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HS1FORHB276 • 2025

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

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

Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor
Last action
2026-06-30
Official status
Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

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

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

What This Bill Does

  • AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THEFT.
  • This House Substitute for House Bill No.
  • 276 permits the value of items stolen at separate times to be grouped and prosecuted as one charge, if the thefts were part of a course of conduct.
  • This House Substitute differs from the original in that it defines “course of conduct” and restructures the statute to place the additional language regarding a course of conduct in the operative language regarding what must be shown in order to elevate the penalty for higher dollar value thefts.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-06-30 Delaware General Assembly

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

  2. 2026-06-24 Delaware General Assembly

    Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits

  3. 2026-06-11 Delaware General Assembly

    Passed By House. Votes: 40 YES 1 ABSENT

  4. 2026-06-11 Delaware General Assembly

    Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate

  5. 2026-06-10 Delaware General Assembly

    was introduced and adopted in lieu of HB 276

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THEFT.
This House Substitute for House Bill No. 276 permits the value of items stolen at separate times to be grouped and prosecuted as one charge, if the thefts were part of a course of conduct.

This House Substitute differs from the original in that it defines “course of conduct” and restructures the statute to place the additional language regarding a course of conduct in the operative language regarding what must be shown in order to elevate the penalty for higher dollar value thefts. This means that the course of conduct is an element of the offense that must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The theft statute otherwise remains the same. Like the original bill, this substitute makes technical corrections to conform with the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.