This Act is a second substitute for Senate Bill No. 19. This substitute bill differs from Senate Bill No. 19 by doing the following: (1) Reorganizing the proposed "Delaware Payment Stablecoins Act" as Chapter 35 of Title 5, rather than Chapter 40 as originally proposed in Senate Bill No. 19. (2) Creating § 3508, which restricts non-financial public companies from issuing payment stablecoins. (3) Creating § 3518, which establishes a voluntary registration pathway for digital asset service providers rather than through the licensing process as originally proposed in Senate Bill No. 19. (4) Creating § 3556, which establishes procedures for the insolvency of a payment stablecoin issuer. (5) Creating a new definition of “control” to better align with the bill. (6) Expanding the definition of “registered public accounting firm” to include certified public accounting firms that meet the standards established by the Delaware Board of Accountancy. (7) Making appropriate technical corrections to conform to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Senate Substitute No. 2 for Senate Bill No. 19 establishes the Delaware Payment Stablecoin Act under Title 5 of the Delaware Code. It creates a licensing framework for payment stablecoin issuers and digital asset service providers operating with or on behalf of Delaware residents. The Act adopts definitions drawn from the federal Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act), Pub. L. 119-27, and from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's proposed rulemaking implementing that statute (Docket ID OCC-2025-0372), where those definitions do not duplicate existing Delaware law. The Act establishes reserve requirements including reserve shortfall remediation cascades, mandatory redemption timing standards, capital standards, anti-money laundering obligations, data privacy statutory floors, change-in-control notice procedures, custody safeguards, a federal-to-state charter conversion pathway, and strong preemption provisions. The State Bank Commissioner is directed to promulgate implementing regulations within specified timeframes to align Delaware's framework with evolving federal standards. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to enact or amend the general incorporation law.
This Act is a substitute for and differs from Senate Bill No. 342 by making the following changes: 1. Places the Commission back under the authority of the Division of Small Business and removes references throughout the original bill to the Delaware Tourism Office. 2. Adds authority for the Commission to make recommendations for model permitting language and processes. 3. Allows the Commission to develop a film-ready database of shooting locations, provide assistance in hiring local crews, vendors, and production support, and expand the Commission’s scope to include new media and the digital media landscape. 4. Provides more clarity for what constitutes a conflict of interest by replacing “family” with “close relative” and defining the term. This Act reorganizes the Delaware Motion Picture and Television Development Commission by increasing its membership from 9 to 11 members and modernizing the composition of the Commission to include specific industry and labor representatives. The Act directs the Governor to ensure that the Commission's membership reflects the racial, gender, and geographic diversity of the State. Additionally, this Act establishes governance procedures for the Commission, including the selection of a chair, the establishment of staggered terms for appointed members, and the implementation of a conflict-of-interest restriction for Commission members. The Act also expands the Commission's powers by authorizing it to assist productions in navigating the permitting process, which includes developing a standardized statewide permit application and advocating before relevant permitting authorities. Furthermore, the Act explicitly tasks the Commission with coordinating business attraction functions alongside the Delaware Prosperity Partnership. Finally, the Act requires the Commission to submit an annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly containing specific minimum performance and demographic data.
This Act adds a new paragraph (c) to § 137 of Title 16, which provides that the Attorney General shall use the Delaware Health Fund to enforce and litigate the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement and the 2018 Non-Participating Manufacturers (NPM) Adjustment Settlement Agreement (NPMSA) between the State and the tobacco manufacturers pursuant to 16 Del. C. § 137 and 29 Del. C. chs. 60C and D. This Act also adds a new paragraph (i) to § 137, which provides that the Department of Health and Social Services, in consultation with the Division of Public Health, shall administer a competitive grant program to make recommendations for the expenditure of money appropriated from the Delaware Health Fund in accordance with the procedure set forth in paragraph (i) to make recommendations for the award of grants to private organizations, consistent with the purposes and criteria in § 137. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act creates a film production tax credit. It requires companies to obtain, at their own expense, an independent audit certifying eligible expenditures. The audit must be submitted to the Division of Small Business for approval and allocation of credits. The credit is nonrefundable, transferable, and may be carried forward for up to 5 years. The credit may be applied against personal income tax, corporate income tax, bank franchise tax, and insurance premiums tax. All credit transfers must be approved by the Division of Small Business. This Act further authorizes necessary data sharing among agencies. Applicants and transferees consent to disclosure of credit amounts by virtue of applying or receiving a transfer. This Act also grants regulatory authority to the Division of Small Business and the Secretary of State to administer the annual credit cap; prioritize and manage awards; and issue reports relating to awards and utilization with input from relevant state agencies. The Division of Small Business may create alternative audit procedures for small businesses where a full audit would be prohibitively expensive. This Act sunsets on June 30, 2031, and no applications may be submitted after that date.
This Act modernizes Delaware’s emergency communications infrastructure by transitioning the State’s legacy Enhanced 911 (E911) system to a Next Generation 911 (NG911) system and updating the funding structure needed to support a statewide emergency communications network. Delaware’s current E911 system is funded through a monthly surcharge of $0.60 per telephone line, which has remained unchanged since 2001. This Act also authorizes periodic adjustments or scheduled increases in the surcharge to account for inflation, technological upgrades, and the growing operational costs associated with maintaining a modern emergency communications system. The transition to NG911 will allow Delaware’s public safety answering points (PSAPs) to support modern communications technologies, including text-to-911, multimedia communications, improved geolocation capabilities, and enhanced data sharing with first responders. These capabilities require significant upgrades to network infrastructure, cybersecurity protections, geographic information systems (GIS), and redundancy to ensure reliability during emergencies. Revenue generated by the updated surcharge structure will be deposited into the 911 System Fund and used for costs associated with planning, deploying, operating, and maintaining the statewide NG911 system. Eligible expenditures include network infrastructure, call handling equipment, software systems, cybersecurity protections, GIS data management, training of emergency communications personnel, and other costs necessary to operate a modern statewide emergency communications system. By establishing a sustainable funding mechanism and enabling the transition to NG911, this Act ensures that Delaware’s emergency communications system can meet current and future public safety needs, improve response times, and provide residents with access to modern emergency communication capabilities. Finally, this Act makes technical changes to existing statutory language to conform with the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This bill establishes the official revenue, refund, and unencumbered funds estimates for the state's Fiscal Year 2027 budget. It serves as a formal record of projected financial data to guide future budget planning and resource allocation. The legislation does not allocate new money or change tax laws but instead sets a baseline figure for government spending in the upcoming fiscal year.
This bill authorizes a one-time funding allocation of approximately $146.2 million to the Office of Management and Budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027. The money is designated to cover specific, temporary expenses identified by that agency. The legislation has been approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives and is now ready for final passage.
This bill allocates state funds to cover government operations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, directly affecting all state agencies and departments. It establishes specific rules and limits on how these funds can be spent and updates related state laws to reflect these financial constraints. The legislation has been passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives, moving it closer to becoming law.
This bill establishes the official revenue, refund, and unencumbered funds estimates for the state's Fiscal Year 2026 budget. It directly affects state financial planning by setting the baseline numbers that government agencies and legislators will use to allocate resources for the upcoming year. The measure does not create new taxes or spending programs but instead formalizes the financial data required to draft the future budget. After passing both the Senate and the House, the resolution serves as a procedural step to ensure the state has accurate figures for its fiscal planning.
This Act recognizes that the Public Education Funding Committee’s (PEFC) recommended hybrid model formula to determine public education funding is good public policy and that implementation of the hybrid model should not be delayed any longer than absolutely necessary. As such, this Act provides authority for the Department of Education (Department) to begin making the changes to systems that are necessary to implement the hybrid model for Fiscal Year 2028. This Act also encourages that, in collaboration with the PEFC, the Department incorporate elements of the hybrid model in the development of the Governor’s Recommended Budget for Fiscal Year 2028 for consideration by the 154th General Assembly. However, during this transition, a school district or charter school should not receive a state appropriation for Fiscal Year 2028 that is lower than the amount that school received in Fiscal Year 2027. The PEFC was established under Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 201 (152nd General Assembly) on June 27, 2024, and then re-established under House Concurrent Resolution No. 2 (153rd General Assembly) on January 21, 2025, to conduct a comprehensive review of public education funding for all students and populations served by school districts and charter schools (public schools) and develop a roadmap of recommendations to implement improvements to the public education funding system. The PEFC’s recommends adopting a new public education funding framework, known as the “hybrid model”, that combines the current, resource-based funding formula with a student-based, weighted funding model. The hybrid model will improve equity in public school funding and facilitate gains in student achievement by increasing flexibility in how public schools may use appropriated money. The PEFC recommendations include accountability measures as an important balance to the increased flexibility and that the equalization formula must be modernized.
Under Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 201 (152nd General Assembly) and House Concurrent Resolution No. 2 (153rd General Assembly), the Public Education Funding Commission (Commission) has studied how to improve Delaware's public education funding policies so that public school funding is equitable and appropriated in a manner that allows public schools, including both school districts and charter schools, to not only spend all money that is appropriated but to do so in a manner that best meets the needs of the students in each school. This Act implements the Commission’s recommendation that the Public Education Funding Commission be established as a permanent body. As set forth in Senate Bill No. 302 (153rd General Assembly), the Commission recommended that the General Assembly enact what is known as the hybrid formula. The hybrid formula combines elements of the current funding calculations with a weighted needs-based approach that provides additional funding for students who receive career and technical education or special education services, who are multilingual learners, and who live in low-income households. Codified, the Commission will have a crucial role in implementing and maintaining the benefits of the hybrid model by continually reviewing the hybrid model, including the amounts of the required weights, if school spending of state appropriations complies with the applicable requirements, and making recommendations for improvements. The continual review of public education funding by the Commission will allow adjustments to be made on a gradual and incremental basis as needed.
This Act revises the reporting requirements for the Community Environmental Project Fund for the purpose of easing the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Controls’ (DNREC) administrative burden. The fund was created by the General Assembly in 2004. This fund is capitalized with civil and administrative penalty payments received by DNREC. The collected funds are then disbursed to organizations serving communities affected by environmental violations. Projects provided by these organizations include eliminating, minimizing, or abating pollution, improving environmental conditions that impact human health, enhancing natural resources to improve habitats, and expanding recreational opportunities.