DE HB 89

died on adjournment

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 19 AND 29 RELATING TO HOME IMPROVEMENT DISPUTE RESOLUTION.

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

Description

This Act directs the Division of Consumer Protection to establish a Home Improvement Dispute Resolution process through which a person who purchases home improvement services or materials from a contractor can initiate a dispute resolution process with the assistance of the Division. To be eligible for the dispute resolution process, the buyer must first send the contractor a written request to resolve the dispute and allow the contractor 20 days to respond. If the dispute is not resolved or the contractor fails to respond, the buyer may submit an application to the Division for assistance. Upon receiving notice from the Division that the buyer has initiated the dispute resolution process, a contractor must participate in good faith in the process. If the contractor fails to respond to the notice or fails to participate in good faith, it is deemed a violation of the Consumer Fraud Act and a notice will also be sent to the Department of Labor. A contractor who fails to participate in good faith in the dispute resolution process may also have their certificate of registration denied, suspended, or revoked. This Act also establishes that a buyer who initiates a civil action for damages incurred as a result of a violation of the Consumer Fraud Act related to a home improvement contract may be awarded actual damages, court costs, and reasonable attorneys fees. A buyer who initiates a civil action may also obtain up to treble damages if the buyer completed the steps to be eligible for the dispute resolution process, if the buyer made an offer of settlement at least 10 days prior to filing the civil suit and the contractor rejected the offer, if the offer was for less than the buyer is ultimately awarded by the court, and if the court holds that the contractor’s violation was wilful. This Act takes effect immediately and is to be implemented 6 months from the date of enactment.

Introduced: 2025-03-25
Status date: —
Latest action: 2026-06-25 — Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

2025-03-25
Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House
introduction,referral-committee
2025-04-16
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 5 Favorable, 2 On Its Merits
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-04-17
Assigned to Appropriations Committee in House
introduction,referral-committee
2025-05-07
Amendment HA 1 to HB 89 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
amendment-introduction
2026-06-09
Reported Out of Committee (Appropriations) in House with 4 On Its Merits
committee-passage
2026-06-11
Amendment HA 1 to HB 89 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
amendment-passage
2026-06-11
Passed By House. Votes: 40 YES 1 ABSENT
passage
2026-06-11
Assigned to Elections & Government Affairs Committee in Senate
introduction,referral-committee
2026-06-18
Reported Out of Committee (Elections & Government Affairs) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits
committee-passage
2026-06-18
Assigned to Finance Committee in Senate
introduction,referral-committee
2026-06-24
Reported Out of Committee (Finance) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits
committee-passage
2026-06-25
Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
passage

Versions

HA 1 to HB 89Compare
(document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

SM
2026-06-11 · 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: 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: 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
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=141999

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T03:53:51.443619Z

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