AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 15 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO REVIEW OF CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES.

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

HB292: Review of Campaign Money Reports

This bill requires the Delaware Department of Elections to review campaign finance reports within 60 days and mark them on their website as either 'Submitted but Not Reviewed' or 'Reviewed and Final'.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the Department of Elections to review all contribution and expense reports within 60 days of filing.
• Mandates that new reports be marked online as 'Submitted but Not Reviewed' until checked by staff.
• Updates report status to 'Reviewed and Final' if no violations are found during the check.
• Requires officials to work with candidates to fix any rule breaks discovered in a report.
• Allows amended reports to receive final approval once all errors are corrected.

Who It Names or Affects

• The Delaware Department of Elections
• Political committees that file contribution and expense reports

Terms To Know

Contribution report

A document listing money given to a political campaign.

Expenditure report

A document showing how much money a campaign spent and on what items.

Limits and Unknowns

• This law only applies to reports submitted after March 1, 2026.
• The text does not state specific penalties if candidates do not fix violations within the review period.

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 15 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO REVIEW OF CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES.
This Act requires the Department of Elections to review every political committee’s contribution and expense report and to note the report, on the Department’s website, as either “Submitted but Not Reviewed” or “Reviewed and Final”. If the Department discovers any violations of this chapter, it must work with the candidate to rectify the violations. Once the violations are corrected and the candidate submits an amended report, the report’s status shall be updated on the Department’s website and clearly marked as “Reviewed and Final”. This Act will apply to all contribution and expense reports submitted after March 1, 2026.

Current Bill Text

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Rep. Morrison & Sen. Hansen

Reps. Harris, Osienski, Phillips, Wilson-Anton, Snyder-Hall, Burns, Michael Smith, Gorman; Sens. Huxtable, Buckson

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 292

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 15 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO REVIEW OF CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES.

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

Section 1. Amend Chapter 80 of Title 15 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 8034. Review of reports by Department.

(a) Within 60 days of filing, the Department shall review all reports of contributions and expenditures listed in § 8030 of this title to confirm that there are no violations of this title.

(1) After the report required under § 8030 is filed with the Department it must be published on the Department’s website and clearly marked as “Submitted but Not Reviewed”.

(2) If the Department finds no violations in the report, the report must be clearly marked as “Reviewed and Final”.

(3) If any violations are discovered, the Department must work with the candidate to rectify the violations under the Department’s rules and regulations. Once the violations are corrected and the candidate submits an amended report that does not include any violations, the report’s status shall be updated on the Department’s website and clearly marked as “Reviewed and Final”.

(b) This section applies to all reports and contributions listed in § 8030 of this title submitted after March 1, 2026.

SYNOPSIS

This Act requires the Department of Elections to review every political committee’s contribution and expense report and to note the report, on the Department’s website, as either “Submitted but Not Reviewed” or “Reviewed and Final”. If the Department discovers any violations of this chapter, it must work with the candidate to rectify the violations. Once the violations are corrected and the candidate submits an amended report, the report’s status shall be updated on the Department’s website and clearly marked as “Reviewed and Final”. This Act will apply to all contribution and expense reports submitted after March 1, 2026.