Bill Commons

DE HB 131

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 6 AND 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PET STORES AND ANIMAL WELFARE.

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

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Quick answers

Did DE HB 131 pass?

Yes. DE HB 131 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-07-23): Signed by Governor

What is DE HB 131 about?

This Act fosters the humane treatment of animals and prevents animal cruelty by prohibiting retail pet stores from selling dogs or cats. It further authorizes retail pet stores to collaborate with animal shelters and animal rescue organizations to offer space to showcase dogs or cats for adoption. The Office of Animal Welfare will be responsible for enforcing this Act. Retailers will receive a civil penalty of no more than $500 for each prohibited sale. This Act takes effect 6 months after its enactment into law.

Who sponsors DE HB 131?

Laura V. Sturgeon, Nicole Poore, Stell Parker Selby and 9 others are the primary sponsors of DE HB 131.

Description

This Act fosters the humane treatment of animals and prevents animal cruelty by prohibiting retail pet stores from selling dogs or cats. It further authorizes retail pet stores to collaborate with animal shelters and animal rescue organizations to offer space to showcase dogs or cats for adoption. The Office of Animal Welfare will be responsible for enforcing this Act. Retailers will receive a civil penalty of no more than $500 for each prohibited sale. This Act takes effect 6 months after its enactment into law.

Introduced
2025-05-01
Latest action
2026-07-23 — Signed by Governor
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • Laura V. Sturgeonprimary
  • Nicole Pooreprimary
  • Stell Parker Selbyprimary
  • Sarah McBrideprimary
  • Mara Gormanprimary
  • Spiros Mantzavinosprimary
  • Melanie Ross Levinprimary
  • Claire Snyder-Hallprimary
  • Eric Morrisonprimary
  • John "Jack" Walshprimary
  • Marie Pinkneyprimary
  • Kimberly Williamsprimary

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-07-23

    Signed by Governor

    executive-signature

  2. 2026-06-18

    Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES

    passage

  3. 2026-06-16

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 15 YES 6 NO

    passage

  4. 2026-06-16

    Amendment SA 1 to HB 131 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 15 YES 5 NO 1 ABSENT

    amendment-passage

  5. 2026-05-13

    Amendment SA 1 to HB 131 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

    amendment-introduction

  6. 2026-05-13

    Reported Out of Committee (Health & Social Services) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  7. 2026-01-20

    Assigned to Health & Social Services Committee in Senate

    introduction,referral-committee

  8. 2026-01-20

    Passed By House. Votes: 33 YES 4 NO 1 NOT VOTING 3 ABSENT

    passage

  9. 2025-05-14

    Reported Out of Committee (Health & Human Development) in House with 6 Favorable, 5 On Its Merits

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  10. 2025-05-01

    Introduced and Assigned to Health & Human Development Committee in House

    introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • SM

    2026-01-20 · pass · 33-4

    Member-level votes (41)
    • Alonna Berry: yes
    • Stephanie T. Bolden: other
    • 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: yes
    • Timothy D. Dukes: yes
    • Mara Gorman: yes
    • Ronald E. Gray: yes
    • Krista Griffith: yes
    • Kerri Evelyn Harris: yes
    • 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: other
    • Josue O Ortega: yes
    • Edward S. Osienski: yes
    • Sophie Phillips: yes
    • Charles S Postles Jr.: no
    • Cyndie Romer: yes
    • Melanie Ross Levin: yes
    • Sherae'a Moore: yes
    • Bryan W. Shupe: other
    • Claire Snyder-Hall: yes
    • Jeffrey N. Spiegelman: other
    • Jesse R. Vanderwende: no
    • Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
    • Lyndon D. Yearick: no
  • SM

    2026-06-16 · pass · 15-6

    Member-level votes (21)
    • Darius J. Brown: yes
    • 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
  • SM

    2026-06-18 · pass · 41-0

    Member-level votes (41)
    • Alonna Berry: yes
    • 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: yes
    • 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
    • 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: yes
    • Jesse R. Vanderwende: yes
    • Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
    • Lyndon D. Yearick: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-10-22T08:22:51.646773Z

Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:

Session-wide evidence can include changes to other bills:

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