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HB460 • 2025

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO BUILDING PERMIT INFORMATION.

Elections

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Romer
Last action: 2026-06-30
Official status: Passed 6/30/26
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date is not listed in the provided source material; only legislative passage dates are available.

HB460: New Rules for Reporting Building Permits in New Castle County

This law updates rules requiring cities and towns in New Castle County to report specific building permit data monthly to the Office of Finance.

What This Bill Does

Requires municipalities to submit information only after a project is closed and an occupancy certificate has been issued.
Mandates that this permit data be updated at least once every month using a format set by the Office of Finance.
Specifies that reports must include the estimated cost of new buildings or repairs, and whether an occupancy certificate was issued along with its date.
Requires cities to send a report explaining why they missed a deadline if they fail to submit their monthly data on time.

Who It Names or Affects

Cities and towns located in New Castle County, Delaware
Building inspectors or other officers authorized to issue permits within those municipalities
The Office of Finance

Terms To Know

Certificate of Occupancy: An official document issued when a building permit is closed, indicating the project is complete.
Office of Finance: The county government department that receives the permit data to help ensure accurate property assessments.

Limits and Unknowns

This law applies only to New Castle County, not other counties in Delaware.
The text does not state a specific date when this new rule will officially begin.
The source material lists who must receive the late report but does not list any penalties for failing to submit it.

Bill History

2026-06-30 Delaware General Assembly
Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 NOT VOTING
2026-06-18 Delaware General Assembly
Reported Out of Committee (Elections & Government Affairs) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits
2026-06-16 Delaware General Assembly
Passed By House. Votes: 39 YES 2 ABSENT
2026-06-16 Delaware General Assembly
Assigned to Elections & Government Affairs Committee in Senate
2026-06-10 Delaware General Assembly
Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 1 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits
2026-06-04 Delaware General Assembly
Introduced and Assigned to Administration Committee in House

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO BUILDING PERMIT INFORMATION.
This Act updates the Delaware Code section that requires municipalities in New Castle County to submit permit data to the County government. The Act clarifies that such information should be submitted monthly in a manner prescribed by the County and that only closed permits where a certificate of occupancy has issued should be reported. If a municipality fails to timely report permit data it must submit a report to the County and the General Assembly detailing the reason for the omission, what steps are being taken to address the problem, and when the information will be submitted.
This permit data is necessary for the County to ensure the accuracy of property assessments.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Rep. Romer & Sen. Cruce

Reps. Minor-Brown, Harris, Burns, Chukwuocha, Morrison, Snyder-Hall, K. Williams, Lambert; Sens. Townsend, Lockman, Huxtable, Mantzavinos

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 460

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO BUILDING PERMIT INFORMATION.

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

Section 1. Amend § 8320, Title 9 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 8320. Information to be supplied by building inspectors in New Castle County.

(a)

The

Building Inspector of the City of Wilmington and the

building inspector or other officer authorized by law to issue permits for new buildings or for repairs or additions to old

buildings,

buildings

in any

other

city or town

New Castle

County,

County

shall report to the Office of Finance

, once a permit is closed and a certificate of occupancy has issued,

every permit

issued

processed

by the inspector

or other officer

respectively,

for the erection of a new building

or buildings,

or the repair,

alteration

alteration,

or improvement of

old

buildings,

building.

specifying the estimated cost of the proposed new building, or the repair, alteration or improvement of the old building.

(b) The permit information required under subsection (a) of this section must be updated at least monthly, in a manner prescribed by the Office, and must include all of the following:

(1) The estimated cost of the proposed new building or the proposed repair, alteration, or improvement of the old building.

(2) Whether a certificate of occupancy has been issued and if so, the date of issue.

(c) A city or town in New Castle County that fails to timely submit the information required under this section, must, within 10 days of the omission, submit a report to the Office of Finance, the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of the Senate, and the Director and Librarian of the Division of Legislative Services detailing the reason why the information has not been submitted timely, what steps are being taken to address the problem, and when the information will be submitted.

SYNOPSIS

This Act updates the Delaware Code section that requires municipalities in New Castle County to submit permit data to the County government. The Act clarifies that such information should be submitted monthly in a manner prescribed by the County and that only closed permits where a certificate of occupancy has issued should be reported. If a municipality fails to timely report permit data it must submit a report to the County and the General Assembly detailing the reason for the omission, what steps are being taken to address the problem, and when the information will be submitted.

This permit data is necessary for the County to ensure the accuracy of property assessments.