DE SB 345

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO OFFENSES INVOLVING PUBLIC INDECENCY.

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

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Quick answers

Did DE SB 345 pass?

Yes. DE SB 345 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-09-14): Signed by Governor

What is DE SB 345 about?

Under current Delaware law, a minor cannot be guilty of the crime of prostitution under § 1342 of Title 11. This Act removes references to minors engaging in prostitution and being prostituted in favor of using the term "exploited" or “exploitation”, which is defined to mean acts by a minor that would constitute prostitution under § 1342(a) of Title 11 if that minor were 18 years old or older. This change is twofold. (1) It creates a separate term to refer to the exploitation of a minor since minors cannot be guilty of prostitution and prostitution is not otherwise defined outside of the offense in § 1342(a) of Title 11, which excludes minors; and (2) Recognizes a growing trend nationally and internationally to remove language that misleadingly implies that children are able to consent to, and participate in, prostitution. The Interagency Working Group on Sexual Exploitation of Children, comprised of representatives from the United Nations, INTERPOL, and organizations working to end the sexual exploitation of children, published a manual containing terminology guidelines for the protection of children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. While there is no single recommended term, attempts should be made to avoid stigmatizing a child and suggesting that the child had culpability in any acts undertaken. Sections 8 through 11 of this Act update internal references elsewhere in the Code to account for the addition of subsection designations in §§ 1352 and 1353. Sections 12 through 13 of this Act add the definition of “illicit massage establishment” from House Bill 409 and update it to account for the change in terminology that this Act makes. This addition of and update to the definition of “illicit massage establishment” only occurs if House Bill No. 409 is enacted. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Who sponsors DE SB 345?

John "Jack" Walsh, Bryan Townsend, Laura V. Sturgeon and 19 others are the primary sponsors of DE SB 345, joined by 22 cosponsors.

Description

Introduced: 2026-06-10
Latest action: 2026-09-14 — Signed by Governor
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

2026-09-14
Signed by Governor
executive-signature
2026-06-30
Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES
passage
2026-06-30
Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 5 On Its Merits
committee-passage
2026-06-25
Assigned to Administration Committee in House
introduction,referral-committee
2026-06-25
Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
passage
2026-06-24
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits
committee-passage
2026-06-10
Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate
introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Bill TextCompare

Documents

Votes

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
SM
2026-06-30 · pass · 41-0
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: 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.: 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=143498

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-09-20T07:33:17.079032Z

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