Delaware 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026) Status: Passed Senate Bipartisan · 2 D · 1 R cosponsors

SB 346 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO APPEALS TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL APPEALS BOARD.

Last action — Signed by Governor

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  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 June 11, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.

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

Prognosis

Likely to advance 70% · high confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Passed Senate

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 4 sponsors

    4 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (2 D · 1 R) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

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.

In plain language

This bill amends procedures for appeals to the Environmental Appeals Board in Delaware.

The bill streamlines appeal procedures for environmental permits, allows appeals for subaqueous land permits, and removes conflicting federal appeals. It aims to reduce delays and conforms to legislative drafting standards.

What this means for you
  • Environment: This bill could lead to a more streamlined process for environmental permits, potentially impacting the timing and efficiency of approvals.

Summary

This Act revises the procedures before the Environmental Appeals Board as follows: • Streamlines the appeal procedures to avoid unnecessary delays in the permitting process. • Addresses a ruling from the Superior Court in 1986, Worldwide Salvage, Inc. v. Env’t Appeals Bd., 1986 WL 3650 (Del. Super. Ct. Jan. 30, 1986), which held that there is no right to appeal to the Environmental Appeals Board decisions by the Secretary to grant permits relating to subaqueous state lands. Like House Bill No. 456 (153rd General Assembly), this Act allows persons substantially impacted by the grant of a subaqueous lands permit may appeal to the Environmental Appeals Board. • Eliminates any appeal of a finding by the Secretary regarding consistency with the federal Coastal Zone Management Act because there is a federal process for these appeals and a state appeal process would conflict with the federal appeals process. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

74 added · 7 removed

Plain-language change summary

The amendment to SB 346 modifies the language concerning the timeline for the Environmental Appeals Board's actions following the receipt of an appeal. Specifically, it reduces the period for completing a hearing from 180 days to 120 days and shortens the time for mailing a written decision from 90 days to 60 days after the hearing's completion. This change streamlines the process and may expedite how quickly appeals are resolved by the Board. Additionally, the amendment includes a typographical correction in the text.

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Townsend DELAWARE STATE SENATE 153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY SENATE AMENDMENT NO.
Townsend & Rep.
1 TO SENATE BILL NO.
Romer & Rep.
346 AMEND Senate Bill No.
Gray Rep.
346 on line 17 by deleting "with" and inserting in lieu thereof "within".
Berry DELAWARE STATE SENATE 153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY SENATE BILL NO.
SYNOPSIS This Amendment corrects a typographical error.
346 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO APPEALS TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL APPEALS BOARD.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1.
Amend § 6007, Title 7 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows and redesignating accordingly:
§ 6007.
Establishment of Environmental Appeals Board.
(c)(1) A simple majority of the Board shall constitute constitutes a quorum.
A simple majority of those members of the Board present shall be is required to override the decision of the Secretary.
(2)a.
The Board shall schedule, but not necessarily conduct, a hearing on the merits of an appeal within 30 days following the receipt of the appeal.
In any event, the b.
The Board shall conduct, but not necessarily complete, complete the hearing on the merits of the appeal within 180 120 days following the receipt of the appeal unless the parties agree otherwise.
Chairperson tolls this period under paragraph (c)(5) of this section.
(3)a.
The Board may verbally announce the decision at the conclusion of the hearing.
b.
A written decision shall must be mailed to the parties by certified mail within 90 60 days after the completion of the hearing.
(4)a.
If the Board fails to conduct complete the hearing or within the time period required under paragraph (c)(2)b.
of this section, the decision of the Secretary is a final decision for all purposes, including an appeal under § 6009 of this title, 121 days after the date of receipt of the appeal.
b.
If the Board fails to issue the written opinion as required, with the time period required under paragraph (c)(3)b.
of this section, the decision of the Secretary shall be is a final decision for the purposes of appeal.
all purposes, including an appeal under § 6009 of this title, 61 days after completion of the hearing.
(5) Upon the written request of both parties, the Chairperson may toll the running of the 120-day period under paragraph (c)(2)b.
of this section by a letter that states the number of days the period is tolled.
DLS :
DIG :
AF Page 1 of 3 Released:
06/11/2026 12:59 PM Section 2.
Amend § 6008, Title 7 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows and redesignating accordingly:
§ 6008.
Appeals to Board.
(a) Any (1)a.
Except as provided under subsection (e) of this section, any person whose interest is substantially affected by any action of the Secretary may appeal to the Environmental Appeals Board within 20 days after receipt of the Secretary’s decision or publication of the decision.
b.
Show all 76 changed rows (36 more)
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Latest
The grant of a permit on subaqueous lands may be appealed by any person whose interest is substantially affected.
(2) The Board shall conduct a public hearing for all appeals in accordance with Chapter 101 of Title 29.
Deliberations of the Board may be conducted in executive session.
Each member who votes shall indicate the nature of his or her their vote in the written decision.
(b)(1) Whenever a final decision of the Secretary concerning any case decision, including but not limited to any permit or enforcement action action, is appealed, the Board shall hold a public hearing in accordance with Chapter 101 of Title 29.
The record before the Board shall must include the entire record before presented to the Secretary.
Secretary, as follows:
a.
If all or part of the record was transmitted to the Secretary by e-mail, that email may be a part of the record.
b.
Except for public comments submitted by e-mail, e-mail communication that does not involve the Secretary is not part of the record and is not required to be produced for any appeal.
(2) All parties to the appeal may appear personally or by counsel at the hearing and may produce any competent evidence in their behalf.
The Board may exclude any evidence which is plainly irrelevant, immaterial, insubstantial, cumulative or unduly repetitive, and may limit unduly repetitive proof, rebuttal and cross-examination.
The burden of proof is upon the appellant to show that the Secretary’s decision is not supported by the evidence on the record before the Board.
The Board may affirm, reverse or remand with instructions any appeal of a case decision of the Secretary.
(e) There shall be is no appeal of a decision by the Secretary regarding any of the following:
(1) Consistency with the federal Coastal Zone Management Act.
to deny (2) The denial of a permit on any matter involving state-owned land land, including subaqueous lands, except an appeal shall lie on if the sole ground of the appeal is that the decision was discriminatory in that the applicant, whose circumstances are like and similar to those of other applicants, was not afforded like and similar treatment.
DLS :
DIG :
AF Page 2 of 3 Released:
06/11/2026 12:59 PM SYNOPSIS This Act revises the procedures before the Environmental Appeals Board as follows:
• Streamlines the appeal procedures to avoid unnecessary delays in the permitting process.
• Addresses a ruling from the Superior Court in 1986, Worldwide Salvage, Inc.
v.
Env’t Appeals Bd., 1986 WL (Del.
Super.
Ct.
Jan.
30, 1986), which held that there is no right to appeal to the Environmental Appeals Board decisions by the Secretary to grant permits relating to subaqueous state lands.
Like House Bill No.
456 (153rd General Assembly), this Act allows persons substantially impacted by the grant of a subaqueous lands permit may appeal to the Environmental Appeals Board.
• Eliminates any appeal of a finding by the Secretary regarding consistency with the federal Coastal Zone Management Act because there is a federal process for these appeals and a state appeal process would conflict with the federal appeals process.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
AF Page 1 of 1 Released:
AF Page 3 of 3 Released:
06/17/2026 01:42 PM 5971530154
06/11/2026 12:59 PM 5971530150
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Action History

  1. Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES

  2. Reported Out of Committee (Natural Resources & Energy) in House with 8 On Its Merits

  3. Assigned to Natural Resources & Energy Committee in House

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

  5. Amendment SA 1 to SB 346 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT

  6. Reported Out of Committee (Environment, Energy & Transportation) in Senate with 6 On Its Merits

  7. Amendment SA 1 to SB 346 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

  8. Introduced and Assigned to Environment, Energy & Transportation Committee in Senate

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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4 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 58 not signed on

Sponsors (4)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (58)

58 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 58 →

"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

environment
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 346 do?
This Act revises the procedures before the Environmental Appeals Board as follows: • Streamlines the appeal procedures to avoid unnecessary delays in the permitting process. • Addresses a ruling from the Superior Court in 1986, Worldwide Salvage, Inc. v. Env’t Appeals Bd., 1986 WL 3650 (Del. Super. Ct. Jan. 30, 1986), which held that there is no right to appeal to the Environmental Appeals Board decisions by the Secretary to grant permits relating to subaqueous state lands. Like House Bill No. 456 (153rd General Assembly), this Act allows persons substantially impacted by the grant of a subaqueous lands permit may appeal to the Environmental Appeals Board. • Eliminates any appeal of a finding by the Secretary regarding consistency with the federal Coastal Zone Management Act because there is a federal process for these appeals and a state appeal process would conflict with the federal appeals process. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
Who sponsors SB 346?
SB 346 is sponsored by Stell Parker Selby, Ronald E. Gray (Republican), Cyndie Romer (Democratic), and Bryan Townsend (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 346?
This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced June 11, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track SB 346?
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