DE HB 119

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 9, 14, AND 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LIBRARIES.

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

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Quick answers

Did DE HB 119 pass?

Yes. DE HB 119 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2025-09-15): Signed by Governor

What is DE HB 119 about?

This Act establishes the following principles in regards to public library material: (1) Library material is provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all persons the library serves; (2) Library material should not be excluded, removed, or prohibited from a catalogue because of the origin, background, or views of a persons who created the material; (3) Material should not be excluded, removed, or prohibited from a library because of partisan, ideological, or religious disapproval. This Act requires that public libraries adopt a library collection development policy consistent with the foregoing principles. The written policy must include the policy and procedure that libraries will follow when receiving and reviewing objections to library material. It further requires that all library material that is under review due to an objection must remain available for use by library patrons until the review process is concluded. It also prohibits the governing body of a library from suspending, disciplining, or otherwise retaliating against an employee of a library that acts in accordance with the State principles and media content policy. This Act also creates similar requirements for school libraries and requires that public schools create policies and procedures for reviewing objections to school library material that conform to the established collection development policy for school libraries. Within these policies and procedures, school libraries must include: (1) a uniform process to submit an objection to material in a school library; (2) a requirement that material under review due to an objection remain available for use by students and school personnel until the review process is concluded; and (3) a reasonable timeline to conduct and conclude the review process. An appeal of a decision determining whether school library material may remain in the school library may be made to the board of the local education agency. A final appeal from the decision of the board of the local education agency may be made to a School Library Review Committee, which is made up of the following individuals or the individual’s designee: (1) The President of the School Chiefs’ Association. (2) The State Librarian. (3) The Secretary of the Department of Education. (4) The President of the Delaware State Education Association. (5) The President of the Association of School Administrators. (6) The President of the Delaware Association of School Librarians. (7) The President of the Delaware Library Association.

Who sponsors DE HB 119?

David P. Sokola, Sarah McBride, Claire Snyder-Hall and 17 others are the primary sponsors of DE HB 119, joined by 13 cosponsors.

Description

Introduced: 2025-04-15
Latest action: 2025-09-15 — Signed by Governor
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

2025-09-15
Signed by Governor
executive-signature
2025-06-30
Passed By Senate. Votes: 14 YES 6 NO 1 ABSENT
passage
2025-06-18
Reported Out of Committee (Elections & Government Affairs) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 3 On Its Merits
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-05-22
Assigned to Elections & Government Affairs Committee in Senate
introduction,referral-committee
2025-05-22
Passed By House. Votes: 27 YES 10 NO 4 ABSENT
passage
2025-05-22
Amendment HA 8 to HB 119 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
amendment-passage
2025-05-22
Amendment HA 7 to HB 119 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
amendment-passage
2025-05-22
Amendment HA 6 to HB 119 - Defeated In House by Voice Vote
amendment-failure
2025-05-22
Amendment HA 5 to HB 119 - Stricken in House
2025-05-22
Amendment HA 4 to HB 119 - Stricken in House
2025-05-22
Amendment HA 3 to HB 119 - Defeated In House by Voice Vote
amendment-failure
2025-05-22
Amendment HA 2 to HB 119 - Defeated In House by Voice Vote
amendment-failure
2025-05-22
Amendment HA 1 to HB 119 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
amendment-passage
2025-05-22
Amendment HA 7 to HB 119 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
amendment-introduction
2025-05-22
Amendment HA 6 to HB 119 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
amendment-introduction
2025-05-22
Amendment HA 5 to HB 119 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
amendment-introduction
2025-05-22
Amendment HA 4 to HB 119 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
amendment-introduction
2025-05-22
Amendment HA 3 to HB 119 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
amendment-introduction
2025-05-22
Amendment HA 2 to HB 119 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
amendment-introduction
2025-05-20
Amendment HA 1 to HB 119 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
amendment-introduction
2025-05-07
Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 3 On Its Merits
committee-passage
2025-04-15
Introduced and Assigned to Administration Committee in House
introduction,referral-committee

Versions

HA 7 to HB 119Compare
HA 1 to HB 119Compare
HA 8 to HB 119Compare
Bill TextCompare

Documents

Votes

SM
2025-05-22 · pass · 27-10
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: no
- Franklin D. Cooke: yes
- Daniel B. Short: no
- Timothy D. Dukes: no
- Mara Gorman: yes
- Ronald E. Gray: no
- Krista Griffith: yes
- Kerri Evelyn Harris: yes
- Debra Heffernan: yes
- Kevin S Hensley: yes
- Jeff Hilovsky: no
- Valerie Jones Giltner: no
- Kendra Johnson: yes
- Kimberly Williams: yes
- Kamela T Smith: other
- Larry Lambert: yes
- Sean M. Lynn: yes
- Michael F. Smith: yes
- Melissa Minor-Brown: yes
- Shannon Morris: no
- Eric Morrison: yes
- DeShanna U Neal: yes
- Josue O Ortega: yes
- Edward S. Osienski: yes
- Stell Parker Selby: other
- Sophie Phillips: other
- Charles S Postles Jr.: no
- Cyndie Romer: yes
- Melanie Ross Levin: yes
- Sherae'a Moore: yes
- Bryan W. Shupe: no
- Claire Snyder-Hall: yes
- Jeffrey N. Spiegelman: yes
- Jesse R. Vanderwende: other
- Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
- Lyndon D. Yearick: no
SM
2025-06-30 · pass · 14-6
Member-level votes (21)
- Darius J. Brown: other
- Eric Buckson: no
- Daniel Cruce: yes
- Stephanie L. Hansen: yes
- Gerald W. Hocker: no
- Kyra L. Hoffner: yes
- Russell Huxtable: yes
- Dave G. Lawson: no
- S. Elizabeth Lockman: yes
- Spiros Mantzavinos: yes
- Trey Paradee: yes
- Brian Pettyjohn: no
- Marie Pinkney: yes
- Nicole Poore: yes
- Bryant L. Richardson: no
- Ray Seigfried: yes
- David P. Sokola: yes
- Laura V. Sturgeon: yes
- Bryan Townsend: yes
- John "Jack" Walsh: yes
- David L. Wilson: no

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=142127

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-10-23T13:58:17.139287Z

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