Bill Commons

DE SB 249

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 AND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SUBSTANCE USE HARM REDUCTION.

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

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Quick answers

Did DE SB 249 pass?

Yes. DE SB 249 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-09-30): Signed by Governor

What is DE SB 249 about?

This Act does all of the following: (1) Establishes a regulatory framework for substance use harm reduction programs that provides immunities for program providers and staff. (2) Modifies the definition of drug paraphernalia. (3) Decriminalizes possession of paraphernalia for individuals who use drugs, while retaining prohibitions for paraphernalia used in the manufacturing or distribution of drugs and the selling of certain drug paraphernalia. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Who sponsors DE SB 249?

Dave G. Lawson, Cyndie Romer, Eric Morrison and 8 others are the primary sponsors of DE SB 249.

Description

This Act does all of the following: (1) Establishes a regulatory framework for substance use harm reduction programs that provides immunities for program providers and staff. (2) Modifies the definition of drug paraphernalia. (3) Decriminalizes possession of paraphernalia for individuals who use drugs, while retaining prohibitions for paraphernalia used in the manufacturing or distribution of drugs and the selling of certain drug paraphernalia. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Introduced
2026-03-05
Latest action
2026-09-30 — Signed by Governor
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • Dave G. Lawsonprimary
  • Cyndie Romerprimary
  • Eric Morrisonprimary
  • Spiros Mantzavinosprimary
  • Darius J. Brownprimary
  • Stell Parker Selbyprimary
  • Laura V. Sturgeonprimary
  • David P. Sokolaprimary
  • Ray Seigfriedprimary
  • Sarah McBrideprimary
  • Marie Pinkneyprimary

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-09-30

    Signed by Governor

    executive-signature

  2. 2026-06-23

    Passed By House. Votes: 22 YES 16 NO 2 NOT VOTING 1 ABSENT

    passage

  3. 2026-06-17

    Reported Out of Committee (Health & Human Development) in House with 4 Favorable, 5 On Its Merits

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  4. 2026-05-19

    Assigned to Health & Human Development Committee in House

    introduction,referral-committee

  5. 2026-05-14

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 15 YES 6 NO

    passage

  6. 2026-05-14

    Amendment SA 2 to SB 249 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 15 YES 1 NO 5 NOT VOTING

    amendment-passage

  7. 2026-05-14

    Amendment SA 2 to SB 249 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

    amendment-introduction

  8. 2026-05-14

    Amendment SA 1 to SB 249 - Stricken in Senate

  9. 2026-05-14

    Amendment SA 1 to SB 249 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

    amendment-introduction

  10. 2026-04-22

    Reported Out of Committee (Health & Social Services) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  11. 2026-03-05

    Introduced and Assigned to Health & Social Services Committee in Senate

    introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • SM

    2026-05-14 · pass · 15-6

    Member-level votes (21)
    • Darius J. Brown: yes
    • Eric Buckson: no
    • Daniel Cruce: yes
    • Stephanie L. Hansen: yes
    • Gerald W. Hocker: no
    • Kyra L. Hoffner: yes
    • Russell Huxtable: yes
    • Dave G. Lawson: no
    • S. Elizabeth Lockman: yes
    • Spiros Mantzavinos: yes
    • Trey Paradee: yes
    • Brian Pettyjohn: no
    • Marie Pinkney: yes
    • Nicole Poore: yes
    • Bryant L. Richardson: no
    • Ray Seigfried: yes
    • David P. Sokola: yes
    • Laura V. Sturgeon: yes
    • Bryan Townsend: yes
    • John "Jack" Walsh: yes
    • David L. Wilson: no
  • SM

    2026-06-23 · pass · 22-16

    Member-level votes (41)
    • Alonna Berry: yes
    • Stephanie T. Bolden: yes
    • Frank Burns: yes
    • William Bush: other
    • William J. Carson: yes
    • Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha: yes
    • Richard G. Collins: no
    • Franklin D. Cooke: other
    • Daniel B. Short: no
    • Timothy D. Dukes: no
    • Mara Gorman: yes
    • Ronald E. Gray: no
    • Krista Griffith: yes
    • Kerri Evelyn Harris: yes
    • Debra Heffernan: yes
    • Kevin S Hensley: no
    • Jeff Hilovsky: no
    • Valerie Jones Giltner: no
    • Kendra Johnson: yes
    • Kimberly Williams: no
    • Kamela T Smith: yes
    • Larry Lambert: yes
    • Sean M. Lynn: no
    • Michael F. Smith: no
    • Melissa Minor-Brown: yes
    • Shannon Morris: no
    • Eric Morrison: yes
    • DeShanna U Neal: yes
    • Josue O Ortega: yes
    • Edward S. Osienski: yes
    • Sophie Phillips: yes
    • Charles S Postles Jr.: no
    • Cyndie Romer: yes
    • Melanie Ross Levin: yes
    • Sherae'a Moore: other
    • Bryan W. Shupe: no
    • Claire Snyder-Hall: yes
    • Jeffrey N. Spiegelman: no
    • Jesse R. Vanderwende: no
    • Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
    • Lyndon D. Yearick: no

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

Attribution

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

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