Delaware 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026) Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 6 R · 3 D cosponsors

SB 84 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 3 AND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS.

Last action — Introduced and Assigned to Agriculture Committee in Senate

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

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced April 03, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Prognosis

Advancing 42% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 10 sponsors

    10 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (6 R · 3 D) — cross-party backing.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

This Act strengthens Delaware’s existing Right to Farm laws by expanding protections for agricultural operations against nuisance lawsuits. Specifically, this Act removes the current requirement that an agricultural operation have existed for 1 year or more in order to benefit from statutory protections against nuisance suits. Under this Act, an agricultural operation cannot be deemed a nuisance as long as it is operating in accordance with all applicable local, state, and federal requirements and is not being conducted in a negligent or improper manner. This protection cannot be used against a federal, state, or local agency that is enforcing air, water quality, or other environmental standards under federal, state, or local law. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

6 changes Share ↗

AI-generated reading aid from the bill's amendatory text — verify against the official bill.

This Act strengthens Delaware's Right to Farm laws by expanding protections for agricultural operations against nuisance lawsuits.

  • § 8141, Title 10

    an agricultural operations operation and its appurtenances means an operation for the purpose of: any of the following purposes: → an agricultural operation and its appurtenances means an operation for the purpose of any of the following:

    Clarifies the definition of agricultural operations to remove redundancy.

  • § 8141, Title 10

    that would make the operation of any such agricultural operation or its appurtenances a nuisance or providing for abatement thereof as a nuisance → that would make the operation of any such agricultural operation or its appurtenances a nuisance.

    Removes redundancy in the phrasing regarding nuisance ordinances.

  • § 8141, Title 10

    no agricultural operation or any of its appurtenances shall be or become a nuisance, private or public, by any changed conditions in or about the locality thereof after the same has been in operation for more than 1 year → no agricultural operation or any of its appurtenances shall be or become a nuisance, private or public, by any changed conditions in or about the locality thereof.

    Removes the one-year operational requirement for regarding nuisances.

  • § 8141, Title 10

    shall be null and void; however, this section shall not apply whenever a nuisance results from the failure to conduct the operation in a manner consistent with good agricultural practice → shall be null and void; however, this section shall not apply whenever a nuisance results from the failure to conduct the operation in a manner consistent with good agricultural practice as defined in § 1401 of Title 3.

    Cites the definition of good agricultural practice to provide clarity.

  • § 1401, Title 3

    No agricultural or forestal operation within this State which has been in operation for a period of more than 1 year shall be considered a nuisance, either public or private, as the result of a changed condition → No agricultural or forestal operation within this State shall be considered a nuisance, either public or private, as the result of a changed condition.

    Eliminates the requirement for agricultural operations to have existed for over a year to avoid being deemed a nuisance.

  • § 1401, Title 3

    If the operation is in compliance with all applicable state and federal laws, regulations, and permits, it shall be presumed to be conducted in a manner consistent with good agricultural practice. → If the operation is in compliance with all applicable state and federal laws, regulations, and permits, it shall be presumed to be conducted in a manner consistent with good agricultural practice as defined in § 1401 of Title 3.

    Clarifies that compliance entails adherence to defined good agricultural practice.

Action History

  1. Introduced and Assigned to Agriculture Committee in Senate

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

10 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 52 not signed on

Sponsors (10)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (52)

52 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 52 →

"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

Subjects

environment agriculture
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 SB 84 do?
This Act strengthens Delaware’s existing Right to Farm laws by expanding protections for agricultural operations against nuisance lawsuits. Specifically, this Act removes the current requirement that an agricultural operation have existed for 1 year or more in order to benefit from statutory protections against nuisance suits. Under this Act, an agricultural operation cannot be deemed a nuisance as long as it is operating in accordance with all applicable local, state, and federal requirements and is not being conducted in a negligent or improper manner. This protection cannot be used against a federal, state, or local agency that is enforcing air, water quality, or other environmental standards under federal, state, or local law. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
Who sponsors SB 84?
SB 84 is sponsored by Stell Parker Selby, Lyndon D. Yearick (Republican), Daniel B. Short (Republican), Richard G. Collins (Republican), Dave G. Lawson (Republican), Claire Snyder-Hall (Democratic), Jesse R. Vanderwende (Republican), William J. Carson (Democratic), David L. Wilson (Republican), and Russell Huxtable (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 84?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced April 03, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 84?
Track SB 84 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on SB 84

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of SB 84

Last checked for changes about 1 month ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →