Bill Commons

DE HB 215

in committee

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO TOBACCO PRODUCT TAXATION AND LICENSING.

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

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Quick answers

Did DE HB 215 pass?

Not yet. DE HB 215 is in committee and has not come to a final vote. Latest recorded action (2026-04-22): Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 3 On Its Merits

What is DE HB 215 about?

House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 215 differs from House Bill No. 215 as follows: this substitute provides a definition of a premium cigar and modifies the tax rate changes in House Bill 215 by setting the tax rate for other tobacco products at 40% of the wholesale price, maintaining the tax for premium cigars at 30% of the wholesale price, and setting the tax rate for vapor products at 10 cents per fluid milliliter. A definition of “nicotine pouch” is added. As with House Bill 215, House Substitute No.1 increases the cigarette tax rate to $3.60 per pack, increases some license fees, and changes the definition of “tobacco products” to include more items. This substitute bill sets the effective date of the tax rate increases as September 1, 2026, and the effective date of the increased license fees as January 1, 2027. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 10 of Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to increase the effective rate of a tax or fee levied by the State.

Who sponsors DE HB 215?

Josue O Ortega, Bryan Townsend, David P. Sokola and 4 others are the primary sponsors of DE HB 215.

Description

House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 215 differs from House Bill No. 215 as follows: this substitute provides a definition of a premium cigar and modifies the tax rate changes in House Bill 215 by setting the tax rate for other tobacco products at 40% of the wholesale price, maintaining the tax for premium cigars at 30% of the wholesale price, and setting the tax rate for vapor products at 10 cents per fluid milliliter. A definition of “nicotine pouch” is added. As with House Bill 215, House Substitute No.1 increases the cigarette tax rate to $3.60 per pack, increases some license fees, and changes the definition of “tobacco products” to include more items. This substitute bill sets the effective date of the tax rate increases as September 1, 2026, and the effective date of the increased license fees as January 1, 2027. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 10 of Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to increase the effective rate of a tax or fee levied by the State.

Introduced
2026-04-17
Latest action
2026-04-22 — Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 3 On Its Merits
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • Josue O Ortegaprimary
  • Bryan Townsendprimary
  • David P. Sokolaprimary
  • Edward S. Osienskiprimary
  • Kerri Evelyn Harrisprimary
  • Melissa Minor-Brownprimary
  • S. Elizabeth Lockmanprimary

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-04-22

    Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 3 On Its Merits

    committee-passage

  2. 2026-04-17

    Adopted in lieu of the original bill HB 215, and Assigned to Administration Committee in House

    introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Documents

Votes

Not provided by source.

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=143118

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-10-24T12:45:38.665674Z

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