consider HB 188 from Republican Rep. Mike Smith, which would allow voters who are currently unaffiliated to vote in either the Democratic or Republican primaries in September. While this would open up these choices for those who don’t feel represented by either of the two parties, it can be a double-edged sword — some of those voters are disenfranchised working people would likely support Working Families candidates, but some are more corporate-minded conservatives and moderates who would likely oppose Working Families candidates.

Another important labor bill will be heard in the Senate Labor Committee this week: SB 241 from Senator Walsh would require Project Labor Agreements for public works projects with a cost of $5 million or more unless the project receives federal funding, the project is for highway construction, or there was only 1 bid for the craft under the contract. A project labor agreement is a type of collective bargaining agreement in the construction industry that is generally negotiated before construction begins. Project labor agreements are intended to provide a legally binding and enforceable contract primarily related to labor conditions and labor-management relations.

A few potentially concerning tax credit bills will be heard in committee this week as well. While some of these may be well-intended, we have to consider what other programs and services the state would have to cut from the budget in order to fund them:

• HB 186 (Hensley) would create an Electricity Production Tax Credit (EPTC) and bonus credits for the construction and operation of a limited number of high-efficiency Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) electrical generation facilities, with an output of between 100 MW and 500 MW. This could cost the state up to $45 million/year for 10 years and raises environmental concerns.

• HB 237 (M. Smith) would create an entertainment tax credit for an investment in Delaware in a film, television, esports or videogame production. While supporting the arts is admirable, this would cost taxpayers between $330k-$500k/year in operations, and the tax credit could cost taxpayers up to $25 million/year starting in 2028.

• HB 73 (Bush) would double the senior property tax credit cap from $500 to $1000. We all want to support struggling seniors, however there would be significant costs to the state to implement this. The State reimburses local school districts for the cost of the senior property tax credits issued through an appropriation in the annual operating budget. For 2025, this appropriation is $29.8 million. There were 71,537 recipients of the senior property tax credit in Fiscal Year 2025. Of these recipients, 34,302 were in New Castle County, 12,101 were in Kent County and 25,134 were in Sussex County. The average credit provided was $429. This bill would cost the State an additional $15.3million/year for the next 3 years. 

On a more positive note, a constitutional amendment to protect the right to marry regardless of gender, race, or any other constitutionally protected class will be heard this week in the House Administration Committee. SS2 for SB 100, sponsored by Senator Huxtable, is the first leg of this constitutional amendment. It will have to pass both this General Assembly and the next General Assembly to go into effect. With fundamental rights under attack nationally and in states throughout the country, now is the time to strengthen any constitutional protections we can.

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 3/9

Bill #	Sponsor	Summary/Description	Committee and Sign-Up
HB 315	K. Williams/Brown	Banning transaction fees on credit card tips. Prohibits payment card networks from establishing or charging transaction fees on tips on credit card transactions. Violations are punishable by a penalty of $1,000 per electronic transaction and the wrongful fees must be refunded.	House Econ Committee Tues 3/10 at Noon
HB 271	Osienski/Paradee	Marijuana establishment spacing requirement specification that the distance limitation applies only to retail marijuana licenses. By limiting the spacing requirement to retail licenses, the Act permits the co-location of non-retail marijuana operations, including cultivation, manufacturing, and testing facilities, while preserving the Commissioner’s full regulatory authority over licensing, inspection, and enforcement.	House Econ Committee Tues 3/10 at Noon
HB 258	Bolden/Brown	Liquor Store Distance Requirements. Allows any municipality with a population of 50,000 or more (Wilmington) 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.	House Econ Committee Tues 3/10 at Noon
HS1/HB 84	Morrison/Walsh	Prohibits employers from requiring meetings or communications the purpose of which is to convey the employer’s political or religious views, including views regarding unionization. There is a list of exemptions to this prohibition listed in the bill synopsis. The Department of Labor can investigate employer practices, make rules and regulations, and commence civil actions if necessary.	House Labor Committee Tues 3/10 at 1pm
SB 26	Brown/Burns	Allows an employee who is subject to a labor dispute, other than a lockout, to collect unemployment benefits after a 2-week waiting period, if the employee meets all the eligibility requirements for unemployment benefits, including being able and available for work and completing weekly job requirements. The 2-week waiting period is waived if the employer hires a replacement worker and/or the labor dispute is caused by the failure or refusal of the employer to comply with an agreement or contract between the employer and the individual. Under current Delaware law, if a labor dispute constitutes a lockout, employees who meet all other eligibility requirements qualify for unemployment benefits from the date they file their claim. However, if a labor dispute does not constitute a lockout, employees do not qualify for unemployment benefits.	House Labor Committee Tues 3/10 at 1pm
SB 226	Pinkney/Minor Brown	Permitting medical marijuana use in health care facilities for terminally ill patients. Requires health care facilities to permit terminally ill patients with medical marijuana cards to use medical marijuana on the health care facilities’ premises, subject to certain restrictions, including: If the facility's medical professionals determine that use of medical marijuana may have an adverse impact on the medical care and treatment of the patient If a federal regulatory agency, the United States Department of Justice, or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services initiates an enforcement action against a health care facility based on the use of medical marijuana on the facility's premises or issues a rule or guidance prohibiting the use of medical marijuana at health care facilities	Senate Health Committee Wed 3/11 at 10am
HB 265	Ross Levin/Pinkney	Limited immunity from prosecution for persons who seek to report a sexual offense. 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.	House Judiciary Committee Wed 3/11 at 10:30am
HB 293	Morrison/Lockman	Adds hate crime to the definitions of crimes for the purposes of the Victims Compensation Assistance Program.	House Judiciary Committee Wed 3/11 at 10:30am
SB 239	Hansen/Burns	Removes the 8% cap on net energy metering for customer-generation.	Senate Environment Committee Wed 3/11 at Noon
SB 242	Hansen/Heffernan	Addressing utility rate cases from 2025. It was the intent of legislation passed last summer that the Commission must apply the “prudence" standard (instead of the previous “business judgement rule” standard) retroactively in rate case decisions, where the public utility filed the rate case proceeding with the Commission during the period from the date of enactment of the legislation on July 16, 2025, through December 31, 2025.	Senate Environment Committee Wed 3/11 at Noon
SB 241	Walsh/Osienski	Project labor agreements. Requires that a contract advertised after September 30, 2026, relating to a public works project with a cost of $5 million or more must include a project labor agreement with the Delaware Building and Construction Trades Council unless the project receives federal funding, the project is for highway construction, or there was only 1 bid for the craft under the contract. A project labor agreement is a type of collective bargaining agreement in the construction industry that is generally negotiated before construction begins. Project labor agreements are intended to provide a legally binding and enforceable contract primarily related to labor conditions and labor-management relations.	Senate Labor Committee Wed 3/11 at Noon
HB 186	Hensley/Pettyjohn	Electricity Production Tax Credit (EPTC) and bonus credits for the construction and operation of a limited number of high-efficiency Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) electrical generation facilities, with an output of between 100 MW and 500 MW. This could cost the state up to $45 million/year for 10 years and raises environmental concerns.	House Revenue Committee Wed 3/11 at 1pm
HB 237	M.Smith/Buckson	Entertainment tax credit. This would create a thirty-percent, transferable tax credit for an investment in Delaware in a film, television, esports or videogame production. While supporting the arts is admirable, this would cost taxpayers between $330k-$500k/year in operations, and the tax credit could cost taxpayers up to $25million/year starting in 2028.	House Revenue Committee Wed 3/11 at 1pm
HB 188	M.Smith/Buckson	Creates open primaries for unaffiliated voters only. Would allow Delaware voters who are not affiliated with a political party to vote in a political party's primary election. Currently there are approximately 170,000 registered Delaware voters who are not affiliated with a political party. Members of a political party are not allowed to crossover and vote in another political party's primary election.	House Elections Committee Wed 3/11 at 1pm
SB 232	Wilson/D. Short	Increases the crime of criminal mischief to a class F felony when the person intentionally causes damage to an authorized emergency vehicle resulting in a loss of $5,000 or more or in the authorized emergency vehicle becoming temporarily unable to be used to respond to an emergency. There are always concerns when increasing criminal penalties for specific cases.	Senate Judiciary Committee Wed 3/11 at 2pm
HB 75	Dukes/Poore	Removes civil statute of limitations for victims of child sexual abuse. A victim of child sexual abuse that occurred in this State who has been barred from filing suit against the victim’s abuser by virtue of the expiration of a former civil statute of limitations are permitted to file these claims in the Superior Court of this state at any time. This is intended to apply retroactively.	Senate Judiciary Committee Wed 3/11 at 2pm
HB 65	Bolden/Poore	Primary Election Date Change. Moves the date of primary elections for statewide office, county office, and municipal office from September to the fourth Tuesday in April, which is the date of the presidential primary (in presidential election years). This would apply to elections starting in 2027.	Senate Executive Committee Wed 3/11 at 3pm
HB 73	Bush/Hoffner	Doubling the senior property tax credit. Would raise the Senior property tax credit cap from $500 to $1000. The State reimburses local school districts for the cost of the senior property tax credits issued through an appropriation in the annual operating budget. For 2025, this appropriation is $29.8 million. We all want to support struggling seniors, however there would be significant costs to the state to implement this. There were 71,537 recipients of the senior property tax credit in Fiscal Year 2025. Of these recipients, 34,302 were in New Castle County, 12,101 were in Kent County and 25,134 were in Sussex County. The average credit provided was $429. This bill would cost the State an additional $15.3million/year for the next 3 years.	House Administration Committee Wed 3/11 at 3pm
SS2/SB 100	Huxtable/Snyder-Hall	Constitutional amendment establishing that the right to marry is a fundamental right that may not be denied or abridged on the basis of gender or any basis protected under Art. 1, § 21 of the Delaware Constitution, which provides equal protection under the law on account of race, color, national origin, and sex. This is the first leg of a constitutional amendment, meaning it must pass in this General Assembly and again in the next General Assembly.	House Administration Committee Wed 3/11 at 3pm