Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, April 21, 2026

One of this session’s key bills highlights today’s House Agenda.  HB 400 (Harris) increases business licensing fees assessed by the Department of State.  In other words, modest increases for LLC’s and corporations who choose to make Delaware their official home.  We’re not talking about mom-and-pop businesses, and we’re mostly not talking about business entities who conduct much, if any, business in Delaware.  This bill, to a great degree, came about after the Joint Finance Committee heard from state agencies and programs that were at risk of cuts due to Delaware’s weakened revenue forecasts.  I look for, at worst, a straight party line vote in favor.  The bill has a 3/5ths passage requirement.  However, when you consider that the individual fee increases are minor (volume of transactions is where the State will make their money) and when you consider that some of these programs in jeopardy are also supported by some R’s, I would hope the vote would be closer to unanimous.

I expect the votes on the so-called ‘corporate law’ package to probably be close to unanimous as well.  Some of these bills are on today’s House Agenda, and they will be floor-managed by Richards, Layton & Finger’s Legislator Of The Year Krista Griffith.  I know that the Senate has at least, in recent years, brought attorneys in to answer questions.  I don’t know if the House is doing the same.  Suffice it to say that these bills are unintelligible to lay persons.  That is not accidental.

Finally, I want to put my two cents in on, of all things, a Charter Change.  It has been requested by the Village of Arden, of which I am a resident.  I know that several legislators read these pieces, and I want to let them know why I fully support this bill.  I did not agree with all of the elements in this proposal.  However, the process that got us here was fair and democratic in the best possible way.  Arden’s form of government is town meeting.  We have a minimum of four every year, more if necessary, and we’ve had more than four out of necessity in the past few years. The Town Assembly voted to have all the proposed changes voted on by all of the town residents, and a separate timeline was established to enable all residents to vote on each of the proposed changes.  I think there were something like 20 or so changes, many of them of the getting rid of outdated language variety, but some substantive.  I think all but one or two of the changes were approved by the residents, and that is what the General Assembly is considering.

A small, but exceedingly vocal, minority has gone to Dover claiming that what the town did was undemocratic.  Here’s the real story–for the better part of the last decade, this small group has functioned as Human Rain Delays, and has made it very difficult for the Town to conduct even routine business.  No matter what is before the Town Assembly, this group of no more than about ten residents has conspired to drag out proceedings to the point where the Assembly eventually loses its quorum, after which no votes can be taken.  This is a deliberate strategy. I’ve stopped going to town meeting because of this, as have many other residents of the village.

While it is understandable that legislators unfamiliar with what happened may well give the complaints of these few some weight, I am here to tell you that this was an open and fair process.  If you are a legislator reading this, please support the Charter Change.

Today’s Senate Agenda features SB 266 (Cruce), which updates state election law.  It is a minor bill that blows its own horn too mightily:

This Act safeguards elections in this State by strengthening fairness and impartiality in both the conduct of elections and the enforcement of election laws. Election protections are strengthened because this Act updates Title 15 so that the terms and procedures reflect modern vocabulary, technology, and best practices. Most of the revisions in this Act are technical, clarifications, or conform existing law to current practices in regard to determining an individual’s place of residence, requirements for electronic voting system software, performing audits of election results, and adjudicating or curing deficient absentee ballots.

In other words, it really doesn’t do anything, just puts them all in the same Title of the Delaware Code.

Welp, that’s pretty much all that floats my boat Agenda-wise.  There are just a few House committee meetings today.  Highlights include:

House Bill 135 (Phillips):

This Act seeks to incentivize localities to coordinate or create adequate emergency housing, permanent housing, and wrap-around services for individuals experiencing homelessness, which will ease the financial burden placed on emergency services, hospitals, and the criminal justice system, while providing unhoused individuals stability and dignity. To that end, this Act does the following: 1. Permits an individual experiencing homelessness to conduct life sustaining activities in public, so long as such activities do not obstruct the normal movement of pedestrian or vehicular traffic in such a manner that creates a hazard to others, unless adequate alternative indoor space is available to the individual in a given jurisdiction and has been offered to the individual, including transportation for the individual and their belongings. 2. Mandates that an individual experiencing homelessness receive the same degree of protection for personal property stored in public places as personal property stored in a private dwelling, which includes protections against unreasonable search and seizure. 3. Prohibits the State or local jurisdiction from requiring an individual experiencing homelessness to move a motor vehicle or a recreational vehicle provided that the vehicle is parked on public property and the vehicle is not parked in a position to obstruct the normal movement of traffic or create a hazard to other traffic upon the highway. 4. Provides that, if a motor vehicle or recreational vehicle must be moved because the vehicle is obstructing normal movement of traffic or creates a hazard to other traffic on the roadway, the individual experiencing homelessness must be permitted to relocate the vehicle before a parking ticket is issued or the vehicle is towed. Housing.

You will note that Senate leaders Sokola and Lockman are on the bill as co-sponsors, but no member of the House Democratic ‘leadership’ is on the bill.  Not even faux-empath Kerri Evelyn Harris. This is but one example of how the so-called House leaders express their disdain for progressive legislators.  This is but one reason why Phil Shawe has g(r)ifted Speaker Mimi Minor-Brown with a fully-funded PAC to stop progressive progress.  I predict it won’t work.  Rep. Phillips is one of our best young legislators.  I hope this bill passes.

HB 338 (Gorman) ‘clarifies that individual, group, and blanket health insurance carriers must provide for and pay for services (including immunizations) that were recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the comprehensive guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) that were in effect as of January 1, 2025. They must also cover immunizations that were supported by national clinical guidelines or national standards of care in effect on January 1, 2025.’

Kids, the bolded portion is why this bill has been introduced.  It’s designed to require continued insurance coverage for immunizations that RFK Jr. has decided are the work of the Devil.  Another ‘Delaware Fights Back’ bill. Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce.

Hoo-boy–lots of committee meetings tomorrow.  See you then.