AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DETENTION FACILITIES.

Children Crime

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Gorman
Last action: 2026-05-21
Official status: Lieu/Substituted 3/19/26
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official text does not specify an effective date; it only states the bill was signed on May 21, 2026.

Ban on For-Profit Private Detention Facilities in Delaware

This law stops any person from operating a for-profit, privately owned jail or prison under contract with the government inside Delaware.

What This Bill Does

Prohibits the operation of private detention facilities within the state.
Defines 'detention facility' as places where people are held against their will after a court sentence or while waiting for trial.
Defines 'private detention facility' as one run by a private, non-governmental, for-profit group under contract with the government.
Excludes certain treatment centers and service providers from being called private detention facilities.

Who It Names or Affects

Private companies that want to operate jails or prisons in Delaware for profit.
Government agencies that might otherwise hire outside groups to run these facilities.

Terms To Know

Detention facility: Any place where people are held against their will because of a court sentence or while waiting for a trial, hearing, or other legal proceeding.
Private detention facility: A jail or prison run by a private company for profit that holds people based on a contract with the government.

Limits and Unknowns

The law does not ban facilities providing medical, mental health, educational, or treatment services to juveniles under Family Court jurisdiction.
Facilities evaluating or treating people detained by court order are excluded from the ban.
Places offering education, vocational training, or medical care to inmates directly supervised by government agencies are not banned.
Licensed residential care facilities and school disciplinary detention rooms are not covered by this law.
Public health quarantine centers used for isolation reasons are also exempt.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HA 1

1 • Gorman

PWB 5/20/25

Plain English: This amendment changes the law so that certain contracted living places for youth are not counted as private detention centers.

It adds a new rule to exclude facilities run by the Department of Services for Children, Youth & Their Families from being called 'private detention facilities'.
The exemption applies specifically to nonsecure residential settings where these departments contract services.

HA 2

2 • Gorman

PWB 1/27/26

Plain English: This amendment adds a new rule that says certain safe homes for young people are not considered private detention centers and defines what those safe homes look like.

It creates a definition for 'nonsecure residential detention setting' as a place without locked doors, fences with razor wire, or bars to stop someone from leaving.
It removes these specific non-locked facilities from the list of places that count as private detention centers if they are run by contractors serving youth under Family Court rules.
It updates the numbering in the law so all the definitions fit together correctly.

The special rule for these non-locked facilities will stop working on February 1, 2028.
This explanation only covers changes to how detention places are defined and does not explain other parts of the original bill about detention rules.

Bill History

2026-05-21 Delaware General Assembly
HS 2 for HB 151 - Signed by Governor
2026-05-06 Delaware General Assembly
HS 2 for HB 151 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
2026-04-22 Delaware General Assembly
HS 2 for HB 151 - Reported Out of Committee (Corrections & Public Safety) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits
2026-04-16 Delaware General Assembly
HS 2 for HB 151 - Passed By House. Votes: 28 YES 13 NO
2026-04-16 Delaware General Assembly
HS 2 for HB 151 - Assigned to Corrections & Public Safety Committee in Senate
2026-04-15 Delaware General Assembly
Substituted in House by HS 2 for HB 151
2026-03-24 Delaware General Assembly
Amendment HA 1 to HS 1 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
2026-03-19 Delaware General Assembly
Substituted in House by HS 1 for HB 151
2026-01-27 Delaware General Assembly
Amendment HA 2 to HB 151 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
2026-01-14 Delaware General Assembly
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 6 Favorable, 1 On Its Merits
2025-05-20 Delaware General Assembly
Amendment HA 1 to HB 151 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
2025-05-01 Delaware General Assembly
Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DETENTION FACILITIES.
This Act prohibits the operation of private detention facilities in the State of Delaware.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Rep. Gorman & Sen. Seigfried

Reps. Morrison, Snyder-Hall, Romer, Berry, Griffith, Phillips, Heffernan, Ross Levin; Sens. Hoffner, Mantzavinos, Cruce

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 151

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DETENTION FACILITIES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend § 6503, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 6503. Definitions.

As used in this chapter:

(4) “Detention facility” means any facility in which persons are incarcerated or otherwise involuntarily confined for purposes of execution of a punitive sentence imposed by a court or detention pending a trial, hearing, or other judicial or administrative proceeding.

(5) “Private detention facility” means a detention facility that is operated by a private, nongovernmental, for-profit entity, and operating pursuant to a contract or agreement with a governmental entity. A private detention facility does not include:

a. Any facility providing rehabilitative, counseling, treatment, mental health, educational, or medical services to a juvenile that is under the jurisdiction of the Family Court pursuant to Chapter 9 of Title 10.

b. Any facility providing evaluation or treatment services to a person who is detained or subject to an order of commitment by a court, pursuant to Chapter 50 of Title 16.

c. Any facility providing educational, vocational, medical, or other ancillary services to an inmate in the custody of, and under the direct supervision of, the Department of Correction or other law enforcement agency.

d. A residential care facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 22 of Title 16.

e. Any school facility used for the disciplinary detention of a pupil.

f. Any facility used for the quarantine or isolation of persons for public health reasons pursuant to § 3136 of Title 20.

Section 2. Amend Subchapter XI, Chapter 65, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 6593. Private detention facilities; prohibited.

A person may not operate a private detention facility within the State.

SYNOPSIS

This Act prohibits the operation of private detention facilities in the State of Delaware.