6/23/25 Legislative Update

We are exactly one week away from the end of the legislative session, which means this is the last chance to get bills passed until 2026. Over the next few days, there is going to be a rush of bills that will be voted on, not voted on, and otherwise dealt with through wheeling and dealing. 

We’re not going to be able to talk through every single thing that happens in the upcoming days, but we can talk about some of the big bills that are scheduled to be voted on as committees become less of a priority.

The most consequential are HB 225 and HB 226, which make up the state’s annual budget. There’s a lot in there, but apart from a few things in the epilogue language (which is the long section under the proper budget where legislators often put in their own pet projects), there are no major things that we are looking to oppose.

There are lots of other important bills that we have talked about before that are receiving their votes on Tuesday. WFP Champion Larry Lambert is getting a vote on his Pollution Accountability Act, HB 210, which would update the fees for different polluters up and down the state. This bill has been getting pushback from some of those polluters, despite the urgency of protecting against harmful emissions like the one at the Delaware City Refinery, and will likely face amendments, but the bill should pass as is.

Another important bill dealing with toxins is HS 2 for HB 70, which requires landlords owning units constructed before 1978 to make sure that those units are certified as lead free to cut down on one of the most common sources of childhood lead poisoning.

On the civil liberties side, there are two major pieces of legislation that will help crack down on state violence. The first is HS 1 for HB 35, which would enshrine Delaware has a long, dysfunctional history with the death penalty marked by a troubling cycle of repeal and reinstatement based on reactionary politics, and this would close that cycle for good. This has a higher vote count needed than most bills, so you can learn more about how to support it here.

The second is HB 182, which would ban local law-enforcement agencies from entering into agreements with ICE. This is already a problem that has come up several times, as reported by Spotlight Delaware, so it’s important that this law passes as soon as possible.

Make Your Voice Heard

See below for some of the most notable bills that are scheduled to be voted on tomorrow, June 24th. The public is not allowed to give comment on these bills when they’re being voted on, but you can call your legislators to ask them to vote a certain way on the bill. If you don’t know who your representatives are or how to reach out to them, you can find that here.

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. You can also view the updated house and senate agendas here.

Bills coming up the week of 6/23/25:

Bill #	Sponsor	Summary/Description
HB 225	Williams/Paradee	Budget Bill, setting the budget for all state agencies across the next fiscal year.
HB 226	Williams/Paradee	One-Time Appropriation Bill, filling supplementing funding needs that were not able to make it into the main budget bill.
HB 210	Lambert/Poore	Pollution Accountability Act, increasing fees for polluters of excess nutrients, hazardous waste, and other toxic substances.
HS 2 for HB 70	Harris/Pinkney	Rental lead abatement program, requiring landlords to make sure that all rental units constructed before January 1, 1978, are certified as lead free or lead safe by a specific deadline.
HS1 for HB 35	Lynn/Hoffner	Death Penalty Abolition, enshrining that abolition officially into the Constitution.
HB 182	Gorman/Lockman	Prohibits law-enforcement agencies from entering into agreements with federal immigration enforcement authorities to enforce immigration violations or share immigration enforcement related data. This Act is not intended to prevent a law-enforcement agency from working with the federal government on other public safety efforts.