Delaware lawmakers closed the 153rd General Assembly in a marathon overnight session that stretched into the early morning of July 1, sending Gov. Matt Meyer major spending bills and a long list of policy measures while leaving several high-profile proposals to die with the end of the two-year session.
The final hours produced a nearly $7 billion operating budget, a roughly $1.25 billion capital budget, about $99 million in grant-in-aid funding and action on issues ranging from voting access and marriage protections to wetlands, marijuana zoning, energy policy, gun regulation and property tax fallout.
The session also showed the limits of last-day legislating. Bills addressing child sexual abuse claims, reproductive freedom, privacy rights, union labor requirements, broader pension tax relief, tobacco taxes and several election changes failed to make it across the finish line and would need to be reintroduced when a new General Assembly convenes in January 2027.
Voting rights measures advance, but not all survive
Election policy was one of the clearest themes of the closing stretch. Lawmakers advanced constitutional amendments that would authorize early in-person voting, expand absentee voting without requiring an excuse, bar corporations and other artificial entities from voting in Delaware elections, and restore voting rights to people convicted of felonies once they are released from incarceration or pardoned. Because most of those measures are constitutional amendments, they must pass again in the next General Assembly before taking effect.
A separate voting rights bill, the Delaware John Lewis Voting Rights Act, cleared the legislature and headed to Meyer’s desk. The measure would create state-level protections against voter suppression, vote dilution, intimidation and barriers facing voters whose first language is not English.
Other election proposals stalled. A plan to move Delaware’s primary date to April, an open primaries bill for unaffiliated voters, a proposal to let voters approve constitutional amendments directly and a measure allowing voters to cast ballots at any polling place in their county all failed to advance before adjournment.
Budgets, infrastructure and late-session disputes
The budget package anchored the final day. Meyer signed the operating budget before lawmakers completed work on the capital budget and grant-in-aid bill. The bond bill funded public construction, school projects, transportation and other infrastructure, but it drew scrutiny over spending levels and transparency in the early-morning rush.
Days later, Meyer used a line-item veto to remove $35 million for a Legislative Hall expansion from the capital plan, saying the expense could not be justified amid affordability concerns. The rest of the bond bill remained intact, but the veto underscored tension between the new administration and legislative leaders over priorities and fiscal restraint.
Social policy fights end with mixed results
Some of the most closely watched social-policy proposals ended unresolved. A constitutional amendment on reproductive freedom, a constitutional right-to-privacy proposal and a bill criticized by opponents as restricting anti-abortion advocacy did not receive final approval before adjournment. Their failure was celebrated by conservative and faith-based advocacy groups, while supporters would need to restart the measures in a new session.
A separate bill intended to expand legal options for survivors of child sexual abuse also collapsed after the Senate amended it and the House declined to accept the revised version. Advocates who supported the original bill said the amendment weakened the measure too much to accomplish its purpose.
Lawmakers did advance the first leg of a constitutional amendment protecting marriage regardless of gender or race, a measure that will also need approval in the next General Assembly.
Other major bills clear the finish line
Beyond budgets and elections, legislators approved measures on data center regulation, wetlands permitting, campaign finance, gun dealer oversight, housing, property tax administration and marijuana business zoning. They also overrode Meyer’s earlier veto of legislation limiting the land-use restrictions counties can impose on recreational marijuana retailers.
The late-night schedule frustrated some lawmakers, who complained that major bills and Senate amendments arrived with little time for review. Legislative leaders, however, described the rush as a familiar feature of June in Dover, when unresolved negotiations often pile up at the deadline.
What comes next
Because the 153rd General Assembly has ended, ordinary bills that failed are dead for now. Many ideas are expected to return next year, when all House seats and several Senate seats will be on the ballot and the next legislature may look different from the one that adjourned before sunrise.
Brent is a 35-year resident of Delaware, having retired after a 38 year career in Operations & Supply Chain with Dupont and Axalta. He is active politically and focuses primarily on Delaware legislative activities.
