Bill Commons

DE HB 415

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 16 AND 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO VETERINARIANS AND MANDATORY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

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

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Quick answers

Did DE HB 415 pass?

Yes. DE HB 415 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-07-23): Signed by Governor

What is DE HB 415 about?

This Act requires that all veterinarians report any suspected cruelty to animals to the Office of Animal Welfare or the appropriate reporting authority. Veterinarians must complete mandatory reporting training every 6 years and attest that they have completed mandatory training in any application for licensure or licensure renewal. The Board of Veterinary Medicine may impose disciplinary sanctions for violations of this Act. All reports provided by a veterinarian under this Act are confidential and may only be disclosed under specific circumstances. Under this Act, the Office of Animal Welfare and any other enforcement agency responsible for investigating animal abuse must adopt confidential procedures to protect the identity of the veterinarian making a report.

Who sponsors DE HB 415?

Kerri Evelyn Harris, Claire Snyder-Hall, Josue O Ortega and 9 others are the primary sponsors of DE HB 415, joined by 5 cosponsors.

Description

This Act requires that all veterinarians report any suspected cruelty to animals to the Office of Animal Welfare or the appropriate reporting authority. Veterinarians must complete mandatory reporting training every 6 years and attest that they have completed mandatory training in any application for licensure or licensure renewal. The Board of Veterinary Medicine may impose disciplinary sanctions for violations of this Act. All reports provided by a veterinarian under this Act are confidential and may only be disclosed under specific circumstances. Under this Act, the Office of Animal Welfare and any other enforcement agency responsible for investigating animal abuse must adopt confidential procedures to protect the identity of the veterinarian making a report.

Introduced
2026-06-11
Latest action
2026-07-23 — Signed by Governor
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • Kerri Evelyn Harrisprimary
  • Claire Snyder-Hallprimary
  • Josue O Ortegaprimary
  • John "Jack" Walshprimary
  • Melanie Ross Levinprimary
  • Nicole Pooreprimary
  • Brian Pettyjohnprimary
  • David L. Wilsonprimary
  • Krista Griffithprimary
  • Sophie Phillipsprimary
  • Kimberly Williamsprimary
  • Stephanie L. Hansenprimary
  • Josue O Ortegacosponsor
  • Claire Snyder-Hallcosponsor
  • Melanie Ross Levincosponsor
  • Kerri Evelyn Harriscosponsor
  • Kyra L. Hoffnercosponsor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-07-23

    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 (Legislative Oversight & Sunset) in Senate with 3 Favorable

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  4. 2026-06-18

    Assigned to Legislative Oversight & Sunset Committee in Senate

    introduction,referral-committee

  5. 2026-06-18

    Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES

    passage

  6. 2026-06-16

    Reported Out of Committee (Sunset Committee (Policy Analysis & Government Accountability)) in House with 2 Favorable, 1 On Its Merits

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  7. 2026-06-16

    Reported Out of Committee (Sunset Committee (Policy Analysis & Government Accountability)) in House with 2 Favorable, 1 On Its Merits

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  8. 2026-06-11

    Adopted in lieu of the original bill HB 415, and Assigned to Sunset Committee (Policy Analysis & Government Accountability) Committee in House

    introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • 3/4

    2026-06-18 · pass · 41-0

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

  • 2/3

    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

https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=143521

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-10-23T04:09:53.032121Z

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