General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thursday, May 14, 2026
One notable bill passed the Senate yesterday. SB 22 (Townsend), which aims to increase affordable access to mental health care services in Delaware, unanimously passed and now heads to the House.
Here is yesterday’s Session Activity Report. Happy to see that SS1/SB 23 (Huxtable) cleared committee despite some opposition from local governments.
Today’s Senate Agenda features SB 249 (Pinkney), which:
‘… (1) Establishes a regulatory framework for substance use harm reduction programs that provides immunities for program providers and staff. (2) Modifies the definition of drug paraphernalia. (3) Decriminalizes possession of paraphernalia for individuals who use drugs, while retaining prohibitions for paraphernalia used in the manufacturing or distribution of drugs and the selling of certain drug paraphernalia.’
We also have Nicole Poore’s sop to RV dealers as well. She’s gonna need those campaign contributions.
Today’s House Agenda features HB 369 (Gorman), which ‘ codifies Executive Order No. 9 issued on May 1, 2025, by Governor Matthew Meyer regarding the establishment, within the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety.’ Y’see, executive orders expire when there’s a new Governor. This bill ensures that there will be an ongoing Office of Gun Violence Protection and Community Safety’.
Allow me to point out that the much-heralded SB 1 is not on an agenda.
Allow me also to point out that HB 183 (Gorman), which reforms the special elections process, is not on an agenda. That is due to deliberate malign neglect from Speaker Mimi Minor-Brown. If the Speaker continues to block this bill from the Agenda, we’ll hopefully have a more favorable environment come 2027. Gorman will likely be in the Senate, ideally without those senators who benefited from the undemocratic process that enabled their election, and, should the primaries go as hoped, perhaps with a less anti-democratic Speaker of the House.
I see the Senate passed another SEBC shake-up. The original bill (sb 289) would have removed the Treasurer as a committee member, though funding for employee benefits is a critical committee task. It looks like they changed that back, but also are making a non-government employee Governor’s appointee the Chair? Something deeper is going on here. I went to the Democrat Dinner at the Chase Center which featured many speeches about retiring leaders, even an award for Sokola, and no one mentioned the Treasurer at all or thanked her for her service. And making someone a chair who may have conflicts or lack expertise / a Senate confirmation is very concerning. I missed the debate but hope the House will dive deep here.