DE HB 355
enactedAN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SEXUAL ASSAULT, HARASSMENT, AND DISCRIMINATION.
Delaware · 2025-2026 Regular Session (153rd General Assembly) · lower
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Quick answers
Did DE HB 355 pass?
Yes. DE HB 355 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-09-14): Signed by Governor
What is DE HB 355 about?
The purpose of this Act is to protect victims of sexual assault, discrimination, or harassment from retaliatory lawsuits that arise when a victim of sexual assault discloses information regarding an act of sexual assault, discrimination, or harassment. Specifically, this Act protects assault victims from defamation lawsuits by placing a higher burden of proof on the complainant, even if the complainant is a private figure. It also entitles a prevailing defendant in a defamation lawsuit to attorneys’ fees and costs, actual damages, and punitive damages.
Who sponsors DE HB 355?
Claire Snyder-Hall, Melanie Ross Levin, Mara Gorman and 8 others are the primary sponsors of DE HB 355, joined by 8 cosponsors.
Description
The purpose of this Act is to protect victims of sexual assault, discrimination, or harassment from retaliatory lawsuits that arise when a victim of sexual assault discloses information regarding an act of sexual assault, discrimination, or harassment. Specifically, this Act protects assault victims from defamation lawsuits by placing a higher burden of proof on the complainant, even if the complainant is a private figure. It also entitles a prevailing defendant in a defamation lawsuit to attorneys’ fees and costs, actual damages, and punitive damages.
- Introduced
- 2026-04-09
- Latest action
- 2026-09-14 — Signed by Governor
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- —
Sponsors
- Claire Snyder-Hallprimary
- Melanie Ross Levinprimary
- Mara Gormanprimary
- Stell Parker Selbyprimary
- Bryant L. Richardsonprimary
- Cyndie Romerprimary
- Darius J. Brownprimary
- Nicole Pooreprimary
- David L. Wilsonprimary
- Eric Morrisonprimary
- Sophie Phillipsprimary
- Stephanie T. Boldencosponsor
- Cyndie Romercosponsor
- Frank Burnscosponsor
- Alonna Berrycosponsor
- Mara Gormancosponsor
- Krista Griffithcosponsor
- Stephanie L. Hansencosponsor
- Kyra L. Hoffnercosponsor
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
Newest first
2026-09-14
Signed by Governor
executive-signature
2026-07-01
Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT
passage
2026-06-24
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits
committee-passage
2026-06-18
Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate
introduction,referral-committee
2026-06-18
Passed By House. Votes: 30 YES 9 NO 2 ABSENT
passage
2026-06-18
Amendment HA 1 to HB 355 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
amendment-passage
2026-05-13
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 1 Favorable, 5 On Its Merits
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2026-04-16
Amendment HA 1 to HB 355 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
amendment-introduction
2026-04-09
Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House
introduction,referral-committee
Versions
Documents
Votes
SM
2026-06-18 · pass · 30-9
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: 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: other
- Jeff Hilovsky: no
- Valerie Jones Giltner: no
- Kendra Johnson: yes
- Kimberly Williams: yes
- Kamela T Smith: yes
- Larry Lambert: yes
- Sean M. Lynn: no
- Michael F. Smith: yes
- Melissa Minor-Brown: yes
- Shannon Morris: other
- 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: no
- Jesse R. Vanderwende: no
- Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
- Lyndon D. Yearick: no
SM
2026-07-01 · pass · 20-0
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: other
- 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
Attribution
Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-09-20T07:33:17.079032Z
Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:
Session-wide evidence can include changes to other bills:
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