Sen. Jack Walsh

This resolution recognizes the Easterseals/CAI Volleyball Challenge which occurred on March 7 at the University of Delaware Carpenter Sports Building, an event that raises funds for an organization providing services and support to Delawareans with disabilities and senior citizens and their families. This resolution also recognizes Ellice Biloon, the 2026 Volleyball Ambassador.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates March 2026 as Women's History Month in Delaware to honor the leadership and achievements of women throughout history. It is a ceremonial resolution that does not create new laws or change existing policies but serves to recognize women's contributions. The measure was passed by both the House and Senate with a voice vote in the House and a 21-0 vote in the Senate.

Senate Bill No. 59 (Chapter 78, Volume 85 of the Laws of Delaware) was passed by the General Assembly on June 26, 2025, and signed by the Governor on July 16, 2025. Senate Bill No. 59 changed the standard applied by the Public Service Commission ("Commission") when deciding public utility rate cases. The standard applied before the enactment of Senate Bill No. 59 was the “business judgment rule” standard. Senate Bill No. 59 changed the standard applied by the Commission to the “prudence” standard. Forty-eight states in the United States apply the “prudence” standard when setting public utility rates, not the "business judgement rule" standard that has been applied in Delaware. Although Section 3 of Senate Bill No. 59 stated that the Act takes effect on January 1, 2026, following its enactment into law, it was the intent of the General Assembly that the Commission must apply the “prudence" standard retroactively in rate case decisions, where the public utility filed the rate case proceeding with the Commission during the period from the date of enactment of the legislation on July 16, 2025, through December 31, 2025. The “prudence” standard does not apply to any rate case proceeding filed by a public utility with the Commission before July 16, 2025.

This Act requires that a contract relating to a public works project executed after December 31, 2026, must include a project labor agreement with the Delaware Building and Construction Trades Council if the project is for a school district or charter school, unless there was only 1 bid for the craft under the contract. A project labor agreement is a type of collective bargaining agreement in the construction industry that is generally negotiated before construction begins. Project labor agreements are intended to provide a legally binding and enforceable contract primarily related to labor conditions and labor-management relations.

This Act is a substitute bill for Senate Bill No. 228. It combines Senate Bill No. 228 and Senate Amendment No. 1 to Senate Bill No. 228. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 228 by intending to maximize the amount of time New Castle County will have in 2026 to conduct a quality control review of non-residential property assessments and make any adjustments to assessed values while also ensuring sufficient time for the preparation of county and school tax bills in New Castle County with a December 31, 2026 payment deadline: 1. Adjusts the date by which New Castle County must complete its Quality Control review and make any adjustments to assessed values to September 30, 2026. 2. Adjusts the tax "due and payable" date, which is an existing statutory term that is different from a payment deadline, to October 12, 2026. 3. Adjusts the date by which New Castle County must mail out tax statements to November 16, 2026. 4. Adjusts the deadline for payment of tax bills to December 31, 2026. 5. Confirms that penalties for unpaid amounts do not begin until January 1, 2027. This Act also differs from Senate Bill No. 228 by changing the date by which a school board in New Castle County must deliver its warrant to New Castle County to October 22, 2026, and clarifying the State shall advance monies to any school district that experiences a shortfall as a result of the changes in this Act. Like Senate Bill No. 228, this Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill No. 228 is designed to promote fairness in property assessments and property taxation in New Castle County. The Act provides New Castle County the authority to conduct a quality control review of a tax parcel’s new assessed value after a general reassessment when any of the following conditions exist: 1. A clerical, mathematical, or factual mistake occurred during the new general reassessment. 2. A non-residential tax parcel whose assessed value from the general reassessment is at least $300,000 but decreased from its previous assessed value. 3. A non-residential tax parcel’s assessed value from the new general reassessment is at least $300,000 and the percentage change in its newly assessed value from its assessed value prior to the new general reassessment is no greater than 50% of the median increase of non-residential properties in that county from the new general reassessment. 4. A non-residential tax parcel’s assessed value from the new general reassessment is at least 25% less than the actual sale price from the parcel’s most recent sale within the 5 years preceding the new general reassessment, whenever the actual sale price is determinable by public records. The quality control review grants the Office of Finance the power to make revisions and corrections to a tax parcel while adhering to the standards of §§ 8306(a), 8312, and 8321 of Title 9. The Act sets deadlines for the Office of Finance to make adjustments to assessed values and to finalize and mail tax statements. This Act also amends Title 14 to provide a deadline for school boards in New Castle County to deliver their warrants and directs the State to advance funding if a school district experiences a shortfall of funding as a result of the changes in this Act. This Act expires on March 31, 2027, unless otherwise provided by a subsequent act of the General Assembly.

This Act amends the Fiscal Year 2026 Bond and Capital Improvements Act to (1) add the Department of Labor, Sussex Facility, to the Transfer to the State Treasurer’s Agency Bond Reversion Account; (2) add the Delaware Veterans Cemetery Expansion to the list of OMB Projects in the Transfer from the State Treasurer’s Agency Bond Reversion Account; (3) allow the Legislative Building Committee to develop design standards and plans for Legislative Hall; (4) authorize the Office of Management and Budget, Division of Facilities Management, to utilize residual funds for the Delaware State Police Firing Range Improvements; (5) allow for funds appropriated to the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to be used for the construction of a mixed-species exhibit; (6) authorize the Department of Transportation to use Community Transportation Funds for one-time reimbursements for various projects; (7) reprogram funding from the Community Redevelopment/Reinvestment Fund from Downtown Milford, Inc. to the City of Milford, Delaware Nature Society, Kent Sussex Industries, the Milford District Fee Public Library Commission, and the Milford Housing Development Corporation; (8) update Delaware Code to make a language change from a stationary source reporting propane and ammonium nitrate to a stationary source reporting propane or ammonium nitrate; (9) require the Diamond State Port Corporation and the Department of Transportation to conduct a study of rerouting truck traffic on Hay Road; (10) correct a reference to the Historic Tax Credit; (11) allows that the activation timing of amber warning lights shall not apply to Red Clay School District school buses equipped with, and operating stop arm cameras; (12) authorize the Office of Management and Budget, Division of Facilities Management, to utilize residual funds from the Ferris Window project for the Cleveland White project, (13) authorize the Office of Management and Budget, Division of Facilities Management, to utilize any residual funds from the Department of Correction for the W1 Building HVAC project at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center (14) authorize the transfer of Warwick School No. 203 to Indian Mission Properties, Inc.; (15) amend Delaware Code to require the Diamond State Port Corporation Executive Director to be selected by majority vote of the Board.

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes January 27, 2026, as International Holocaust Remembrance Day and encourages education and remembrance in observance of the day.

This Concurrent Resolution designates January as “Muslim Heritage Month” and recognizes Ramadan and Muslim residents of this State as they observe it.

This concurrent resolution urges PJM Interconnection to extend price collars for 2 years at the current rate of $325/mw-day and to implement reforms to its interconnection queue to allow for increased generation capacity to come online faster and prevent the need for price collars in the future.

This resolution considers the increasingly egregious tactics, including lethal use of force, being used by agents of the Department of Homeland Security.