DE SB 301

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO HOSPITAL DISCHARGE PLANS FOR PREGNANT PATIENTS.

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

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Quick answers

Did DE SB 301 pass?

Yes. DE SB 301 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-08-31): Signed by Governor

What is DE SB 301 about?

This Act requires that a hospital create a discharge plan if a pregnant patient who is experiencing signs or symptoms consistent with labor is discharged before delivery. This requirement to create a discharge plan applies to patients discharged from either in-patient treatment or observation status and must contain all of the following: 1. Aftercare instructions and guidelines and that these instructions and guidelines were explained to the patient, patient’s agent, or patient’s lay caregiver. 2. An assessment of travel distance and time between the primary residence of the patient and the hospital. 3. Verification of reliable transportation between the primary residence of the patient and the hospital. 4. Identification of a back-up hospital or facility at which the patient may obtain labor and delivery services. This Act is modeled on the Women Expansion of Learning and Labor Safety or WELLS Act, H.R. 7830, which was introduced in Congress on March 5, 2026. The WELLS Act is named after Mercedes Wells, a Black woman who was forced to give birth on the side of the road minutes after being discharged from a hospital while in active labor. Under existing law, Chapter 30J of Title 16 provides discharge planning requirements when a patient is being discharged home after admission to a hospital. The requirements under this Act are in addition to, but can be combined with, these existing discharge planning requirements if the patient being discharged is pregnant and experiencing signs or symptoms consistent with labor. This Act also renames and reorganizes Chapter 30J of Title 16 by making existing law Subchapter I and creating a new Subchapter II with the requirements under this Act. As such, this Act makes corresponding changes to existing law to change references to Chapter 30J to the new subchapter.

Who sponsors DE SB 301?

Dave G. Lawson, Melanie Ross Levin, Cyndie Romer and 11 others are the primary sponsors of DE SB 301.

Description

Introduced: 2026-05-05
Latest action: 2026-08-31 — Signed by Governor
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

2026-08-31
Signed by Governor
executive-signature
2026-06-24
Passed By House. Votes: 40 YES 1 ABSENT
passage
2026-06-17
Reported Out of Committee (Health & Human Development) in House with 2 Favorable, 7 On Its Merits
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2026-05-21
Assigned to Health & Human Development Committee in House
introduction,referral-committee
2026-05-20
Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT
passage
2026-05-13
Reported Out of Committee (Health & Social Services) in Senate with 4 Favorable, 3 On Its Merits
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2026-05-05
Introduced and Assigned to Health & Social Services Committee in Senate
introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Bill TextCompare

Documents

Votes

SM
2026-05-20 · 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: 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: other
- Laura V. Sturgeon: yes
- Bryan Townsend: yes
- John "Jack" Walsh: yes
- David L. Wilson: yes
SM
2026-06-24 · pass · 40-0
Member-level votes (41)
- Melissa Minor-Brown: yes
- Shannon Morris: yes
- Eric Morrison: yes
- DeShanna U Neal: yes
- Josue O Ortega: yes
- 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
- Edward S. Osienski: yes
- Sophie Phillips: other
- 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

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=143227

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-09-03T00:07:28.248386Z

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