HB271 • 2025

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MARIJUANA ESTABLISHMENT SPACING REQUIREMENTS.

Enacted

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

Sponsor: Osienski
Last action: 2026-06-24
Official status: Signed 6/24/26
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official text states the bill was signed on June 24, 2026, but leaves the effective date blank in the metadata and notes it becomes effective upon signature or a specified date.

HB271: Clarifying Distance Rules for Marijuana Businesses

This law changes Delaware rules to say that distance limits between marijuana businesses only apply to stores selling directly to customers.

What This Bill Does

Changes the rule in Title 4 of the Delaware Code so spacing requirements apply only to retail marijuana licenses.
Allows non-retail operations like growing, making products, and testing labs to be located near each other without distance limits.
Matches how Delaware handles liquor laws by limiting distance rules for stores but not production or wholesale sites.
Keeps the Commissioner's full power to license, inspect, and enforce all marijuana business rules.

Who It Names or Affects

Businesses applying for new retail marijuana licenses in cities or rural areas.
Companies that grow, manufacture, or test marijuana products but do not sell directly to the public.
The Commissioner of Marijuana Control who issues and oversees all licenses.

Terms To Know

Retail marijuana license: A permit for a store that sells marijuana, products, or accessories directly to customers.
Upstream operations: Business activities like growing plants, making products, or testing them before they reach stores.
Co-location: When two different types of businesses are allowed to be in the same building or very close together.

Limits and Unknowns

The text does not state a specific date when this law becomes effective.
The bill only changes rules for new licenses and moving existing stores, so it may not affect all current businesses immediately.
The source material does not explain how local city or town zoning laws might interact with these new state spacing limits.

Bill History

2026-06-24 Delaware General Assembly
Signed by Governor
2026-06-17 Delaware General Assembly
Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
2026-06-10 Delaware General Assembly
Reported Out of Committee (Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology) in Senate with 6 On Its Merits
2026-03-19 Delaware General Assembly
Passed By House. Votes: 34 YES 2 NO 1 NOT VOTING 4 ABSENT
2026-03-19 Delaware General Assembly
Assigned to Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology Committee in Senate
2026-03-10 Delaware General Assembly
Reported Out of Committee (Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce) in House with 11 On Its Merits
2026-01-20 Delaware General Assembly
Introduced and Assigned to Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce Committee in House

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MARIJUANA ESTABLISHMENT SPACING REQUIREMENTS.
This Act clarifies the application of the marijuana establishment spacing requirement in § 1354(e), Title 4 of the Delaware Code, by specifying that the distance limitation applies only to retail marijuana licenses. The Act aligns the marijuana licensing framework with Delaware’s existing liquor-control statutes, which impose spacing requirements on consumer-facing retail outlets but not on upstream operations such as production or wholesale activities. By limiting the spacing requirement to retail licenses, the Act permits the co-location of non-retail marijuana operations, including cultivation, manufacturing, and testing facilities, while preserving the Commissioner’s full regulatory authority over licensing, inspection, and enforcement.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Rep. Osienski & Sen. Paradee

Rep. Heffernan; Sen. Hoffner

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 271

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MARIJUANA ESTABLISHMENT SPACING REQUIREMENTS.

WHEREAS, the Delaware Marijuana Control Act establishes spacing requirements between licensed marijuana establishments in order to address community-impact and public-safety concerns; and

WHEREAS, those concerns are appropriately focused on retail, consumer-facing locations, not on upstream, non-retail operations such as cultivation, manufacturing, or testing; and

WHEREAS, Delaware’s liquor-control framework imposes spacing restrictions only on retail outlets, while permitting co-location of producers and wholesalers; and

WHEREAS, clarifying the scope of the marijuana spacing requirement will reduce unnecessary development costs, avoid duplicative zoning and infrastructure, and better align the statute with its original legislative intent without reducing regulatory oversight.

NOW, THEREFORE:

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

Section 1. Amend § 1354, Title 4 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 1354. Grounds for refusal of license; transfer or extension of premises.

(e) The Commissioner shall refuse to grant a

retail marijuana

license for the sale of marijuana, marijuana products, or marijuana accessories when there is an existing licensed

establishment of the same type

retail marijuana establishment

within 1200 feet by accessible public road or street in any incorporated city or town, or within 1 mile by accessible public road or street in any unincorporated or rural area. If there is an existing licensed

retail marijuana

establishment less than 1 mile but more than

9

/

10

of 1 mile by accessible public road or street in any unincorporated or rural area, the Commissioner may grant such license. This subsection does not apply to any of the following:

(1) Any existing

retail

license or to the sale, transfer of ownership, or renewal of an existing

retail

license.

(2) Any

retail

licensee who desires to move the location of the licensee’s licensed premises to a location within 500 feet thereof by accessible public road or street or any

retail

licensee located in a shopping center or shopping mall who desires to move the location of the licensee’s licensed premises any distance within the same shopping center or shopping mall, whether such center or mall consists of 1 or more than 1 separate buildings.

SYNOPSIS

This Act clarifies the application of the marijuana establishment spacing requirement in § 1354(e), Title 4 of the Delaware Code, by specifying that the distance limitation applies only to retail marijuana licenses. The Act aligns the marijuana licensing framework with Delaware’s existing liquor-control statutes, which impose spacing requirements on consumer-facing retail outlets but not on upstream operations such as production or wholesale activities. By limiting the spacing requirement to retail licenses, the Act permits the co-location of non-retail marijuana operations, including cultivation, manufacturing, and testing facilities, while preserving the Commissioner’s full regulatory authority over licensing, inspection, and enforcement.