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

Education

Enacted

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

Sponsor: Huxtable
Last action: 2025-09-03
Official status: Signed 9/3/25
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date is not specified in the provided official bill summary text.

Building Permit Fees in Sussex County

This act allows Sussex County to charge an additional fee on building permits within its school districts to fund school construction projects.

What This Bill Does

Allows Sussex County to add a surcharge of up to 1.25% of the construction value for new buildings in school districts, excluding those with a construction cost of $30,000 or less.

Who It Names or Affects

Builders and property developers in Sussex County who apply for building permits.
School districts that need funding for capital construction projects.

Terms To Know

Impact Fee: A fee charged to new constructions to help pay for local improvements, like schools or roads.
Certification of Necessity: An official document that confirms a school construction project is needed and approved by the state education department.

Limits and Unknowns

The exact date when this act will start to be enforced has not been specified.
It only applies to new constructions in Sussex County, not other counties in Delaware.

Bill History

2025-09-03 Delaware General Assembly
Signed by Governor
2025-06-30 Delaware General Assembly
Passed By House. Votes: 38 YES 2 NO 1 VACANT
2025-06-17 Delaware General Assembly
Reported Out of Committee (Housing) in House with 6 Favorable, 1 On Its Merits
2025-06-12 Delaware General Assembly
Passed By Senate. Votes: 18 YES 1 NOT VOTING 2 ABSENT
2025-06-12 Delaware General Assembly
Assigned to Housing Committee in House
2025-06-11 Delaware General Assembly
Reported Out of Committee (Housing & Land Use) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 5 On Its Merits
2025-06-05 Delaware General Assembly
Introduced and Assigned to Housing & Land Use Committee in Senate

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO BUILDING PERMIT FEES.
This Act allows Sussex County to apply an impact fee to building permits within the respective school district for the purpose of collecting funding for the local share of school capital construction programs.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Sen. Huxtable & Sen. Pettyjohn & Rep. Snyder-Hall & Rep. Hilovsky

Sen. Hansen; Reps. Bolden, Lambert, Shupe

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE BILL NO. 176

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

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

Section 1. Amend Chapter 63, Title 9 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 6305. Fees.

(a)

The fees for issuing permits shall be determined by the County Council of Sussex County.

‎

(b) The County may add a surcharge on any application for a building permit, in an amount not greater than 1.25%

of the construction value applicable to the building permit application, to provide funding for the local share of any school capital construction program that has received a Certification of Necessity from the Secretary of Education of the Department of Education pursuant to § 7510 of Title 29, except no surcharge may be added to an application for a building permit with a construction value of $30,000 or less, if the application is submitted after the issuance of the original certificate of occupancy.

SYNOPSIS

This Act allows Sussex County to apply an impact fee to building permits within the respective school district for the purpose of collecting funding for the local share of school capital construction programs.

Author: Senator Huxtable