Bill Commons

DE HB 407

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 7 AND 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES CLEANUP ACT AND THE REALTY TRANSFER TAX.

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

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Quick answers

Did DE HB 407 pass?

Yes. DE HB 407 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-08-17): Signed by Governor

What is DE HB 407 about?

House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 407, like the original, does all of the following: clarifies the ability of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) to respond to emergent situations, expands the jurisdiction from which DNREC may file to recover costs, and makes certain changes to amounts deposited into the Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act Fund. Section 1 provides definitions for “Abate,” “Emergency,” and “Removal Action.” Section 2 clarifies the ability of the Secretary or their authorized employees or agents to determine if an emergency exists and take immediate action to abate the emergency without obtaining public comment. Section 3 allows the Department to authorize removal actions to address releases without first obtaining public comment, and to incorporate the removal action into any proposed plan of remedial action by DNREC. Section 4 expands the jurisdiction of the courts which DNREC may bring enforcement actions and recover costs. Section 5 increases the civil penalty for each fraudulent act from up to $10,000 to $40,000. Section 6 extends the end date from January 1, 2029, to January 1, 2037, for monies to be deposited into the Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act Fund (the “Fund.”) Section 7 provides the effective date of this legislation. This Substitute differs from the original House Bill No. 407 in that it removes references to the realty transfer tax.

Who sponsors DE HB 407?

Trey Paradee, Spiros Mantzavinos, Bryan Townsend and 9 others are the primary sponsors of DE HB 407.

Description

House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 407, like the original, does all of the following: clarifies the ability of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) to respond to emergent situations, expands the jurisdiction from which DNREC may file to recover costs, and makes certain changes to amounts deposited into the Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act Fund. Section 1 provides definitions for “Abate,” “Emergency,” and “Removal Action.” Section 2 clarifies the ability of the Secretary or their authorized employees or agents to determine if an emergency exists and take immediate action to abate the emergency without obtaining public comment. Section 3 allows the Department to authorize removal actions to address releases without first obtaining public comment, and to incorporate the removal action into any proposed plan of remedial action by DNREC. Section 4 expands the jurisdiction of the courts which DNREC may bring enforcement actions and recover costs. Section 5 increases the civil penalty for each fraudulent act from up to $10,000 to $40,000. Section 6 extends the end date from January 1, 2029, to January 1, 2037, for monies to be deposited into the Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act Fund (the “Fund.”) Section 7 provides the effective date of this legislation. This Substitute differs from the original House Bill No. 407 in that it removes references to the realty transfer tax.

Introduced
2026-06-11
Latest action
2026-08-17 — Signed by Governor
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • Trey Paradeeprimary
  • Spiros Mantzavinosprimary
  • Bryan Townsendprimary
  • Claire Snyder-Hallprimary
  • David L. Wilsonprimary
  • Eric Morrisonprimary
  • Ray Seigfriedprimary
  • Laura V. Sturgeonprimary
  • Ronald E. Grayprimary
  • Bryant L. Richardsonprimary
  • Melanie Ross Levinprimary
  • Debra Heffernanprimary

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-08-17

    Signed by Governor

    executive-signature

  2. 2026-06-25

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

    passage

  3. 2026-06-23

    Reported Out of Committee (Environment, Energy & Transportation) in Senate with 5 On Its Merits

    committee-passage

  4. 2026-06-18

    Assigned to Environment, Energy & Transportation Committee in Senate

    introduction,referral-committee

  5. 2026-06-18

    Passed By House. Votes: 40 YES 1 ABSENT

    passage

  6. 2026-06-18

    Amendment HA 1 to HS 1 - Passed In House by Voice Vote

    amendment-passage

  7. 2026-06-12

    Amendment HA 1 to HS 1 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

    amendment-introduction

  8. 2026-06-12

    Assigned to Ready List

  9. 2026-06-11

    Adopted in lieu of the original bill HB 407, and Assigned to Appropriations Committee in House

    introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • SM

    2026-06-18 · pass · 40-0

    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: 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
    • 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: other
    • Jesse R. Vanderwende: yes
    • Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
    • Lyndon D. Yearick: yes

  • SM

    2026-06-25 · 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=143526

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-08-21T20:46:59.884732Z

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