Delaware · House Bill 197 · 153rd General Assembly

Stalking/Course of Conduct/Expand Definition

  1. Introduced Jun 5, 2025
  2. In committee Jun 5, 2025
  3. Passed the House Jun 30, 2025
  4. Passed the Senate May 5, 2026
  5. To the governor  
  6. Became law May 21, 2026

What it does

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

This Act expands the definition of a “course of conduct” in the stalking statute and also provides that if the court finds as a matter of law that acts subject to this statute are in fact constitutionally protected activities, then all evidence associated with those activities must be excluded. This Act raises stalking under § 1312(c) from a class F to a class D felony. And also raises stalking under § 1312 (b) from a class G to a class E felony. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Every action

9 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 6 On Its Merits · House Judiciary
  3. HouseAmendment HA 1 to HB 197 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
  4. HouseAmendment HA 1 to HB 197 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
  5. HousePassed By House. Votes: 37 YES 1 NO 2 ABSENT 1 VACANT37–1 vote
  6. CommitteeAssigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate · Senate Judiciary
  7. CommitteeReported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 5 On Its Merits · Senate Judiciary
  8. SenatePassed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES21–0 vote
  9. GovernorSigned by Governor

Roll calls

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

Sponsors

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

All 3 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.