Bill Commons

DE HB 355

enacted

AN 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

  1. 2026-09-14

    Signed by Governor

    executive-signature

  2. 2026-07-01

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT

    passage

  3. 2026-06-24

    Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits

    committee-passage

  4. 2026-06-18

    Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate

    introduction,referral-committee

  5. 2026-06-18

    Passed By House. Votes: 30 YES 9 NO 2 ABSENT

    passage

  6. 2026-06-18

    Amendment HA 1 to HB 355 - Passed In House by Voice Vote

    amendment-passage

  7. 2026-05-13

    Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 1 Favorable, 5 On Its Merits

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  8. 2026-04-16

    Amendment HA 1 to HB 355 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

    amendment-introduction

  9. 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:

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  • Sponsor party and chamber affiliation are not yet captured by this API.
  • Committee referrals are not yet captured.

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