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Delaware · 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026) · Bill

SB 49: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 20 AND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DRIVING RESTRICTIONS DURING A STATE OF EMERGENCY.

Enacted Official data

  1. Introduced
  2. In committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. Passed both chambers
  5. Enacted

Last official action: ·Record last updated:

Plain-language summary

SB 49 is a bill introduced in the Delaware Senate on January 23, 2025. According to its official title, it concerns: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 20 AND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DRIVING RESTRICTIONS DURING A STATE OF EMERGENCY. Primary sponsor: Brian Pettyjohn (Republican), Valerie Giltner (Republican). It lists 13 additional sponsors. Most recent recorded action (May 22, 2025): Signed by Governor.

Generated automatically from the official title, sponsor list, and status record only. It does not characterize the bill’s purpose or effects. How summaries are written

Official summary

Abstract published by the legislature (via Open States). Text as published by the legislature; reproduced verbatim.

In a state of emergency, getting information to the public as quickly as possible is vital to the safety of the community. This Act provides protections to those who provide these essential communication and broadcasting services by deeming them "first informers." Under this Act, first informers are exempt from driving restrictions that the Governor may impose during a state of emergency. This Act also reorganizes provisions of Chapter 31 of Title 20 for clarity and makes additional technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Sponsors

Sponsors by party (alphabetical): Democratic 7 · Republican 8

NameRolePartyChamberDistrict
Brian PettyjohnPrimary sponsorRepublicanSenate19
Valerie GiltnerPrimary sponsorRepublicanHouse37
Eric BucksonCo-sponsorRepublicanSenate16
Rich CollinsCo-sponsorRepublicanHouse41
Stephanie HansenCo-sponsorDemocraticSenate10
Jeff HilovskyCo-sponsorRepublicanHouse4
Gerald HockerCo-sponsorRepublicanSenate20
Kyra HoffnerCo-sponsorDemocraticSenate14
Russ HuxtableCo-sponsorDemocraticSenate6
Tizzy LockmanCo-sponsorDemocraticSenate3
Spiros MantzavinosCo-sponsorDemocraticSenate7
Trey ParadeeCo-sponsorDemocraticSenate17
Bryant RichardsonCo-sponsorRepublicanSenate21
Ray SeigfriedCo-sponsorDemocraticSenate5
Dave WilsonCo-sponsorRepublicanSenate18

“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.

Recent official actions

  1. Signed by Governor
  2. Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
  3. Passed By House. Votes: 33 YES 8 ABSENT
  4. Amendment HA 1 to SB 49 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
  5. Reported Out of Committee (Public Safety & Homeland Security) in House with 4 Favorable, 3 On Its Merits
  6. Assigned to Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee in House
  7. Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
  8. Reported Out of Committee (Environment, Energy & Transportation) in Senate with 3 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits
  9. Introduced and Assigned to Environment, Energy & Transportation Committee in Senate

Sources

  1. Open States / Plural (data from the official legislature website)
  2. Official legislature source