Bill Commons

DE HB 357

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 10 AND 13 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DUTY TO SUPPORT POOR PERSONS.

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

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Quick answers

Did DE HB 357 pass?

Yes. DE HB 357 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-09-30): Signed by Governor

What is DE HB 357 about?

This Act updates § 503 of Title 13 by replacing the outdated term “poor person” with the term, “a person unable to financially support oneself”. This language change is a technical change to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. In addition, this Act clarifies that § 503 of the Title 13, relating to the duty to support a person unable to financially support oneself (formerly “poor person”), includes the duty to a support an adult child with a disability that cannot support oneself. This duty is articulated in H. v. V., 2018 Del. Fam. Ct. LEXIS 4, where the Family Court found that a parent of a 22 year-old adult child diagnosed with severe autism was statutorily obligated to provide support to the adult child.

Who sponsors DE HB 357?

David L. Wilson, Claire Snyder-Hall, Spiros Mantzavinos and 4 others are the primary sponsors of DE HB 357.

Description

This Act updates § 503 of Title 13 by replacing the outdated term “poor person” with the term, “a person unable to financially support oneself”. This language change is a technical change to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. In addition, this Act clarifies that § 503 of the Title 13, relating to the duty to support a person unable to financially support oneself (formerly “poor person”), includes the duty to a support an adult child with a disability that cannot support oneself. This duty is articulated in H. v. V., 2018 Del. Fam. Ct. LEXIS 4, where the Family Court found that a parent of a 22 year-old adult child diagnosed with severe autism was statutorily obligated to provide support to the adult child.

Introduced
2026-04-09
Latest action
2026-09-30 — Signed by Governor
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • David L. Wilsonprimary
  • Claire Snyder-Hallprimary
  • Spiros Mantzavinosprimary
  • Ray Seigfriedprimary
  • Mara Gormanprimary
  • Nicole Pooreprimary
  • Melanie Ross Levinprimary

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-09-30

    Signed by Governor

    executive-signature

  2. 2026-06-24

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

    passage

  3. 2026-05-20

    Reported Out of Committee (Health & Social Services) in Senate with 4 Favorable, 1 On Its Merits

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  4. 2026-05-05

    Assigned to Health & Social Services Committee in Senate

    introduction,referral-committee

  5. 2026-05-05

    Passed By House. Votes: 37 YES 4 ABSENT

    passage

  6. 2026-04-22

    Reported Out of Committee (Health & Human Development) in House with 9 On Its Merits

    committee-passage

  7. 2026-04-09

    Introduced and Assigned to Health & Human Development Committee in House

    introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • SM

    2026-05-05 · pass · 37-0

    Member-level votes (41)
    • 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: other
    • 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: other
    • Melissa Minor-Brown: yes
    • Shannon Morris: yes
    • 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: other
    • Bryan W. Shupe: yes
    • Claire Snyder-Hall: yes
    • Jeffrey N. Spiegelman: yes
    • Jesse R. Vanderwende: yes
    • Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
    • Lyndon D. Yearick: yes
    • Alonna Berry: yes
    • Stephanie T. Bolden: yes
    • Frank Burns: yes
    • William Bush: yes
    • William J. Carson: yes
    • Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha: other
    • Richard G. Collins: yes
    • Franklin D. Cooke: yes

  • 3/4

    2026-06-24 · 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=143061

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-10-01T21:07:42.039899Z

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