Delaware 153rd General Assembly Status: Enacted 1 D cosponsors

HB 456 — DNREC Subaqueous Lands Permitting/Streamline

Last action — Signed

  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 October 01, 2026. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Matt Meyer (Democratic) on October 01, 2026.

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

Likely to advance 72% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 D).

  • 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 streamlines the permitting process for activities on subaqueous lands.

The Act simplifies the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's (DNREC) subaqueous lands permitting by adding exemptions and adopting general permits. It also establishes a licensing board for marine contractors and consultants.

What this means for you
  • Workers: If you work in marine contracting or consulting, this bill could lead to a more streamlined licensing process.

Summary

This Act streamlines DNREC’s subaqueous lands permitting process by adding permitting exemptions for common activities already authorized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, expanding the use of general permits to provide statewide authorization for certain activities instead of individual permits, clarifying when some decisions may be delegated from the Secretary to Department staff, imposing specific processing timelines for minor structures and standardizing applications to reduce processing delays. It also creates the Marine Contractors and Consultants Licensing Board, to assist DNREC in licensing and regulation of individuals and entities that affect submerged lands or tidelands.

Bill Text

We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.

Read HB 456 on the official Delaware source →

Action History

  1. Signed

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 61 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (61)

61 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 61 →

"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

3/4

Passed 21 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 15000
Republican 6000
Total 21000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
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 Yea
David L. Wilson Republican Yea
Eric Buckson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

SM

Passed 40 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 13001
Democratic 27000
Total 40001
% of votes cast 98%0%0%2%
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 Not Voting
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 →

Subjects

environment transportation
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 456 do?
This Act streamlines DNREC’s subaqueous lands permitting process by adding permitting exemptions for common activities already authorized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, expanding the use of general permits to provide statewide authorization for certain activities instead of individual permits, clarifying when some decisions may be delegated from the Secretary to Department staff, imposing specific processing timelines for minor structures and standardizing applications to reduce processing delays. It also creates the Marine Contractors and Consultants Licensing Board, to assist DNREC in licensing and regulation of individuals and entities that affect submerged lands or tidelands.
Who sponsors HB 456?
HB 456 is sponsored by Cyndie Romer (Democratic).
What is the current status of HB 456?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced October 01, 2026. Enacted.
Where can I track HB 456?
Track HB 456 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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Last checked for changes 7 days ago · updated continuously

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