HB 461 DE
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SCHOOL TAX.
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Summary
Delaware House Bill 461 allows school districts in New Castle County to reset their tax rates for the 2026-2027 school year due to ongoing adjustments from a previous general property reassessment. The districts can adjust rates to prevent an increase in operating revenue compared to the prior year, except for revenue generated from voter-approved referenda and an allowance for modest revenue growth based on each district's five-year average growth rate. The bill expires on March 31, 2027.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill (from the OpenStates abstract — no full text available yet) — neutral, and may be imperfect.
Official abstract
This Act provides special authority to school districts in New Castle County to reset their tax rate for the 2026-2027 tax year. This authority is necessary because several adjustments to the New Castle County tax roll are continuing to be made after the completion of the general reassessment that took effect for the 2025-2026 tax year. This includes the ongoing adjudication of appeals from the assessment values set in the general reassessment as well as quality control reviews, and potential changes pending in other legislation. This Act allows the New Castle County school districts to adjust the tax rate so that no increase in operating revenue over the prior year will be realized, with two exceptions: (1) revenue increases from approved referenda; and (2) revenue equal to the 5-year average growth rate for each district. The 5-year average growth rates for NCC districts are as follows: (1) Appoquinimink, 3.68%; (2) Brandywine, 0.54%; (3) Christina, 0.32%; (4) Colonial, 1.10%; (5) Red Clay, 0.58%; (6) Smyrna, 0.31%; and (7) New Castle County Vocational Technical, 0.96%. This Act sunsets on March 31, 2027.
Sponsors (12)
- Cyndie Romer Democratic · primary
- Sarah McBride · primary
- Trey Paradee Democratic · primary
- Kerri Evelyn Harris Democratic · primary
- Bryant L. Richardson Republican · primary
- Eric Morrison Democratic · primary
- Claire Snyder-Hall Democratic · primary
- Brian Pettyjohn Republican · primary
- Bryan Townsend Democratic · primary
- Josue O Ortega Democratic · primary
- Russell Huxtable Democratic · primary
- Spiros Mantzavinos Democratic · primary
Action history (7)
- Jun 4, 2026 Introduced and Assigned to Administration Committee in House · lower
- Jun 10, 2026 Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 4 On Its Merits, 1 Unfavorable · lower
- Jun 16, 2026 Passed By House. Votes: 39 YES 2 ABSENT · lower
- Jun 16, 2026 Assigned to Education Committee in Senate · upper
- Jun 24, 2026 Reported Out of Committee (Education) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits, 1 Unfavorable · upper
- Jun 30, 2026 Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 NOT VOTING · upper
- Jul 23, 2026 Signed by Governor · executive
Full text
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