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Legislation Document
SPONSOR:
Sen. Cruce
DELAWARE STATE SENATE
153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 1
TO
SENATE BILL NO. 228
AMEND Senate Bill No. 228 on line 68 by deleting “
October 16, 2026.
” and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “
September 30, 2026.
”.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No. 228 by deleting lines 69 through 72 in their entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
“
Notwithstanding the provisions of § 8601(1) of this title, all taxes assessed and levied subject to this section shall be due and payable on October 12, 2026. Notwithstanding the requirements of § 8602(b) of this title, New Castle County shall mail to all taxables in the county a statement of their taxes collectible by New Castle County, including school taxes, no later than November 16, 2026, and the due date for said taxes shall be December 31, 2026.
”.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No. 228 after line 72 and before line 73 by inserting the following:
“
(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 8604(a)(1) of this title, the tax collecting authority of New Castle County shall, after January 1, 2027, add thereto a penalty of 6 percent of the current charge and 1 percent of the unpaid principal balance as of the first day of every month thereafter until the same shall be paid. Penalty shall accrue at the same rate on any supplemental tax bill issued pursuant to § 8340 of this title, beginning on the first day of the third month from the date upon which the tax liability became due and payable.
”.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No. 228 on line 73 by deleting “
(f)
” and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “
(g)
”.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No. 228 on line 75 by deleting “
(g)
” and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “
(h)
”.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No. 228 on line 83 by deleting “
October 30, 2026
” and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “
October 22, 2026
”.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No. 228 on line 86 by deleting “
may
” and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “
shall
”.
SYNOPSIS
This Amendment does all of the following, with the intent to maximize the amount of time New Castle County will have in 2026 to conduct a quality-control review of non-residential property assessments and make any adjustments to assessed values while also ensuring sufficient time for the preparation of county and school tax bills in New Castle County with a December 31, 2026 payment deadline:
1. Adjusts the date by which New Castle County must complete its Quality Control review and make any adjustments to assessed values to September 30, 2026.
2. Adjusts the tax "due and payable" date, which is an existing statutory term that is different from a payment deadline, to October 12, 2026.
3. Adjusts the date by which New Castle County must mail out tax statements to November 16, 2026.
4. Adjusts the deadline for payment of tax bills to December 31, 2026.
5. Confirms that penalties for unpaid amounts do not begin until January 1, 2027.
This Amendment also changes the date by which a school board in New Castle County must deliver its warrant to New Castle County to October 22, 2026, and clarifies the State shall advance monies to any school district that experiences a shortfall as a result of the changes in this Act. The remainder of changes made in this Amendment are technical in nature.
Author: Senator Cruce