DE HB 160

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATED TO DELAWARE NATIONAL GUARD EDUCATION BENEFITS.

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

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Quick answers

Did DE HB 160 pass?

Yes. DE HB 160 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2025-07-23): Signed by Governor

What is DE HB 160 about?

The Delaware National Guard provides financial assistance to eligible service members for certain postsecondary education tuition and fees. Under the current education benefits program, the Delaware National Guard reimburses service members for tuition and fees the service members have already paid. But young service members often cannot take advantage of this program because they cannot afford to pay upfront for tuition and fees. This also hurts Delaware National Guard recruiting efforts because potential service members may choose to join National Guard programs in other states that do not require service members to pay upfront for tuition and fees. Keeping the Delaware National Guard fully staffed is essential to responding to state emergencies. Lack of staff also leads the Department of Defense to shift positions from the Delaware National Guard to other states that can recruit at higher levels than Delaware. This results in reduced mission capability in Delaware and less federal funding coming to Delaware. This Act amends the existing code relating to Delaware National Guard education benefits by switching from a system that reimburses service members to a system that pays certain tuition and fees, on behalf of a service member, directly to a Delaware postsecondary institution. This change allows more service members to use education benefits, which will improve Delaware National Guard recruiting and retention, and enhance the professional education qualifications of its members. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual and clarifies that the tuition assistance provided for Delaware private postsecondary institutions is based on the average tuition for state-supported postsecondary institutions. This Act is effective immediately and is implemented on July 1, 2026, to allow updates to rules, regulations, and forms for the Delaware National Guard tuition assistance program.

Who sponsors DE HB 160?

Dave G. Lawson, David L. Wilson, Stell Parker Selby and 16 others are the primary sponsors of DE HB 160, joined by 14 cosponsors.

Description

Introduced: 2025-05-13
Latest action: 2025-07-23 — Signed by Governor
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

2025-07-23
Signed by Governor
executive-signature
2025-06-30
Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
passage
2025-06-25
Reported Out of Committee (Education) in Senate with 6 On Its Merits
committee-passage
2025-06-17
Assigned to Education Committee in Senate
introduction,referral-committee
2025-06-17
Passed By House. Votes: 40 YES 1 ABSENT
passage
2025-05-21
Reported Out of Committee (Education) in House with 1 Favorable, 8 On Its Merits
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-05-13
Introduced and Assigned to Education Committee in House
introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Bill TextCompare

Documents

Votes

2/3
2025-06-17 · pass · 40-0
Member-level votes (41)
- Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
- Lyndon D. Yearick: 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
- 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: yes
- Jesse R. Vanderwende: yes
SM
2025-06-30 · 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=142261

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-10-23T15:54:25.971028Z

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