House Agenda 
Senate Agenda 
Committee Hearings Schedule (House and Senate) 
Recently Introduced Legislation 
2026 Legislative Session Schedule 


The General Assembly is in session today (May 14) and will be in session on Tuesday, May 19, Wednesday, May 20, and Thursday, May 21, after which they will recess for budget markup (Joint Finance Committee) until Tuesday, June 9 when they reconvene.  
 
NCC Chamber Seeking Input on Paid Family Leave 
The Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program codified in 19 Del. C. Ch. 37, and administered by the Delaware Department of Labor, went into full effect on January 1, 2026.    
The NCC Chamber is gathering input from employers on their experience with implementation, filing claims, and other aspects of the program with the aim of recommending improvements to the regulations and/or statute. Additional information will be forthcoming on the Chamber’s website and in an email soliciting input.  
 
Chatbot Legislation Passes House, Awaits Consideration in Senate Committee  
HB 306 w/ HA 1 & HA 3 (Romer) passed the House on May 5 by a vote of 25-12, with one (1) not voting and three (3) absent.   The bill has been assigned to the Senate Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology Committee where it awaits consideration.  


The NCC Chamber opposed the original legislation as written and sought amendments in coordination with member companies and other business stakeholders and will continue that effort in the Senate.   
The NCC Chamber does not oppose the enactment of safeguards where the use of chatbots are concerned.  However, the bill, even after the addition of HA 1 and HA 3, still contains concerning provisions where civil liability exposure and broadly written language are concerned.  


House Amendment 1 added language intended to provide a safe harbor provision for entities using chatbots.  Though the Chamber was supportive of provision of a safe harbor in the bill, the language in HA 1 does not address our concerns, based on the reading of it by members with legal expertise.  
House Amendment 3 clarifies that amount of damages that can be recovered under the Act would be either 1) the amount of actual damagesi or 2) statutory damagesii of $1,000 – whichever is greater.   


Remaining Concerns (not exhaustive) 

• As a matter of longstanding policy, the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce generally opposes the inclusion of a private rights of action in such legislation - particularly where there is a remedy contemplated via the Department of Justice or a like authority.
• To avoid unmerited legal action, we recommend that language requiring a plaintiff to explicitly demonstrate harm when and/if litigation occurs. 
• The Chamber is concerned that provision for class action litigation due to their potential impact on the State of Delaware’s tort law environment, the tendency to encourage litigation that is exceedingly expensive to defend against, often bring little relief to class members, lead to forum shopping and inconsistency across jurisdictions. Explicit reference to a class action suit is, by our understanding, rare in Delaware Code.  Class action litigation with a cap of $10 million is concerning for an entity of any size, for small businesses, it could prove catastrophic.