Delaware · House Bill 134 · 153rd General Assembly

Animal Cruelty/Upgrades to Felony

HB 134 Sponsored by Jeffrey N. Spiegelman Became law

  1. Introduced May 6, 2025
  2. In committee May 6, 2025
  3. Passed the House Jun 18, 2026
  4. Passed the Senate Jul 1, 2026
  5. To the governor  
  6. Became law Jul 23, 2026

What it does

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

This Bill updates Title 11 of the Delaware Code relating to animal cruelty. After 2 misdemeanor violations of this section, currently class A misdemeanors, all further violations are to be upgraded to class F felonies. Also, after the first felony violation of the statute, currently a class F felony, which involves intentionally killing or causing serious injury to any animal in violation of the statute, all further…

Read the full title (104 words)

This Bill updates Title 11 of the Delaware Code relating to animal cruelty. After 2 misdemeanor violations of this section, currently class A misdemeanors, all further violations are to be upgraded to class F felonies. Also, after the first felony violation of the statute, currently a class F felony, which involves intentionally killing or causing serious injury to any animal in violation of the statute, all further violations are to be upgraded to class E felonies. Also, any person convicted of a felony violation a second time shall be prohibited from owning or possessing any animal for the remainder of their life without exception.

Every action

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

  1. CommitteeIntroduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House · House Judiciary
  2. CommitteeReported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 7 On Its Merits · House Judiciary
  3. HousePassed By House. Votes: 41 YES41–0 vote
  4. CommitteeAssigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate · Senate Judiciary
  5. CommitteeReported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits · Senate Judiciary
  6. SenatePassed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT20–0 vote
  7. GovernorSigned by Governor

Roll calls

2 recorded votes: 2 on the floor, 0 in committee. Each shows how every member voted.

Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES · Full House

Passed 41–0
Jun 18, 2026 · journal entry
Yes 41 No 0
Democrats: 27 yes, 0 no Republicans: 14 yes, 0 no
How each member voted

Yes · 41

Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT · Full Senate

Passed 20–0
Jul 1, 2026 · journal entry
Yes 20 No 0 Not voting 1
Democrats: 15 yes, 0 no Republicans: 5 yes, 0 no
How each member voted

Yes · 20

Absent · 1

Sponsors

The member who introduced it, joined by 10 cosponsors: 7 Democrats, 3 Republicans.

All 10 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.