Delaware 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026) Status: Enacted Bipartisan · 12 D · 2 R cosponsors

HB 21 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO TIANEPTINE.

Last action — Signed by Governor

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

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced December 19, 2024. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Matt Meyer (Democratic) on July 21, 2025.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high 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

Likely to advance 98% · high confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 15 sponsors

    15 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (12 D · 2 R) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

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

Summary

This Act bans the sale of Tianeptine in the State by identifying it as a Schedule I controlled substance. Tianeptine, also known as “gas station heroin,” is an antidepressant drug that is not approved by the FDA and is being sold as a dietary supplement in gas stations and other shops. This Act requires approval by a two-thirds vote because the statutory change will result in the expansion of an existing misdemeanor.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

20 added · 19 removed

Plain-language change summary

The amendment to HB 21 adds a provision that prohibits civil or criminal penalties for individuals possessing a small quantity of tianeptine, even though it is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance. This means that while the sale and distribution of tianeptine are banned, individuals will not face legal consequences for having it in their possession. The goal of the amendment is to ensure that the focus remains on removing tianeptine from the marketplace without penalizing consumers.

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Previous
Latest
Sen.
Rep.
Hansen DELAWARE STATE SENATE 153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY SENATE AMENDMENT NO.
K.
1 TO HOUSE BILL NO.
Williams & Sen.
21 AMEND House Bill No.
Hansen Reps.
21 after line 6 by inserting the following:
Gorman, Hilovsky, Morrison, Neal, Ross Levin, Romer, Chukwuocha, Heffernan, Griffith, Harris;
“Section 2.
Sens.
Amend Subchapter IV, Chapter 47, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by (making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
Hoffner, Poore, Buckson, Pettyjohn, Richardson HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE BILL NO.
§ 4761A.
21 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO TIANEPTINE.
Purchase of drugs from minors;
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Two-thirds of all members elected to each house thereof concurring therein):
penalties [Repealed].
Section 1.
Tianeptine;
Amend § 4714, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
possession.
§ 4714.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, no civil or criminal penalty may be imposed, nor may criminal or civil asset forfeiture be pursued, for the possession of tianeptine by an individual.
Schedule I.
(b) The manufacturing, selling, or delivery of tianeptine remains unlawful and is subject to penalties imposed by this chapter.”.
(h) Any material, compound, mixture, or preparation that contains any quantity of tianeptine including its salts, isomers and salts of isomers unless specifically excepted, whenever the existence of these salts, isomers and salts of isomers is possible.
SYNOPSIS Although tianeptine is added to Schedule I by House Bill No.
SYNOPSIS This Act bans the sale of Tianeptine in the State by identifying it as a Schedule I controlled substance.
21, this amendment is meant to ensure that no civil or criminal penalties are imposed on an individual for possession of a small quantity of tianeptine.
Tianeptine, also known as “gas station heroin,” is an antidepressant drug that is not approved by the FDA and is being sold as a dietary supplement in gas stations and other shops.
The purpose of House Bill No.
This Act requires approval by a two-thirds vote because the statutory change will result in the expansion of an existing misdemeanor.
21 is to take tianeptine off the shelves, but not to punish an individual who buys a bottle of tianeptine from a gas station or convenience store.
HD :
Author:
LTK :
Senator Hansen SD :
DS Page 1 of 1 Released:
FJM :
12/18/2024 05:20 PM 3491530008
CBK Page 1 of 1 Released:
06/30/2025 10:01 AM 4761530135
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Action History

  1. Signed by Governor

  2. Passed By House. Votes: 37 YES 3 ABSENT 1 VACANT

  3. Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

  4. Amendment SA 1 to HB 21 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

  5. Amendment SA 1 to HB 21 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

  6. Reported Out of Committee (Health & Social Services) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 3 On Its Merits, 1 Unfavorable

  7. Assigned to Health & Social Services Committee in Senate

  8. Passed By House. Votes: 36 YES 5 ABSENT

  9. Reported Out of Committee (Health & Human Development) in House with 9 Favorable, 3 On Its Merits

  10. Introduced and Assigned to Health & Human Development Committee in House

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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15 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 47 not signed on

Sponsors (15)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (47)

47 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 47 →

"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

2/3

Passed 21 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 15000
Republican 6000
Total 21000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
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 Yea
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 Yea
Bryant L. Richardson Republican Yea
Dave G. Lawson Republican Yea
David L. Wilson Republican Yea
Eric Buckson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

2/3

Passed 36 Yea · 0 Nay · 5 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 24002
Republican 12002
Unaffiliated 0001
Total 36005
% of votes cast 88%0%0%12%
How each member voted (41)
Member Party Vote
Stell Parker Selby — Not Voting
Claire Snyder-Hall Democratic Yea
Cyndie Romer Democratic Yea
DeShanna U Neal Democratic Yea
Debra Heffernan Democratic Yea
Edward S. Osienski Democratic Yea
Eric Morrison Democratic Yea
Frank Burns Democratic Yea
Franklin D. Cooke Democratic Yea
Josue O Ortega Democratic Not Voting
Kamela T Smith Democratic Not Voting
Kendra Johnson Democratic Yea
Kerri Evelyn Harris Democratic Yea
Kimberly Williams Democratic Yea
Krista Griffith Democratic Yea
Larry Lambert Democratic Yea
Madinah Wilson-Anton Democratic Yea
Mara Gorman Democratic Yea
Melanie Ross Levin Democratic Yea
Melissa Minor-Brown Democratic Yea
Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha Democratic Yea
Sean M. Lynn Democratic Yea
Sherae'a Moore Democratic Yea
Sophie Phillips Democratic Yea
Stephanie T. Bolden Democratic Yea
William Bush Democratic Yea
William J. Carson Democratic Yea
Bryan W. Shupe Republican Yea
Charles S Postles Jr. Republican Not Voting
Daniel B. Short Republican Yea
Jeff Hilovsky Republican Yea
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman Republican Yea
Jesse R. Vanderwende Republican Yea
Kevin S Hensley Republican Yea
Lyndon D. Yearick Republican Yea
Michael F. Smith Republican Yea
Richard G. Collins Republican Yea
Ronald E. Gray Republican Yea
Shannon Morris Republican Yea
Timothy D. Dukes Republican Not Voting
Valerie Jones Giltner Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety healthcare
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 HB 21 do?
This Act bans the sale of Tianeptine in the State by identifying it as a Schedule I controlled substance. Tianeptine, also known as “gas station heroin,” is an antidepressant drug that is not approved by the FDA and is being sold as a dietary supplement in gas stations and other shops. This Act requires approval by a two-thirds vote because the statutory change will result in the expansion of an existing misdemeanor.
Who sponsors HB 21?
HB 21 is sponsored by Bryant L. Richardson (Republican), Brian Pettyjohn (Republican), Franklin D. Cooke (Democratic), Claire Snyder-Hall (Democratic), Kerri Evelyn Harris (Democratic), Nicole Poore (Democratic), Russell Huxtable (Democratic), Cyndie Romer (Democratic), Marie Pinkney (Democratic), Eric Morrison (Democratic), Laura V. Sturgeon (Democratic), Mara Gorman (Democratic), Kimberly Williams (Democratic), Melanie Ross Levin (Democratic), and Sarah McBride.
What is the current status of HB 21?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced December 19, 2024. Enacted.
Where can I track HB 21?
Track HB 21 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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