Bill Commons

DE HB 408

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO TRAFFICKING AN INDIVIDUAL, FORCED LABOR AND SEXUAL SERVITUDE.

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

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Quick answers

Did DE HB 408 pass?

Yes. DE HB 408 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-09-14): Signed by Governor

What is DE HB 408 about?

This Act aligns the definition of child sex trafficking victim with the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000. Under the federal TVPA of 2000, any minor who engages in commercial sex is identified as a trafficking victim regardless of whether a trafficker or controlling third party (e.g. a pimp) is involved or identified. The requirement of a third party minimizes the role buyers play in fueling demand and engaging in the exploitation that trafficking laws are designed to punish and prevents minor victims from being identified as victims. To align with the TVPA of 2000, the offenses of trafficking an individual and sexual servitude are amended so that the obtaining or purchasing of a minor for the purpose of commercial sexual activity is an offense, regardless of whether there is present a third party who maintains or makes that minor available. By ensuring these minors are identified as human trafficking victims, these minors will gain access to federal and state resources to support recovery. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Who sponsors DE HB 408?

Cyndie Romer, David L. Wilson, Nicole Poore and 1 others are the primary sponsors of DE HB 408.

Description

This Act aligns the definition of child sex trafficking victim with the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000. Under the federal TVPA of 2000, any minor who engages in commercial sex is identified as a trafficking victim regardless of whether a trafficker or controlling third party (e.g. a pimp) is involved or identified. The requirement of a third party minimizes the role buyers play in fueling demand and engaging in the exploitation that trafficking laws are designed to punish and prevents minor victims from being identified as victims. To align with the TVPA of 2000, the offenses of trafficking an individual and sexual servitude are amended so that the obtaining or purchasing of a minor for the purpose of commercial sexual activity is an offense, regardless of whether there is present a third party who maintains or makes that minor available. By ensuring these minors are identified as human trafficking victims, these minors will gain access to federal and state resources to support recovery. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Introduced
2026-05-07
Latest action
2026-09-14 — Signed by Governor
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • Cyndie Romerprimary
  • David L. Wilsonprimary
  • Nicole Pooreprimary
  • Kimberly Williamsprimary

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-09-14

    Signed by Governor

    executive-signature

  2. 2026-06-30

    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. 2026-06-09

    Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate

    introduction,referral-committee

  5. 2026-06-09

    Passed By House. Votes: 35 YES 1 NO 5 ABSENT

    passage

  6. 2026-05-20

    Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 3 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  7. 2026-05-07

    Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House

    introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • 2/3

    2026-06-09 · pass · 35-1

    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: other
    • Timothy D. Dukes: yes
    • Mara Gorman: yes
    • Ronald E. Gray: yes
    • Krista Griffith: other
    • Kerri Evelyn Harris: yes
    • Debra Heffernan: yes
    • Kevin S Hensley: other
    • Jeff Hilovsky: no
    • 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.: other
    • Cyndie Romer: yes
    • Melanie Ross Levin: yes
    • Sherae'a Moore: yes
    • Bryan W. Shupe: yes
    • Claire Snyder-Hall: yes
    • Jeffrey N. Spiegelman: yes
    • Jesse R. Vanderwende: yes
    • Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
    • Lyndon D. Yearick: yes

  • SM

    2026-06-30 · 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

https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=143245

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-09-20T07:33:17.079032Z

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