General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Today’s a huge committee day in Dover.  But first, yesterday’s Session Activity Report.  It was comity all around as all the legislation passed unanimously.

OK, deep breath, and more caffeine, as we review today’s chock-full schedule of committee meetings.  I flipped a coin, and have decided to start with today’s Senate committee meeting highlights.

SB 196 (Mantzavinos) ‘requires long-term care facilities to fully disclose ownership information for the facility and disclose ownership information to residents prior to the transfer of ownership of a facility.’  The bill is better than the rather confusing synopsis in that it requires the full disclosure of ownership information in all cases, not just when there’s a proposed transfer of ownership.  Yet another good bill dealing with long-term care.  Health & Social Services.

SB 226 (Pinkney) ‘provides that health care facilities must permit patients who have been issued and possess a valid registry identification card for the medical use of marijuana and have a terminal illness to use medical marijuana on the health care facilities’ premises, subject to certain restrictions.’  Health & Social Services.

SB 238 (Townsend) is a little complicated, but it appears to encourage the expansion of insurance coverage for certain chiropractic and PT services.  Let me know if I got that wrong. Health & Social Services.

SB 231 (Pinkney) has a synopsis which I don’t think is a sentence:  “This Act provides that School Social Workers who have successfully passed the Association of Social Work Boards National Clinical Examination and hold a Licensed Clinical Social Worker License with a salary supplement.” Probably need a substitute bill since I don’t think you can amend the synopsis.  Sunset.

SB 239 (Hansen).  I’m a functional illiterate (I know, I should just stop right there) on public utility policy.  This bill ‘removes the 8% cap on net energy metering for customer-generation.’  Don’t know what that means, but, with Frank Burns and Eric Morrison on the bill, I assume it’s a ‘net’ positive. Environment, Energy & Transportation.

SB 241 (Walsh) ‘requires that a contract advertised after September 30, 2026, relating to a public works project (project) with an aggregate cost of $5 million or more must include a project labor agreement with the Delaware Building and Construction Trades Council…’.  There was a time when I was much more supportive of bills like this.  Now is not that time. Labor.

SB 243 (Cruce) supposedly ‘cleans up antiquated portions of The Liquor Control Act, under Title 4, by updating provisions that have been in the Code since the 1930s…’.  There’s a lot of, um, stuff, in this bill, and it’s not at all clear to me that this merely excises out-of-date provisions.  Read and react.  Elections & Government Affairs.

As you know, I generally only cover Senate bills in the Senate committee previews and House bills in the House committee previews since I’ve previously covered bills when they were in their chamber of origin.  There are exceptions, and this one surfaces every two years.  Yes, we’re talking Stephanie Bolden’s Incumbency Protection legislation.  It has once again passed the House, where members hate the idea of facing potential primaries every two years, and is in the Senate Executive Committee, which has effectively killed the bill in (at least) three consecutive legislative sessions.  Let’s hope that wiser heads prevail once again.

Before we head over to the House, there is a brief Senate Agenda, featuring a Senate bill that was returned to the Senate with a House Amendment, and three reappointments.

Today’s House Committee highlights:

HB 265 (Ross Levin) ‘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.’  Judiciary.

HB 293 (Morrison) ‘ adds any act that contains the characteristics of a hate crime to the definitions of crimes for the purposes of the Victims Compensation Assistance Program.’ Judiciary.

HB 186 (Hensley) ‘ incentivize(s) 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, by creating an Electricity Production Tax Credit (EPTC) and bonus credits. These credits would offset state corporate tax liability while facilitating the increased availability of clean, cost-effective, high-efficiency, and energy production.’  Pardon my suspicion, but when the only two D’s on the bill (along with virtually every R) are Walsh and Osienski, and when ‘Combined-Cycle Gas Turbines’ are defined as clean energy, I think I’ve earned my skepticism.  Revenue & Finance. 

While HB 283 isn’t a major bill, what is realtor Kevin Hensley doing sponsoring a bill on the realty transfer tax?

HB 237 (M. Smith) ‘encourage(s) jobs creation, artistic endeavors and investment in the film, television, esports and videogame industry in the State of Delaware, and the attendant benefits for the economy and job growth. Delaware is one of the only states in the Mid-Atlantic and country without some form of tax credit at a time when production of original content for streaming and at theaters is at an all-time high.’  Revenue & Finance.

HB 188 (M. Smith) ‘allows Delaware voters who are not affiliated with a political party to vote in a political party’s primary election.’  Raising the question (and answer) to the following:  When is a political party’s primary election not a political party’s primary election?  BTW, WTF is Kim Williams doing on this bill as a sponsor? Elections & Government Affairs.

HB 301 (Morrison) ‘updates the existing crime of “breach of peace or violence on election day.” As rewritten, both of the following actions taken on election day or during the counting of ballots are class G felonies: (1) The use of any violence or threats of violence at or near a polling place, a Department of Elections office, or a meeting of the Board of Canvass; and (2) A breach of peace intended to impede, hinder, or interfere with the peaceful conduct of the election or reading and counting of ballots.’  Elections & Government Affairs.

HB 73 (Bush) ‘raises the Senior property tax credit cap from $500 to $1000.’  Do we really need to short the budget another $17.7 mill annually? Which indeed is the Controller General’s estimate.  I say no.  Administration.

Hope that gives you something to chew on.