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SB 240 Delaware Senate · 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026)

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 23 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CLASSES OF PILOTS' LICENSES.

Summary
This Act amends Title 23 of the Delaware Code to increase the maximum draft limit applicable to sixth class pilots from 27 feet to 29 feet, enabling the safe pilotage of deeper-draft vessels and aligning pilotage standards with modern shipping practices. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
May 2026
Senate Passage
Jun 2026
House Passage
Jun 2026
Governor
Introduced Feb 26, 2026 Last action Jun 24, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HA 1 to SB 240 → Bill Text · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill transitions from a House Amendment instruction format to a clean enrolled act, and makes one key substantive change: increasing the maximum draft limit for sixth class pilots from 27 feet to 29 feet. This allows sixth class pilots to pilot deeper-draft vessels, aligning Delaware's pilotage standards with modern shipping practices. The bill also incorporates technical corrections to conform with the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
ELIGIBILITY

The maximum draft limit for sixth class pilots was increased from 27 feet to 29 feet, expanding the range of vessels a sixth class pilot is authorized to pilot.

TECHNICAL

Technical corrections were made throughout the text to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including formatting adjustments to each license class description.

SCOPE

Sponsorship expanded from a single House sponsor (Rep. Berry) to a joint Senate-House sponsorship led by Sen. Huxtable with multiple additional co-sponsors, reflecting the bill's passage through both chambers.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 12, 2026 · House Jun 16, 2026

How they voted

21–0
Passed
Total votes 21
Mar 12, 2026
D Democratic15
15 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican6
6 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
9
Key actions
6
Committee
2
Amendments
2
Jun 24, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
upper
Jun 16, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed By House. Votes: 38 YES 3 ABSENT
lower
Jun 16, 2026
Lower · Passed
Amendment HA 1 to SB 240 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
lower
Jun 16, 2026
Introduced
Amendment HA 1 to SB 240 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
upper
May 20, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported Out of Committee (Transportation) in House with 9 On Its Merits
lower
Mar 17, 2026
Introduced
Assigned to Transportation Committee in House
lower
Mar 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
upper
Mar 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported Out of Committee (Elections & Government Affairs) in Senate with 5 Favorable
upper
Feb 26, 2026
Introduced
Introduced and Assigned to Elections & Government Affairs Committee in Senate
upper
23 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Brian Pettyjohn
Brian Pettyjohn
RRepublican
DE
19
P
Photo of Bryan Townsend
Bryan Townsend
DDemocratic
DE
11
P
Photo of Bryant Richardson
Bryant Richardson
RRepublican
DE
21
P
Photo of Claire Snyder-Hall
Claire Snyder-Hall
DDemocratic
DE
14
P
Photo of Danny Short
Danny Short
RRepublican
DE
39
P
Photo of Darius Brown
Darius Brown
DDemocratic
DE
2
P
Photo of Dave Lawson
Dave Lawson
RRepublican
DE
15
P
Photo of Dave Sokola
Dave Sokola
DDemocratic
DE
8
P
Photo of Dave Wilson
Dave Wilson
RRepublican
DE
18
P
Photo of Ed Osienski
Ed Osienski
DDemocratic
DE
24
P
Photo of Frank Cooke
Frank Cooke
DDemocratic
DE
16
P
Photo of Jack Walsh
Jack Walsh
DDemocratic
DE
9
P
Photo of Josue Ortega
Josue Ortega
DDemocratic
DE
3
P
Photo of Kerri Harris
Kerri Harris
DDemocratic
DE
32
P
Photo of Laura Sturgeon
Laura Sturgeon
DDemocratic
DE
4
P
Photo of Marie Pinkney
Marie Pinkney
DDemocratic
DE
13
P
Photo of Melanie Ross Levin
Melanie Ross Levin
DDemocratic
DE
10
P
Photo of Nicole Poore
Nicole Poore
DDemocratic
DE
12
P
Photo of Ray Seigfried
Ray Seigfried
DDemocratic
DE
5
P
Photo of Russ Huxtable
Russ Huxtable
DDemocratic
DE
6
P
Photo of Spiros Mantzavinos
Spiros Mantzavinos
DDemocratic
DE
7
P
Photo of Stell Selby
Stell Selby
DDemocratic
DE
20
P
Photo of Trey Paradee
Trey Paradee
DDemocratic
DE
17