Delaware

Democrats control the governor’s office, the Senate (15-6), and the House (27-14). Governor Matt Meyer took office in January 2025 after eight years as New Castle County Executive. He is a former middle school math teacher.

Meyer’s administration has erased nearly $19 million in medical debt and backed a bill to bar for-profit hospital takeovers. He launched the state’s first PFAS cleanup plan funded by a DuPont legal settlement. But the federal government is cutting public health funding, and Delaware is short nearly 12,000 affordable housing units.

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Hospital Charity Care and Ownership Bills

In May 2026, Governor Meyer announced two healthcare bills. Senate Bill 13, sponsored by Senator Marie Pinkney, strengthens hospital charity care and financial assistance. Senate Bill 313, from Senator Spiros Mantzavinos and Representative Kendra Johnson, would bar for-profit companies from acquiring control of Delaware’s nonprofit acute care hospitals through July 1, 2028.

$19 million in medical debt eliminated for more than 18,000 Delawareans

That first round of relief was announced in December 2025. A $500,000 state budget item pays the nonprofit Undue Medical Debt to erase up to $50 million in qualifying debt.

Delaware also secured hundreds of millions in federal rural health funding. That money supports the state’s first medical school, mobile health units, and healthcare training programs across all three counties.

In April 2025, Delaware Health and Social Services Secretary Josette Manning called the end of $38 million in federal public health grants “unprecedented, unexpected federal cuts.” She said the state would “exhaust every available avenue to restore promised federal funding.”

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PFAS Contamination and the DuPont Settlement

On March 31, 2026, Delaware released its first PFAS Implementation Plan. The cleanup is funded by a multi-million dollar legal settlement the state won against DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva in 2021.

PFAS are called “forever chemicals” because they do not break down in the environment or the human body. DuPont manufactured them in Delaware for decades. The contamination is in drinking water, soil, and the blood of residents who lived near manufacturing sites.

The Trump administration rolled back EPA rules on PFAS in 2025. Delaware lawmakers responded with SB 72, setting state-level testing and reduction deadlines that go further than the weakened federal standards.

Thousands of Delawareans drink from private wells that have never been tested for PFAS. The state’s free well testing program will be the first chance many rural residents have to find out what is in their water.

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Free School Breakfast for Every Student

Universal free school breakfast for all Delaware public school students cleared its final legislative hurdle. No income verification. No paperwork. Every student walks in and eats.

The FY 2027 budget ($6.9 billion) implements Year 3 recommendations from the Public Education Compensation Commission. Teacher salaries are going up. So are pay rates for all state employees.

Governor Meyer’s education agenda is the opposite of what is happening in Texas, Indiana, and Arkansas. No vouchers. No public money going to private schools. Direct investment in teachers, classrooms, and meals.

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Delaware’s New State License for Gun Dealers

Senate Bill 300 passed the Delaware Senate on May 22, 2026. It requires anyone selling or transferring firearms, including pawnbrokers and Federal Firearms License holders, to obtain a new state firearms dealer license.

Delaware already banned assault weapon sales and raised the purchase age to 21 in 2022 under Governor Carney. But in September 2025, House Republicans reported that a court had found the age-21 law unconstitutional. SB 300 takes a different approach by regulating the point of sale instead of the weapon type.

SB 300 passed the Senate with significant Republican opposition and now moves to the House

The bill’s sponsor is Senate President Pro Tem David Sokola. It passed on a party-line vote. If it passes the House and Meyer signs it, Delaware will be one of the few states with a full state dealer licensing system.

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20,000 People Are on the Housing Waiting List

Delaware is short 11,738 low-income housing units. Only 54 affordable units exist for every 100 low-income renter households. More than 20,000 people are waiting for housing assistance.

54 out of 100 low-income renter households can find an affordable unit

Governor Meyer signed an executive order creating a Permitting Accelerator to cut red tape for affordable and workforce housing development. Nine communities, from Bridgeville to Rehoboth Beach, joined a zoning reform pilot program to modernize land use policies. Updated Delaware Land Use Strategies were certified by executive order on January 30, 2026.

The gap is statewide, but it hits hardest in Sussex County beach towns and Wilmington neighborhoods where rents have outpaced wages for a decade. The pilot program gives local governments free technical assistance to change the zoning rules that make affordable housing illegal to build.

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What You Can Do in Delaware

1. Check your voter registration. Delaware has a U.S. Senate election in 2026. Verify your status at ivote.de.gov.

2. Test your well water. If you drink from a private well, watch for the state’s free PFAS testing program launching later in 2026. Contact DNREC at dnrec.delaware.gov for updates.

3. Confirm your health coverage. If you lost a job or had a life change, check your Medicaid eligibility at dhss.delaware.gov. Federal cuts are coming. Get enrolled before gaps open.

4. Know your medical debt rights. If you have hospital debt in collections, ask whether your provider offers charity care or financial assistance. SB 13 strengthens those requirements.

5. Show up at your school board meeting. Delaware is investing in public education. Your local board decides how literacy funds, teacher pay increases, and breakfast programs reach your kids. Find your district at doe.k12.de.us.