Delaware 151st General Assembly (2021-2022) Status: Enacted Bipartisan · 20 D · 5 R cosponsors

HB 360 — AN ACT TO CREATE THE 2022 DELAWARE RELIEF REBATE PROGRAM.

Last action — Signed by Governor

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

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced April 01, 2022. Enacted.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 98% · high confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 37 sponsors

    10 primary, 27 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (20 D · 5 R) — cross-party backing.

  • 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.

Summary

The Act, which shall be known as the 2022 Delaware Relief Rebate Program, creates a “relief rebate” which is a one-time direct payment of $300 per Delaware resident taxpayer. This relief is intended to help Delawareans grappling with significant inflation at the grocery store and gas pump. Payment of the $300 will be made by the Delaware Department of Finance to resident individual income taxpayers who filed a 2020 personal income tax return. This payment will be made to each taxpayer, including those who jointly filed. No action on the part of a taxpayer is required to receive the $300. In order to quickly provide this payment to Delaware taxpayers, provisions pertaining to tax intercepts by other government entities and Delaware State agencies shall not apply. The amount received by individual taxpayers will not be subject to Delaware income taxes. Any written protest for the disallowance of the payment of the $300 relief rebate under this Act shall be processed consistently with existing provisions in Title 30. Records of the Department with respect to the provisions of this Act are subject to existing protections from disclosure under Delaware laws. A timely filed tax return includes extensions. This Act also temporarily suspends the limitation on refunds of taxes under Title 29 of the Code until DEFAC refund estimates include the 2022 Delaware Relief Rebate Program. Costs associated with the administration and issuance of payments under this Act will be funded by delinquent tax revenue authorized to be retained by the Department of Finance in the annual budget act. Finally, this Act requires the Department of Finance to establish a process to provide the relief rebate to resident adults who did not file a 2020 state income tax return by identifying adult residents through existing databases held by other state agencies, such as the Division of Motor Vehicles. The Department of Finance will then work with the Department of Technology and Information to implement a process by which eligible residents who have not been identified by other means can apply for and receive the relief rebate, subject to verification of their identity and eligibility.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

108 added · 17 removed

Plain-language change summary

The recent amendment to House Bill 360 adds several sponsors and clarifies the process for sharing personal information among state agencies to help prevent fraud in the rebate program. This change is significant because it ensures that the Department of Finance can access required data while maintaining confidentiality, which is key for swiftly and effectively delivering financial relief to Delaware residents amid rising costs. By streamlining these processes, the state aims to protect taxpayers’ interests while getting necessary assistance to those in need.

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Latest
Longhurst HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE AMENDMENT NO.
Longhurst & Sen.
1 TO HOUSE BILL NO.
Townsend & Rep.
360 AMEND House Bill No.
Schwartzkopf & Rep.
360 by deleting lines 64 and 65 in their entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
Mitchell & Rep.
"streamline such processes.
D.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code to the contrary, state agencies may share personally identifying information with the Department of Finance when necessary to assist the Secretary of Finance in preventing fraudulent claims, duplicate payments, or when otherwise necessary to carry out the requirements of this section.
Short & Rep.
Any information shared with the Department of Finance pursuant to this section is “information from tax returns” as the term is used in § 368 of Title 30.
Dukes & Sen.
The Department of Finance is authorized to share information with state agencies for the purpose of complying with this section notwithstanding the prohibitions from disclosure set forth at § 368 of Title 30.
Sokola & Sen.
Any relief rebates issued” SYNOPSIS This Amendment expressly authorizes the Department of Finance to share information otherwise protected from disclosure pursuant to § 368 of Title 30 with other State agencies in order to carry out Section 2 of House Bill No.
Lockman & Sen.
360.
Hocker & Sen.
The Amendment also ensures information shared with the Department will remain confidential.
Pettyjohn Reps.
Baumbach, Bennett, Bentz, Bolden, Bush, Carson, Cooke, Dorsey Walker, Freel, Griffith, Heffernan, K.
Johnson, Kowalko, Lambert, Lynn, Matthews, Minor- Brown, S.
Moore, Morrison, Osienski, K.
Williams, Yearick;
Sens.
Ennis, Gay, Hansen, Paradee, Sturgeon HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE BILL NO.
360 AN ACT TO CREATE THE 2022 DELAWARE RELIEF REBATE PROGRAM.
WHEREAS, the State of Delaware is emerging from a two-year pandemic and while the state and country has undergone a historic economic recovery, national inflation has risen significantly meaning higher prices for groceries and gasoline for Delawareans;
and WHEREAS, although these inflationary factors are beyond our control in Delaware, residents have experienced a significant rise in prices for goods and services during the past year;
and WHEREAS, gas prices, in particular, have continued to climb significantly following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and even when the price per barrel of gas decreased recently, consumers have not seen relief at the pump;
and WHEREAS, the General Assembly considered providing a gas tax holiday, but tax revenue from the gas tax is pledged to our bonds in the Transportation Trust Fund meaning the state would be in immediate default of its bond agreements, and there is no guarantee that the entire savings would be passed onto the consumer, nor would a gas tax holiday provide the same relief for lower-income residents who rely on public transportation or those who work from home;
and WHEREAS, the General Assembly finds it necessary to provide specific and immediate economic relief in the form of a rebate to residents of the State of Delaware;
and WHEREAS, the General Assembly has determined that in order to provide relief as quickly as possible to Delawareans, the best method is to provide every Delaware resident who filed a 2020 Delaware state tax return a relief rebate in the form of a direct payment of $300 by check or direct deposit;
and WHEREAS, it is challenging for the State to identify Delawareans who were not required to and did not file a Delaware 2020 tax return since they are not known to the Department of Finance, and there is no means by which the State can quickly and comprehensively generate a list of these residents;
and HD :
NSW :
MAW Page 1 of 4 Released:
04/01/2022 12:34 PM WHEREAS, the General Assembly recognizes that there are Delawareans who were not required to file a 2020 Delaware state tax return, and calls on the Department of Finance to provide a relief rebate of $300 to those Delaware adult residents who did not file a 2020 tax return.
NOW, THEREFORE:
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1.
There is hereby created the 2022 Delaware Relief Rebate Program which provides a one-time, retroactive, refundable income tax credit for resident individual income taxpayers as follows:
(1) An individual eligible to receive the tax credit under the 2022 Delaware Relief Rebate Program means a person, who, for tax year 2020, was a resident individual as defined in §1103 of Title 30 of the Delaware Code (“Code”) that:
a.
Timely filed a Delaware resident personal income tax return as the taxpayer pursuant to Chapter 11 of Title 30 of the Code;
and b.
Is not deceased as of date of credit issuance.
(2) The allowable tax credit, referred to in this Act as a “relief rebate”, for an eligible individual shall be:
a.
Show all 86 changed rows (46 more)
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A refundable credit of $300, without regard to the individual’s actual tax imposed under §1102 of Title 30 of the Code for tax year 2020;
b.
Excluded from the definition of “refund” under §558(b) of Title 30 of the Code;
and c.
Deemed not to be an “overpayment of tax payable to the taxpayer” under §545 of Title 30 of the Code.
(3) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act, the Division of Revenue will send each eligible individual a tax credit payment under the 2022 Delaware Relief Rebate Program.
Payments may be made by such method as determined by the Director of Revenue.
(4) For tax year 2022, the tax credit received by an eligible individual under the 2022 Delaware Relief Rebate Program will be treated as a refund pursuant to §1106(b)(9) of Title 30 of the Code.
(5) Any protest with respect to a tax credit must be filed on or before August 31, 2022.
Timely filed protests with respect to a tax credit will be subject to the provisions of subchapter III of chapter 5 of Title 30 of the Code.
(6) The Secretary of Finance shall administer the 2022 Delaware Relief Rebate Program created by this Act.
(7) Records of the Department of Finance with respect to the 2022 Delaware Relief Rebate Program will be subject to the protections against disclosure under §368 of Title 30 of the Code.
MAW Page 1 of 1 Released:
MAW Page 2 of 4 Released:
04/07/2022 11:36 AM 2141510618
04/01/2022 12:34 PM (8) The provisions of §6533(e)(1) of Title 29 of the Code shall be temporarily suspended until such time as the Fiscal Year 2022 refund estimate adopted by the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council accounts for the 2022 Delaware Relief Rebate Program.
(9) Notwithstanding any other provision of Delaware Law, the special fund created pursuant to Section 125, Chapter 54, Volume 83 of the Delaware Laws may be used to fund any administrative costs incurred by the Division of Revenue in fulfilling its obligations under this Act.
(10) For purposes of this Act, "timely filed" includes extensions and will be determined by the Division of Revenue.
Section 2.
Within 6 months of enactment of this Act, the Department of Finance in collaboration with the Department of Technology and Information (DTI) shall develop a pathway for each adult Delaware resident who did not file a 2020 Delaware tax return or cannot otherwise be identified through other databases that may be available to the State to receive a $300 relief rebate directly or apply for one.
The Secretary of Finance may establish reasonable requirements for proof of identity, verification and eligibility to prevent fraudulent claims and payments including requirements for a state- issued and verified identification and valid Social Security Number.
State agencies with access to personal identifying information of adult Delaware residents that may be eligible for the rebate will cooperate with information sharing to streamline such processes and any state law limiting the ability for such information sharing shall be temporarily suspended for purposes of achieving the objectives of this Act unless otherwise prohibited by federal law.
Any relief rebates issued pursuant to this section shall be subject to a supplemental appropriation authorized by the Delaware General Assembly.
Section 3.
If any provision of this Act or the application of this Act to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the provisions of this Act are severable if the invalidity does not affect the other provisions of this Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or the application of this Act that can be given effect without the invalid application.
Section 4.
This Act shall be known as the “2022 Delaware Relief Rebate Program”.
SYNOPSIS The Act, which shall be known as the 2022 Delaware Relief Rebate Program, creates a “relief rebate” which is a one-time direct payment of $300 per Delaware resident taxpayer.
This relief is intended to help Delawareans grappling with significant inflation at the grocery store and gas pump.
Payment of the $300 will be made by the Delaware Department of Finance to resident individual income taxpayers who filed a 2020 personal income tax return.
This payment will be made to each taxpayer, including those who jointly filed.
No action on the part of a taxpayer is required to receive the $300.
In order to quickly provide this payment to Delaware taxpayers, provisions pertaining to tax intercepts by other government entities and Delaware State agencies shall not apply.
The amount received by individual taxpayers will not be subject to Delaware income taxes.
Any written protest for the disallowance of the payment of the $300 relief rebate under this Act shall be processed consistently with existing provisions in Title 30.
Records of the Department with respect to the provisions of this Act are subject to existing protections from disclosure under Delaware laws.
A timely filed tax return includes extensions.
This Act also temporarily suspends the limitation on refunds of taxes under Title 29 of the Code until DEFAC refund estimates include the 2022 Delaware Relief Rebate Program.
Costs associated with the administration and issuance of payments under this Act will be funded by delinquent tax revenue authorized to be retained by the Department of Finance in the annual budget act.
HD :
NSW :
MAW Page 3 of 4 Released:
04/01/2022 12:34 PM Finally, this Act requires the Department of Finance to establish a process to provide the relief rebate to resident adults who did not file a 2020 state income tax return by identifying adult residents through existing databases held by other state agencies, such as the Division of Motor Vehicles.
The Department of Finance will then work with the Department of Technology and Information to implement a process by which eligible residents who have not been identified by other means can apply for and receive the relief rebate, subject to verification of their identity and eligibility.
HD :
NSW :
MAW Page 4 of 4 Released:
04/01/2022 12:34 PM 2141510604
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Action History

  1. Signed by Governor

  2. Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

  3. Reported Out of Committee (Finance) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 3 On Its Merits

  4. Assigned to Finance Committee in Senate

  5. Reported Out of Committee (Executive) in Senate with 6 On Its Merits

  6. Assigned to Executive Committee in Senate

  7. Passed By House. Votes: 35 YES 3 NO 3 ABSENT

  8. Amendment HA 1 to HB 360 - Passed In House by Voice Vote

  9. Suspension of Rules in House

  10. Amendment HA 1 to HB 360 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

  11. Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 4 Favorable

  12. Introduced and Assigned to Administration Committee in House

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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10 sponsors · 27 co-sponsors · 37 not signed on · 3 voted No

Sponsors (10)

Co-sponsors (27)

Not signed on (37)

37 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 37 →

"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

2/3

Passed 21 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 5000
Democratic 11000
Republican 5000
Total 21000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (21)
Member Party Vote
Bruce C. Ennis — Yea
Colin Bonini — Yea
Ernesto B Lopez — Yea
Kyle Evans Gay — Yea
Sarah McBride — Yea
Bryan Townsend Democratic Yea
Darius J. Brown Democratic Yea
David P. Sokola Democratic Yea
John "Jack" Walsh Democratic Yea
Laura V. Sturgeon Democratic Yea
Marie Pinkney Democratic Yea
Nicole Poore 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 Yea
David L. Wilson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

SM

Passed 35 Yea · 3 Nay · 3 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 9300
Democratic 14002
Unaffiliated 12001
Total 35303
% of votes cast 85%7%0%7%
How each member voted (41)
Member Party Vote
Andria L. Bennett — Yea
Charles "Bud" M. Freel — Yea
David Bentz — Yea
John A. Kowalko — Yea
John L. Mitchell — Yea
Michael Ramone — Not Voting
Paul S. Baumbach — Yea
Peter C. Schwartzkopf — Yea
Ruth Briggs King — Yea
Sean Matthews — Yea
Sherry Dorsey Walker — Yea
Stephen Smyk — Yea
Valerie Longhurst — Yea
Debra Heffernan Democratic Yea
Edward S. Osienski Democratic Yea
Eric Morrison Democratic Yea
Franklin D. Cooke Democratic Yea
Kendra Johnson Democratic Yea
Kimberly Williams Democratic Yea
Krista Griffith Democratic Yea
Larry Lambert Democratic Yea
Madinah Wilson-Anton Democratic Yea
Melissa Minor-Brown Democratic Not Voting
Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha Democratic Yea
Sean M. Lynn Democratic Yea
Sherae'a Moore 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 Yea
Daniel B. Short 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 Nay
Richard G. Collins Republican Nay
Ronald E. Gray Republican Yea
Shannon Morris Republican Yea
Timothy D. Dukes Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

taxation finance
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 360 do?
The Act, which shall be known as the 2022 Delaware Relief Rebate Program, creates a “relief rebate” which is a one-time direct payment of $300 per Delaware resident taxpayer. This relief is intended to help Delawareans grappling with significant inflation at the grocery store and gas pump. Payment of the $300 will be made by the Delaware Department of Finance to resident individual income taxpayers who filed a 2020 personal income tax return. This payment will be made to each taxpayer, including those who jointly filed. No action on the part of a taxpayer is required to receive the $300. In order to quickly provide this payment to Delaware taxpayers, provisions pertaining to tax intercepts by other government entities and Delaware State agencies shall not apply. The amount received by individual taxpayers will not be subject to Delaware income taxes. Any written protest for the disallowance of the payment of the $300 relief rebate under this Act shall be processed consistently with existing provisions in Title 30. Records of the Department with respect to the provisions of this Act are subject to existing protections from disclosure under Delaware laws. A timely filed tax return includes extensions. This Act also temporarily suspends the limitation on refunds of taxes under Title 29 of the Code until DEFAC refund estimates include the 2022 Delaware Relief Rebate Program. Costs associated with the administration and issuance of payments under this Act will be funded by delinquent tax revenue authorized to be retained by the Department of Finance in the annual budget act. Finally, this Act requires the Department of Finance to establish a process to provide the relief rebate to resident adults who did not file a 2020 state income tax return by identifying adult residents through existing databases held by other state agencies, such as the Division of Motor Vehicles. The Department of Finance will then work with the Department of Technology and Information to implement a process by which eligible residents who have not been identified by other means can apply for and receive the relief rebate, subject to verification of their identity and eligibility.
Who sponsors HB 360?
HB 360 is sponsored by Kyle Evans Gay, Bryan Townsend (Democratic), David P. Sokola (Democratic), S. Elizabeth Lockman (Democratic), Gerald W. Hocker (Republican), Brian Pettyjohn (Republican), Daniel B. Short (Republican), Timothy D. Dukes (Republican), Sean Matthews, Stephanie L. Hansen (Democratic), Trey Paradee (Democratic), Laura V. Sturgeon (Democratic), William Bush (Democratic), William J. Carson (Democratic), Franklin D. Cooke (Democratic), Krista Griffith (Democratic), Debra Heffernan (Democratic), Kendra Johnson (Democratic), Larry Lambert (Democratic), Sean M. Lynn (Democratic), Melissa Minor-Brown (Democratic), Sherae'a Moore (Democratic), Eric Morrison (Democratic), John A. Kowalko, Charles "Bud" M. Freel, Sherry Dorsey Walker, David Bentz, Andria L. Bennett, Bruce C. Ennis, John L. Mitchell, Valerie Longhurst, Edward S. Osienski (Democratic), Kimberly Williams (Democratic), Lyndon D. Yearick (Republican), Stephanie T. Bolden (Democratic), Paul S. Baumbach, and Peter C. Schwartzkopf.
What is the current status of HB 360?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced April 01, 2022. Enacted.
Where can I track HB 360?
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