Delaware 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026) Status: Passed House 10 D cosponsors

HB 272 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER.

Last action — Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 2 Favorable, 2 On Its Merits

  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 March 05, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.

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

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 58% · moderate confidence

  • Passed House

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 12 sponsors

    12 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (10 D).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 1 recorded vote 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 establishes a new crime related to interference with reproductive health services and religious exercises.

This bill creates the crime of 'interference with reproductive health services or exercise of religion.' It clarifies definitions and protects expressive conduct under the U.S. and Delaware Constitutions.

Summary

Like House Bill No. 272, this Substitute creates the new crime of "interference with reproductive health services or exercise of religion”, which is based on a substantially similar federal law (18 U.S.C. § 248). The Superior Court is vested with jurisdiction over criminal prosecutions of this offense. This Substitute for House Bill No. 272 adds clarification by defining “place of worship”. This Substitute also replaces the phrase “discourage any person from obtaining or providing reproductive health services” with “seek to persuade any person with respect to a reproductive health choice or the provision of reproductive health services.” Finally, this Substitute adds language modeled on the similar federal law to clarify that nothing in this law (1) prohibits expressive conduct, including peaceful picketing or demonstration, that is protected under either the U.S. or Delaware Constitution, (2) creates new remedies for interference with activities protected by the free speech or exercise clauses or limit any existing legal remedies for such interference, nor (3) provides exclusive criminal penalties or civil remedies with respect to conduct prohibited under this law.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 2 Favorable, 2 On Its Merits

  2. Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate

  3. Passed By House. Votes: 23 YES 12 NO 1 NOT VOTING 5 ABSENT

  4. was introduced and adopted in lieu of HB 272

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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12 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 50 not signed on · 12 voted No

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 23 Yea · 12 Nay · 6 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 23103
Republican 01103
Total 231206
% of votes cast 56%29%0%15%
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 Not Voting
Kamela T Smith Democratic Yea
Kendra Johnson Democratic Yea
Kerri Evelyn Harris Democratic Yea
Kimberly Williams Democratic Yea
Krista Griffith Democratic Not Voting
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 Nay
Sherae'a Moore Democratic Yea
Sophie Phillips Democratic Yea
Stephanie T. Bolden Democratic Not Voting
William Bush Democratic Yea
William J. Carson Democratic Yea
Bryan W. Shupe Republican Nay
Charles S Postles Jr. Republican Nay
Daniel B. Short Republican Nay
Jeff Hilovsky Republican Nay
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman Republican Not Voting
Jesse R. Vanderwende Republican Nay
Kevin S Hensley Republican Not Voting
Lyndon D. Yearick Republican Nay
Michael F. Smith Republican Nay
Richard G. Collins Republican Nay
Ronald E. Gray Republican Nay
Shannon Morris Republican Not Voting
Timothy D. Dukes Republican Nay
Valerie Jones Giltner Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights
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 272 do?
Like House Bill No. 272, this Substitute creates the new crime of "interference with reproductive health services or exercise of religion”, which is based on a substantially similar federal law (18 U.S.C. § 248). The Superior Court is vested with jurisdiction over criminal prosecutions of this offense. This Substitute for House Bill No. 272 adds clarification by defining “place of worship”. This Substitute also replaces the phrase “discourage any person from obtaining or providing reproductive health services” with “seek to persuade any person with respect to a reproductive health choice or the provision of reproductive health services.” Finally, this Substitute adds language modeled on the similar federal law to clarify that nothing in this law (1) prohibits expressive conduct, including peaceful picketing or demonstration, that is protected under either the U.S. or Delaware Constitution, (2) creates new remedies for interference with activities protected by the free speech or exercise clauses or limit any existing legal remedies for such interference, nor (3) provides exclusive criminal penalties or civil remedies with respect to conduct prohibited under this law.
Who sponsors HB 272?
HB 272 is sponsored by Stell Parker Selby, Claire Snyder-Hall (Democratic), Marie Pinkney (Democratic), Spiros Mantzavinos (Democratic), Mara Gorman (Democratic), Trey Paradee (Democratic), Josue O Ortega (Democratic), Cyndie Romer (Democratic), Nicole Poore (Democratic), Debra Heffernan (Democratic), Melanie Ross Levin (Democratic), and Sarah McBride.
What is the current status of HB 272?
This bill has passed the House. Introduced March 05, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track HB 272?
Track HB 272 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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Last checked for changes about 1 month ago · updated continuously

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