In 2025, the General Assembly passed House Bill No. 242 (now found at Chapter 135, Volume 85 of the Laws of Delaware), allowing school districts located entirely in New Castle County to use different tax rates for residential and non-residential properties. This Act amends the Delaware Code to continue the authority for non-vocational technical school districts in New Castle County to utilize a residential and non-residential tax rate for school tax purposes. Such a split rate may be established or adjusted in the year after a general reassessment or as part of a referendum. The rate must be uniform for each class of property. Under this Act, the non-residential rate must be at least equal to the residential rate and may be no more than 1.85 times the residential rate. For purposes of the split tax rate, a school district must follow the classifications of the county in which the district is located. Under the transition provisions of this Act, a district that initially established split tax rates under the authority of House Bill No. 242, may continue to use those split rates at the same or a lower ratio between residential and non-residential tax rates established in the 2025-2026 tax year. But if a district’s non-residential tax rate for the 2025-2026 tax year was more than 1.85 times the residential tax rate, it must adjust its rates to meet the 1.85 maximum ratio permitted under this Act. The New Castle County Vocational Technical District may not continue the use of different tax rates past the 2025-2026 tax year. The Act also changes the amount a school district must add to its tax rate to account for delinquencies and late payments to “up to 10%” rather than requiring that a school district must add exactly 10% to its tax rate for this purpose. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform this chapter of the Delaware Code to the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual and strikes references to the City of Wilmington School District, which no longer exists. It also revises § 1913 of Title 14 to reflect current practice. It strikes an outdated requirement in § 1918 of Title 14 that the school districts deliver a copy of the assessment list to the County along with their tax warrant. This is inconsistent with the role of the school districts and with current practice.
This Act repeals the ability of school districts to increase tax rates by up to 10% when recalculating the district’s rate of taxation after a general reassessment. This Act does not repeal the requirement under § 1916(b) of Title 14 that a school district recalculate the district’s rate of taxation after a general reassessment, but instead of the 10% maximum, limits the amount of money a district can collect as a result of increases in the fair market value of real property to an amount that is equal to or less than the sum of all of the following: 1. The actual operating revenue derived by the tax levied in the fiscal year immediately preceding the general reassessment. 2. A percentage that is equal to the average growth rate in taxable property in the district since the previous reassessment. This Act also allows school districts to increase a tax approved in a referendum election under Chapter 19 of Title 14 by up to 2% annually without a referendum if the district’s operational reserve balance is not more than 10% of the district’s annual revenue and it is not the same fiscal year that the rate of taxation is recalculated after a general reassessment. This authority will allow school districts to maintain services for students by gradually adjusting to challenges such as inflation, enrollment changes, and increased student needs. Under this Act, the new recalculation equation under § 1916(b) of Title 14 applies beginning for the fiscal year following the next general reassessment and a school district cannot begin to increase tax rates by no more than 2% without a referendum until after the next general reassessment or for fiscal year 2031, whichever is earlier. This Act does not do any of the following: • Allow school districts to levy an additional tax that is more than 2% without an approved referendum. • Change the differences under current law for tax rates for vocational-technical districts. Under current law and this Act, vocational-technical districts are required to use the same calculations as other school districts when recalculating the rate of taxation after a general reassessment. However, the tax authority for vocational-technical districts is under Chapter 26 of Title 14, not Chapter 19, so the authority to annually increase a tax rate by 2% does not apply to vocational-technical districts. This Act also makes the following corresponding and technical changes to Chapter 19 of Title 14: • Revises the definitions in § 1901 by adding “general reassessment” and “reassessed” as defined terms and updates the definition of “district” to reflect current school district boundaries. • Clarifies that if Chapter 26 applies to a school district, the ability of a district to levy an additional tax under § 1902(a) does not apply to that district. • Technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act removes the up to 10% increase in school property taxes allowed after reassessment This Act takes effect July 1, 2025, and applies to all public school tax rates after July 1, 2025.
In Chapter 70, Subchapter V of Title 25, the Manufactured Home Relocation Trust Fund was established. It is administered by a Board of Directors. The Board was directed to set a monthly assessment for deposit in the Trust Fund for each rented lot in a manufactured home community. This Act removes the cap of the Trust Fund, currently set at $15 million. This Act also raises the amount of the tenant portion of the monthly assessment to be redirected to the Delaware Manufactured Home Owner Attorney Fund from 50 cents of the tenant portion to $1.50. This Act takes effect on the date of enactment.
The Department of Transportation commissioned a study which was performed by the University of Delaware which calculated the impact on the Transportation Trust Fund by the increase in registration of electric motor vehicles, plug-in electric motor vehicles, non-plug-in electric motor vehicles, and other fuel motor vehicles. The Transportation Trust fund is the source of funding for the Department to perform all road and bridge improvements in the State. This Act assesses an additional registration fee on owners of electric motor vehicles, plug-in electric motor vehicles, non-plug-in electric motor vehicles, and other fuel motor vehicles to make up for the declining motor fuel tax revenue impacts on the Department, as well as the increased costs associated with these types of vehicles which are generally heavier than traditional passenger motor vehicles with increasing roadway impacts. This Act further increases several revenue sources in the following ways: 1) Assesses a one-time set up fee to a nonprofit organization to create a special license plate. 2) Increases the fee for issuance and renewal of a driver’s license from $40 to $50. 3) Increases the fee for a sex offender registration license replacement from $5 to $10. 4) Increases the issuance and renewal of a commercial driver’s license from $48 to $55. 5) Increases the fee for renewal of a non-commercial driver’s license Class A or B from $40 to $50. 6) Increases the fee for adding an endorsement to a commercial driver’s license from $5 to $10. A $10 fee for removing a restriction on a commercial driver’s license is now charged. 7) Increases the fee for taxicab endorsement and renewal from $3.45 to $10. 8) Makes the fee for a duplicate identification card for a lost or destroyed identification card set at $20. 9) Makes the fee for a replacement identification card due to name change $10. 10) Increases the fee for a dealership license from $100 and $50 for renewal. 11) Increases the document from 4.25 % to 5.25%. The effective date for these increases is generally October 1, 2025 to allow time for computer reprogramming and effective implementation. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
