DE HB 1

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CREATION OF A DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

Delaware · 2025-2026 Regular Session (153rd General Assembly) · lower

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Quick answers

Did DE HB 1 pass?

Yes. DE HB 1 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2025-08-13): Signed by Governor

What is DE HB 1 about?

This Act establishes a new state-level Department of Veterans Affairs led by a cabinet-level Secretary to advocate for and administer programs relating to veterans in the State of Delaware. It is the intent of this legislation that current staff of the Delaware Commission of Veterans Affairs and the Office of Veterans Affairs will continue their work, but as part of the new Department of Veterans Affairs, with the potential for expanded staff and duties in accordance with annual appropriations. The Department will hire veterans wherever possible. The Commission of Veterans Affairs will continue in its current form. It will continue to oversee the Delaware Veterans Home and will serve in an advisory role to the new Secretary and Department on other matters relating to veterans. The new Department is tasked with developing and proposing strategies for the provision of alternative elder care or the establishment of one or more additional veterans homes to serve the aging veteran population. House Substitute No. 1 to House Bill No. 1 differs from the original in that the Department of Veterans Affairs will for the present remain a part of the Department of State for budgetary, administrative, and operational purposes. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with other executive branch officials, is directed to develop a transition plan to separate from the Department of State and operate as a separate Department by July 1, 2030, or such time as there will be no negative impacts to the funding for veterans programs in Delaware. The plan must be presented to the General Assembly as a Transition Report and approved through a concurrent resolution.

Who sponsors DE HB 1?

David L. Wilson, John "Jack" Walsh, Bryan Townsend and 28 others are the primary sponsors of DE HB 1.

Description

Introduced: 2025-04-10
Latest action: 2025-08-13 — Signed by Governor
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

2025-08-13
Signed by Governor
executive-signature
2025-06-26
Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
passage
2025-06-10
Reported Out of Committee (Veterans Affairs) in Senate with 9 Favorable
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-05-21
Re-Assigned to Veterans Affairs Committee in Senate
introduction,referral-committee
2025-05-20
Assigned to Executive Committee in Senate
introduction,referral-committee
2025-05-20
Passed By House. Votes: 38 YES 3 ABSENT
passage
2025-05-20
Amendment HA 1 to HS 1 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
amendment-passage
2025-05-06
Amendment HA 1 to HS 1 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
amendment-introduction
2025-04-10
Adopted in lieu of the original bill HB 1, and Assigned to Appropriations Committee in House
introduction,referral-committee

Versions

HA 1 to HS 1 for HB 1Compare
(document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

SM
2025-05-20 · pass · 38-0
Member-level votes (41)
- Stephanie T. Bolden: yes
- Frank Burns: yes
- William Bush: yes
- William J. Carson: yes
- Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha: yes
- Richard G. Collins: yes
- Franklin D. Cooke: yes
- Daniel B. Short: yes
- Timothy D. Dukes: yes
- Mara Gorman: yes
- Ronald E. Gray: yes
- Krista Griffith: yes
- Kerri Evelyn Harris: other
- Debra Heffernan: yes
- Kevin S Hensley: yes
- Jeff Hilovsky: yes
- Valerie Jones Giltner: yes
- Kendra Johnson: yes
- Kimberly Williams: yes
- Kamela T Smith: yes
- Larry Lambert: yes
- Sean M. Lynn: yes
- Michael F. Smith: yes
- Melissa Minor-Brown: yes
- Shannon Morris: yes
- Eric Morrison: yes
- DeShanna U Neal: yes
- Josue O Ortega: yes
- Edward S. Osienski: yes
- Stell Parker Selby: other
- Sophie Phillips: yes
- Charles S Postles Jr.: yes
- Cyndie Romer: yes
- Melanie Ross Levin: yes
- Sherae'a Moore: yes
- Bryan W. Shupe: yes
- Claire Snyder-Hall: yes
- Jeffrey N. Spiegelman: other
- Jesse R. Vanderwende: yes
- Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
- Lyndon D. Yearick: yes
SM
2025-06-26 · pass · 21-0
Member-level votes (21)
- Darius J. Brown: yes
- Eric Buckson: yes
- Daniel Cruce: yes
- Stephanie L. Hansen: yes
- Gerald W. Hocker: yes
- Kyra L. Hoffner: yes
- Russell Huxtable: yes
- Dave G. Lawson: yes
- S. Elizabeth Lockman: yes
- Spiros Mantzavinos: yes
- Trey Paradee: yes
- Brian Pettyjohn: yes
- Marie Pinkney: yes
- Nicole Poore: yes
- Bryant L. Richardson: yes
- Ray Seigfried: yes
- David P. Sokola: yes
- Laura V. Sturgeon: yes
- Bryan Townsend: yes
- John "Jack" Walsh: yes
- David L. Wilson: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=142103

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T03:53:51.443619Z

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