Delaware 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026) Status: Passed House Bipartisan · 9 D · 2 R cosponsors

HB 461 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SCHOOL TAX.

Last action — Signed by Governor

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

This bill has passed the House. Introduced June 04, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.

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

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

Likely to advance 74% · high confidence

  • Passed House

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 12 sponsors

    12 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (9 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.

In plain language

The bill allows New Castle County school districts to reset their tax rates for 2026-2027.

This legislation grants school districts in New Castle County the ability to adjust their tax rates for the 2026-2027 tax year. The adjustments aim to ensure no increase in operating revenue, except under certain conditions.

What this means for you
  • Families: Families with children in New Castle County schools may see tax rate adjustments that maintain stable funding for education.

Summary

This Act provides special authority to school districts in New Castle County to reset their tax rate for the 2026-2027 tax year. This authority is necessary because several adjustments to the New Castle County tax roll are continuing to be made after the completion of the general reassessment that took effect for the 2025-2026 tax year. This includes the ongoing adjudication of appeals from the assessment values set in the general reassessment as well as quality control reviews, and potential changes pending in other legislation. This Act allows the New Castle County school districts to adjust the tax rate so that no increase in operating revenue over the prior year will be realized, with two exceptions: (1) revenue increases from approved referenda; and (2) revenue equal to the 5-year average growth rate for each district. The 5-year average growth rates for NCC districts are as follows: (1) Appoquinimink, 3.68%; (2) Brandywine, 0.54%; (3) Christina, 0.32%; (4) Colonial, 1.10%; (5) Red Clay, 0.58%; (6) Smyrna, 0.31%; and (7) New Castle County Vocational Technical, 0.96%. This Act sunsets on March 31, 2027.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 NOT VOTING

  2. Reported Out of Committee (Education) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits, 1 Unfavorable

  3. Assigned to Education Committee in Senate

  4. Passed By House. Votes: 39 YES 2 ABSENT

  5. Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 4 On Its Merits, 1 Unfavorable

  6. Introduced and Assigned to Administration Committee in House

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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12 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 50 not signed on

Sponsors (12)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (50)

50 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 50 →

"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 20 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 15000
Republican 5001
Total 20001
% of votes cast 95%0%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 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 Not Voting
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

SM

Passed 39 Yea · 0 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 12002
Democratic 27000
Total 39002
% of votes cast 95%0%0%5%
How each member voted (41)
Member Party Vote
Alonna Berry Democratic Yea
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 Yea
Kamela T Smith Democratic Yea
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 Not Voting
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 Yea
Valerie Jones Giltner Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

taxation education
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 461 do?
This Act provides special authority to school districts in New Castle County to reset their tax rate for the 2026-2027 tax year. This authority is necessary because several adjustments to the New Castle County tax roll are continuing to be made after the completion of the general reassessment that took effect for the 2025-2026 tax year. This includes the ongoing adjudication of appeals from the assessment values set in the general reassessment as well as quality control reviews, and potential changes pending in other legislation. This Act allows the New Castle County school districts to adjust the tax rate so that no increase in operating revenue over the prior year will be realized, with two exceptions: (1) revenue increases from approved referenda; and (2) revenue equal to the 5-year average growth rate for each district. The 5-year average growth rates for NCC districts are as follows: (1) Appoquinimink, 3.68%; (2) Brandywine, 0.54%; (3) Christina, 0.32%; (4) Colonial, 1.10%; (5) Red Clay, 0.58%; (6) Smyrna, 0.31%; and (7) New Castle County Vocational Technical, 0.96%. This Act sunsets on March 31, 2027.
Who sponsors HB 461?
HB 461 is sponsored by Spiros Mantzavinos (Democratic), Russell Huxtable (Democratic), Josue O Ortega (Democratic), Bryan Townsend (Democratic), Brian Pettyjohn (Republican), Claire Snyder-Hall (Democratic), Eric Morrison (Democratic), Bryant L. Richardson (Republican), Kerri Evelyn Harris (Democratic), Trey Paradee (Democratic), Cyndie Romer (Democratic), and Sarah McBride.
What is the current status of HB 461?
This bill has passed the House. Introduced June 04, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track HB 461?
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