Delaware 153rd General Assembly Status: Passed Senate 1 D cosponsors

SA 3 to HB 75 —

Last action — Passed

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced July 01, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the House.

Odds of enactment

Moderate chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a moderate chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 48% · moderate confidence

  • Passed Senate

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 D).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 1 recorded vote so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

This amendment outlines legal processes for victims of sexual abuse to seek damages.

The amendment provides definitions and establishes processes for victims of sexual abuse to claim damages against alleged abusers and their employers. It also waives sovereign immunity for certain entities and sets limits on recoverable damages.

What this means for you
  • Families: This amendment may provide families of abuse victims with clearer legal avenues to seek justice and compensation.

Summary

This Amendment does all of the following: (1) Provides definitions of terms used throughout this Act, including a definition of “person” for use when describing the employer of the victim’s alleged abuser. (2) Provides requirements for obtaining damages from a person that employed the victim’s alleged abuser, or had some degree of responsibility and control over the victim’s alleged abuser. (3) Specifically waives the sovereign immunity of this State or a county or other political subdivision of this State, including a school district and a charter school. (4) Provides that the victim’s alleged abuser and a person that employed the victim’s alleged abuser and owed a duty of care to the victim, or had some degree of responsibility and control over an activity which the victim and the victim’s alleged abuser were engaged in, are not joint tortfeasors. (5) Establishes limits on the damages that may be recovered by the victim. (6) Establishes evidentiary criteria for a civil cause of action for sexual abuse of a minor by an adult when the adult is deceased or not sufficiently competent to participate in the defense of the sexual abuse allegations. (7) Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including by making words that are plural into words that are singular as § 304 of Title 1 provides that the singular includes the plural. This Amendment differs from Senate Amendment No. 1 by doing the following: (1) Redrafting for clarity the provisions related to scope and sovereign immunity, including clarifying that the waiver of sovereign immunity includes charter schools. (2) Clarifying that health care expenses include medical and counseling expenses (3) Providing that § 8145(f) through (i) of Title 10 applies only to sexual abuse that occurred on or before July 9, 2007.

Bill Text

We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.

Read SA 3 to HB 75 on the official Delaware source →

Action History

  1. Passed

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 61 not signed on · 6 voted No

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (61)

61 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 61 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

SM

Passed 14 Yea · 6 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 14100
Republican 0501
Total 14601
% of votes cast 67%29%0%5%
How each member voted (21)
Member Party Vote
Bryan Townsend Democratic Yea
Daniel Cruce Democratic Yea
Darius J. Brown Democratic Yea
David P. Sokola Democratic Yea
John "Jack" Walsh Democratic Yea
Kyra L. Hoffner Democratic Yea
Laura V. Sturgeon Democratic Yea
Marie Pinkney Democratic Yea
Nicole Poore Democratic Nay
Ray Seigfried Democratic Yea
Russell Huxtable Democratic Yea
S. Elizabeth Lockman Democratic Yea
Spiros Mantzavinos Democratic Yea
Stephanie L. Hansen Democratic Yea
Trey Paradee Democratic Yea
Brian Pettyjohn Republican Nay
Bryant L. Richardson Republican Nay
Dave G. Lawson Republican Not Voting
David L. Wilson Republican Nay
Eric Buckson Republican Nay
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SA 3 to HB 75 do?
This Amendment does all of the following: (1) Provides definitions of terms used throughout this Act, including a definition of “person” for use when describing the employer of the victim’s alleged abuser. (2) Provides requirements for obtaining damages from a person that employed the victim’s alleged abuser, or had some degree of responsibility and control over the victim’s alleged abuser. (3) Specifically waives the sovereign immunity of this State or a county or other political subdivision of this State, including a school district and a charter school. (4) Provides that the victim’s alleged abuser and a person that employed the victim’s alleged abuser and owed a duty of care to the victim, or had some degree of responsibility and control over an activity which the victim and the victim’s alleged abuser were engaged in, are not joint tortfeasors. (5) Establishes limits on the damages that may be recovered by the victim. (6) Establishes evidentiary criteria for a civil cause of action for sexual abuse of a minor by an adult when the adult is deceased or not sufficiently competent to participate in the defense of the sexual abuse allegations. (7) Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including by making words that are plural into words that are singular as § 304 of Title 1 provides that the singular includes the plural. This Amendment differs from Senate Amendment No. 1 by doing the following: (1) Redrafting for clarity the provisions related to scope and sovereign immunity, including clarifying that the waiver of sovereign immunity includes charter schools. (2) Clarifying that health care expenses include medical and counseling expenses (3) Providing that § 8145(f) through (i) of Title 10 applies only to sexual abuse that occurred on or before July 9, 2007.
Who sponsors SA 3 to HB 75?
SA 3 to HB 75 is sponsored by David P. Sokola (Democratic).
What is the current status of SA 3 to HB 75?
This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced July 01, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track SA 3 to HB 75?
Track SA 3 to HB 75 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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