Delaware · Senate Bill 31 · 153rd General Assembly

State Employees' Pension Plan/Burial Benefit/Increase

SB 31 Sponsored by Darius J. Brown In committee

  1. Introduced Jan 3, 2025
  2. In committee Jan 3, 2025
  3. Passed the Senate Next
  4. Passed the House  
  5. To the governor  
  6. Became law  

What it does

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

Section 1 of this Act increases the burial benefit for individuals receiving a pension under the State Employees’ Pension Plan (Chapter 55 of Title 29 of the Delaware Code) from $7,000 to $10,000. The amount of this benefit has not been increased since 2001 (See 73 Del. Laws, c. 146, § 5). Section 1 of this Act directly increases the amount of the burial benefit for individuals receiving a pension under the State…

Read the full title (245 words)

Section 1 of this Act increases the burial benefit for individuals receiving a pension under the State Employees’ Pension Plan (Chapter 55 of Title 29 of the Delaware Code) from $7,000 to $10,000. The amount of this benefit has not been increased since 2001 (See 73 Del. Laws, c. 146, § 5). Section 1 of this Act directly increases the amount of the burial benefit for individuals receiving a pension under the State Employees’ Pension Plan and also increases the funeral benefits under additional pension plans because the amount of the benefits under the following pension plans is the same as the amount under § 5546 of Title 29: • The State Police Pension Plan, Chapter 83 of Title 11. • The Delaware County and Municipal Police and Firefighter Pension Plan, Chapter 88 of Title 11. • The early retirement option for state employees, Chapter 53 of Title 29. In addition, Section 1 of this Act increases the reasonable funeral expenses permitted in a wrongful death action under § 3724(d)(4) of Title 10 because the maximum for these damages is the amount under § 5546 of Title 29. Section 2 of this Act delays the effect of this Act until October 1, 2025, to provide time to implement this Act after the enactment of the fiscal year 2026 appropriations act containing the funding for this Act. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Every action

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

  1. CommitteeIntroduced and Assigned to Executive Committee in Senate · Senate Executive
  2. CommitteeReported Out of Committee (Executive) in Senate with 7 On Its Merits · Senate Executive
  3. CommitteeAssigned to Finance Committee in Senate · Senate Finance

Roll calls

No recorded votes on this bill yet.

Sponsors

The member who introduced it, joined by 8 cosponsors: 5 Democrats, 3 Republicans.

All 8 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.