Bill Commons

DE SB 129

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PRESCRIPTION OPIOID FUNDS AND LITIGATION AUTHORITY.

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

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Quick answers

Did DE SB 129 pass?

Yes. DE SB 129 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2025-07-21): Signed by Governor

What is DE SB 129 about?

Senate Bill 166, passed in 2022, created the Prescription Opioid Impact Fund as part of an overall structure that would both maximize the monies paid by settling Opioids defendants to Delaware and to create a structure whereby those settlement monies could be managed and distributed on a statewide basis through a stakeholder-informed process. The complete legislation is found at Title 16 of the Delaware Code, Chapter 48B, Sections 4801B through 4809B. Chapter 48B applied to settlements with entities, and did not apply to bankruptcies. This is because the bankruptcy process itself extinguishes claims and thus provides the necessary “global peace” for settling parties. At the time SB 166 was passed, it was contemplated that, in the context of the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy, the Sackler family members would obtain this type of bankruptcy-style discharge and release. However, in the summer of 2024, the United States Supreme Court ruled that such a discharge was impermissible. This decision thus required that the states negotiate a non-bankruptcy settlement with the Sacklers, which the Delaware Department has since been pursuing diligently. As announced on January 23, 2025, the Delaware Department of Justice has reached a proposed settlement-in-principle with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family. In order to once again maximize the amount of Sackler money that Delaware will receive, it is now necessary to update the statutory bar created by the SB 166 to account for the fact that the Sackler family members are “individuals” not “entities." Consequently, the Delaware Department of Justice is recommending the amendments to Chapter 48B of Title 16 reflected in this Act.

Who sponsors DE SB 129?

Spiros Mantzavinos, Russell Huxtable, Sarah McBride and 6 others are the primary sponsors of DE SB 129, joined by 7 cosponsors.

Description

Senate Bill 166, passed in 2022, created the Prescription Opioid Impact Fund as part of an overall structure that would both maximize the monies paid by settling Opioids defendants to Delaware and to create a structure whereby those settlement monies could be managed and distributed on a statewide basis through a stakeholder-informed process. The complete legislation is found at Title 16 of the Delaware Code, Chapter 48B, Sections 4801B through 4809B. Chapter 48B applied to settlements with entities, and did not apply to bankruptcies. This is because the bankruptcy process itself extinguishes claims and thus provides the necessary “global peace” for settling parties. At the time SB 166 was passed, it was contemplated that, in the context of the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy, the Sackler family members would obtain this type of bankruptcy-style discharge and release. However, in the summer of 2024, the United States Supreme Court ruled that such a discharge was impermissible. This decision thus required that the states negotiate a non-bankruptcy settlement with the Sacklers, which the Delaware Department has since been pursuing diligently. As announced on January 23, 2025, the Delaware Department of Justice has reached a proposed settlement-in-principle with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family. In order to once again maximize the amount of Sackler money that Delaware will receive, it is now necessary to update the statutory bar created by the SB 166 to account for the fact that the Sackler family members are “individuals” not “entities." Consequently, the Delaware Department of Justice is recommending the amendments to Chapter 48B of Title 16 reflected in this Act.

Introduced
2025-05-07
Latest action
2025-07-21 — Signed by Governor
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • Spiros Mantzavinosprimary
  • Russell Huxtableprimary
  • Sarah McBrideprimary
  • Bryan Townsendprimary
  • David P. Sokolaprimary
  • Claire Snyder-Hallprimary
  • Ray Seigfriedprimary
  • Stephanie L. Hansenprimary
  • Kendra Johnsonprimary
  • Kyra L. Hoffnercosponsor
  • Ray Seigfriedcosponsor
  • David P. Sokolacosponsor
  • Bryan Townsendcosponsor
  • Nnamdi O. Chukwuochacosponsor
  • Debra Heffernancosponsor
  • Larry Lambertcosponsor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2025-07-21

    Signed by Governor

    executive-signature

  2. 2025-06-25

    Passed By House. Votes: 39 YES 1 ABSENT 1 VACANT

    passage

  3. 2025-06-11

    Reported Out of Committee (Health & Human Development) in House with 5 Favorable, 5 On Its Merits

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  4. 2025-05-21

    Assigned to Health & Human Development Committee in House

    introduction,referral-committee

  5. 2025-05-20

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 19 YES 2 ABSENT

    passage

  6. 2025-05-14

    Reported Out of Committee (Health & Social Services) in Senate with 8 Favorable

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  7. 2025-05-07

    Introduced and Assigned to Health & Social Services Committee in Senate

    introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • SM

    2025-05-20 · pass · 19-0

    Member-level votes (21)
    • Darius J. Brown: other
    • 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: other
    • 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

  • 3/5

    2025-06-25 · pass · 39-0

    Member-level votes (40)
    • 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.: 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

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=142215

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-10-24T21:39:13.601822Z

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