Delaware · House Bill 39 · 152nd General Assembly

EPOCH Grant Program/Law Enforcement

HB 39 Sponsored by Michael F. Smith Died in committee

  1. Introduced Jan 5, 2023
  2. In committee Jan 5, 2023
  3. Died  
  4. Passed the Senate  
  5. To the governor  
  6. Became law  

What it does

The legislature's own summary of the bill, or its official long title.

This bill seeks to create the Expanded Protection for Our Communities and Homes (EPOCH) Grant Program through a one-time appropriation of $20 million. The grant money would be distributed to every Delaware police agency that chooses to participate. The distribution would consist of a minimum standard allocation made to each agency and an allocation based on the number of uniformed officers authorized for each…

Read the full title (153 words)

This bill seeks to create the Expanded Protection for Our Communities and Homes (EPOCH) Grant Program through a one-time appropriation of $20 million. The grant money would be distributed to every Delaware police agency that chooses to participate. The distribution would consist of a minimum standard allocation made to each agency and an allocation based on the number of uniformed officers authorized for each agency. EPOCH grants could be used by the recipient agencies to recruit new officers; promote or encourage careers in law enforcement; initially pay the salaries of newly hired officers; pay for overtime to facilitate additional work to address issues of local concern (including traffic enforcement); and implement programs designed to improve public safety in the area of the agency’s jurisdiction. The grant allocations would be available for the agencies to use for up to three years, after which any unused and unencumbered funding would return to the General Fund.

Every action

4 steps, oldest first, as the legislature records them.

  1. CommitteeIntroduced and Assigned to Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee in House · House Public Safety & Homeland Security
  2. CommitteeReported Out of Committee (Public Safety & Homeland Security) in House with 3 Favorable, 2 On Its Merits, 1 Unfavorable · House Public Safety & Homeland Security
  3. CommitteeAssigned to Appropriations Committee in House · House Appropriations
  4. HouseAmendment HA 1 to HB 39 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

Roll calls

No recorded votes on this bill yet.

Sponsors

The member who introduced it, joined by 12 cosponsors: 7 Republicans, 5 Democrats.

All 12 cosponsors

From Delaware's official records (legis.delaware.gov), checked Nov 1, 2026. Text links go to the official versions; LegiList does not copy bill text.