Bill Commons

DE HB 436

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND THE TOWN CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF SMYRNA.

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

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Quick answers

Did DE HB 436 pass?

Yes. DE HB 436 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-09-30): Signed by Governor

What is DE HB 436 about?

This Act amends the Town of Smyrna Charter as follows: (1) Authorizes the Town to impose school impact fees on new development and construction as long as the impact fees do not exceed the impact fee that would otherwise be imposed by Kent County or New Castle County on development in unincorporated areas. (2) Authorizes the Board of Elections, and not the Town Council, to hear and decide challenges that are raised to the qualifications of candidates for the office of mayor and council. (3) Specifies that a vacancy in a council seat caused by the council member being elected as mayor is to be filled by the Town Council if less than a year is left on the term or by a special election if more than 1 year is left on the term. (4) Clarifies the standards to be used when determining the domicile of a prospective voter or candidate for office. (5) Establishes a 3-year term of office for the Board of Elections and clarifies that a tie vote for an office shall be resolved by the toss of a coin. (6) Eliminates the requirement that the Town Council meet the first and third Monday of each month and authorizes the Town Council to determine the day and frequency of monthly meetings at the annual organizational meeting. (7) Revises the annual audit deadline from June 30 to August 31.

Who sponsors DE HB 436?

Claire Snyder-Hall, William J. Carson are the primary sponsors of DE HB 436.

Description

This Act amends the Town of Smyrna Charter as follows: (1) Authorizes the Town to impose school impact fees on new development and construction as long as the impact fees do not exceed the impact fee that would otherwise be imposed by Kent County or New Castle County on development in unincorporated areas. (2) Authorizes the Board of Elections, and not the Town Council, to hear and decide challenges that are raised to the qualifications of candidates for the office of mayor and council. (3) Specifies that a vacancy in a council seat caused by the council member being elected as mayor is to be filled by the Town Council if less than a year is left on the term or by a special election if more than 1 year is left on the term. (4) Clarifies the standards to be used when determining the domicile of a prospective voter or candidate for office. (5) Establishes a 3-year term of office for the Board of Elections and clarifies that a tie vote for an office shall be resolved by the toss of a coin. (6) Eliminates the requirement that the Town Council meet the first and third Monday of each month and authorizes the Town Council to determine the day and frequency of monthly meetings at the annual organizational meeting. (7) Revises the annual audit deadline from June 30 to August 31.

Introduced
2026-05-21
Latest action
2026-09-30 — Signed by Governor
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • Claire Snyder-Hallprimary
  • William J. Carsonprimary

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-09-30

    Signed by Governor

    executive-signature

  2. 2026-06-23

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

    passage

  3. 2026-06-18

    Reported Out of Committee (Elections & Government Affairs) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits

    committee-passage

  4. 2026-06-11

    Assigned to Elections & Government Affairs Committee in Senate

    introduction,referral-committee

  5. 2026-06-11

    Passed By House. Votes: 38 YES 1 NO 2 ABSENT

    passage

  6. 2026-06-10

    Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 1 Favorable, 3 On Its Merits

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  7. 2026-05-21

    Introduced and Assigned to Administration Committee in House

    introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • 3/4

    2026-06-11 · pass · 38-1

    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: 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: 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: 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: yes
    • Jesse R. Vanderwende: yes
    • Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
    • Lyndon D. Yearick: yes
  • 2/3

    2026-06-23 · 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

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-10-01T23:04:44.345163Z

Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:

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