Delaware 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026) Status: Passed Senate 3 R cosponsors

SB 234 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 20 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FIRST RESPONDERS.

Last action — Signed by Governor

  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 March 17, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.

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

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

Advancing 52% · moderate confidence

  • Passed Senate

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 3 sponsors

    3 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (3 R).

  • 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

This bill defines 'first responder' in Delaware law for emergency management.

The bill establishes a clear definition of 'first responder' in Delaware's emergency management laws. It includes various roles such as law enforcement, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel, which were previously undefined.

Summary

This Act creates a definition of “first responder” in Chapter 31 of Title 20, pertaining to emergency management. Currently, the term is referenced, but it is not actually defined, creating potential uncertainty about who qualifies as a first responder in this context. This Act defines a first responder as a federal, state, or local law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical services personnel member, hazardous materials response team member, 911 dispatcher, emergency manager, or other individual who is responsible for the protection and preservation of life or property and who is called on to respond to emergencies. This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 234 and differs from Senate Bill No. 234 in that it adds a definition of “law enforcement officer” to clarify which law enforcement personnel are included in the definition of “first responder” and makes minor technical corrections to the definition of “first responder”.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES

  2. Reported Out of Committee (Public Safety & Homeland Security) in House with 8 On Its Merits

  3. Assigned to Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee in House

  4. Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT

  5. Reported Out of Committee (Corrections & Public Safety) in Senate with 4 Favorable

  6. Adopted in lieu of the original bill SB 234, and Assigned to Corrections & Public Safety Committee in Senate

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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3 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 59 not signed on

Sponsors (3)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (59)

59 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 59 →

"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 41 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 27000
Republican 14000
Total 41000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
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 Yea
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 Yea
Valerie Jones Giltner Republican Yea

Official roll call →

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 Not Voting
David L. Wilson Republican Yea
Eric Buckson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety
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 234 do?
This Act creates a definition of “first responder” in Chapter 31 of Title 20, pertaining to emergency management. Currently, the term is referenced, but it is not actually defined, creating potential uncertainty about who qualifies as a first responder in this context. This Act defines a first responder as a federal, state, or local law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical services personnel member, hazardous materials response team member, 911 dispatcher, emergency manager, or other individual who is responsible for the protection and preservation of life or property and who is called on to respond to emergencies. This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 234 and differs from Senate Bill No. 234 in that it adds a definition of “law enforcement officer” to clarify which law enforcement personnel are included in the definition of “first responder” and makes minor technical corrections to the definition of “first responder”.
Who sponsors SB 234?
SB 234 is sponsored by David L. Wilson (Republican), Valerie Jones Giltner (Republican), and Brian Pettyjohn (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 234?
This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced March 17, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track SB 234?
Track SB 234 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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