DE HB 133

died on adjournment

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FINES, FEES, RESTITUTION, AND OTHER COURT-RELATED MONETARY OBLIGATIONS.

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

Description

Currently, even when a defendant or individual obviously does not have the means to pay a financial penalty or fee, Delaware Courts are unable to waive certain mandatory minimum fines or fees at sentencing. This can create a constitutional crossroads, as our justice system has long recognized that the Fourteen Amendment prohibits “punishing a person for his poverty.” Bearden v. Georgia, 461 U.S. 660, 671 (1983). This Act gives courts the discretion to waive fines and fees, in whole or in part, in appropriate circumstances. It also creates a presumption that fines and fees will not be imposed when a defendant shows evidence of certain conditions, including receiving a public assistance benefit (like Medicaid, SNAP, or veterans’ benefits) or being represented by the Office of Defense Services. It also creates a hearing process for anyone already sentenced to pay a fine or fee. The changes in this Act are based on recommendations of the Criminal Legal System Imposed Debt Study Group created by House Bill 244, as amended by House Amendment No 2, of the 151st General Assembly, in its December 7, 2023, report. This Act takes effect 180 days after its enactment.

Introduced: 2025-05-01
Status date: —
Latest action: 2026-06-30 — Passed By Senate. Votes: 16 YES 5 NO
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

2025-05-01
Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House
introduction,referral-committee
2025-05-08
Amendment HA 1 to HB 133 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
amendment-introduction
2025-05-14
Not Worked in Committee
2025-05-21
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 3 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-06-05
Amendment HA 2 to HB 133 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
amendment-introduction
2025-06-17
Amendment HA 3 to HB 133 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
amendment-introduction
2026-03-17
Amendment HA 4 to HB 133 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
amendment-introduction
2026-03-24
Amendment HA 1 to HB 133 - Stricken in House
2026-03-24
Amendment HA 2 to HB 133 - Stricken in House
2026-03-24
Amendment HA 3 to HB 133 - Stricken in House
2026-03-24
Amendment HA 4 to HB 133 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
amendment-passage
2026-03-24
Passed By House. Votes: 24 YES 13 NO 1 NOT VOTING 3 ABSENT
passage
2026-03-24
Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate
introduction,referral-committee
2026-06-24
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits
committee-passage
2026-06-30
Passed By Senate. Votes: 16 YES 5 NO
passage

Versions

HA 4 to HB 133Compare
(document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

SM
2026-03-24 · pass · 24-13
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: no
- Franklin D. Cooke: other
- Daniel B. Short: no
- Timothy D. Dukes: no
- Mara Gorman: yes
- Ronald E. Gray: no
- Krista Griffith: yes
- Kerri Evelyn Harris: other
- Debra Heffernan: yes
- Kevin S Hensley: no
- Jeff Hilovsky: no
- Valerie Jones Giltner: other
- Kendra Johnson: yes
- Kimberly Williams: yes
- Kamela T Smith: yes
- Larry Lambert: yes
- Sean M. Lynn: yes
- Michael F. Smith: no
- Melissa Minor-Brown: yes
- Shannon Morris: no
- Eric Morrison: yes
- DeShanna U Neal: yes
- Josue O Ortega: other
- 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: no
- Claire Snyder-Hall: yes
- Jeffrey N. Spiegelman: no
- Jesse R. Vanderwende: no
- Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
- Lyndon D. Yearick: no
SM
2026-06-30 · pass · 16-5
Member-level votes (21)
- 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: yes
- Ray Seigfried: yes
- David P. Sokola: yes
- Laura V. Sturgeon: yes
- Bryan Townsend: yes
- John "Jack" Walsh: yes
- David L. Wilson: no
- Darius J. Brown: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=142176

Attribution

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

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