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

SB 242 — AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 78, VOLUME 85 OF THE LAWS OF DELAWARE ENTITLED “AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 26 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND UTILITY RATES.”

Last action — Introduced and Assigned to Environment, Energy & Transportation Committee in Senate

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  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 February 26, 2026. 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.

  • 14 sponsors

    14 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (12 D · 2 R) — 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

Senate Bill No. 59 (Chapter 78, Volume 85 of the Laws of Delaware) was passed by the General Assembly on June 26, 2025, and signed by the Governor on July 16, 2025. Senate Bill No. 59 changed the standard applied by the Public Service Commission ("Commission") when deciding public utility rate cases. The standard applied before the enactment of Senate Bill No. 59 was the “business judgment rule” standard. Senate Bill No. 59 changed the standard applied by the Commission to the “prudence” standard. Forty-eight states in the United States apply the “prudence” standard when setting public utility rates, not the "business judgement rule" standard that has been applied in Delaware. Although Section 3 of Senate Bill No. 59 stated that the Act takes effect on January 1, 2026, following its enactment into law, it was the intent of the General Assembly that the Commission must apply the “prudence" standard retroactively in rate case decisions, where the public utility filed the rate case proceeding with the Commission during the period from the date of enactment of the legislation on July 16, 2025, through December 31, 2025. The “prudence” standard does not apply to any rate case proceeding filed by a public utility with the Commission before July 16, 2025.

Bill Text

Action History

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

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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14 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 48 not signed on

Sponsors (14)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (48)

48 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"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

public-safety energy
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 242 do?
Senate Bill No. 59 (Chapter 78, Volume 85 of the Laws of Delaware) was passed by the General Assembly on June 26, 2025, and signed by the Governor on July 16, 2025. Senate Bill No. 59 changed the standard applied by the Public Service Commission ("Commission") when deciding public utility rate cases. The standard applied before the enactment of Senate Bill No. 59 was the “business judgment rule” standard. Senate Bill No. 59 changed the standard applied by the Commission to the “prudence” standard. Forty-eight states in the United States apply the “prudence” standard when setting public utility rates, not the "business judgement rule" standard that has been applied in Delaware. Although Section 3 of Senate Bill No. 59 stated that the Act takes effect on January 1, 2026, following its enactment into law, it was the intent of the General Assembly that the Commission must apply the “prudence" standard retroactively in rate case decisions, where the public utility filed the rate case proceeding with the Commission during the period from the date of enactment of the legislation on July 16, 2025, through December 31, 2025. The “prudence” standard does not apply to any rate case proceeding filed by a public utility with the Commission before July 16, 2025.
Who sponsors SB 242?
SB 242 is sponsored by Brian Pettyjohn (Republican), Marie Pinkney (Democratic), Spiros Mantzavinos (Democratic), Bryant L. Richardson (Republican), John "Jack" Walsh (Democratic), David P. Sokola (Democratic), Ray Seigfried (Democratic), Claire Snyder-Hall (Democratic), Franklin D. Cooke (Democratic), Nicole Poore (Democratic), Eric Morrison (Democratic), Russell Huxtable (Democratic), Bryan Townsend (Democratic), and Stephanie L. Hansen (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 242?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced February 26, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 242?
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