republic-os/legislation/us/states/de/152/hb-162.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, legislature, session, identifier, citation, classification, subjects, status, primary_sponsors, version_count, action_count, vote_count, first_action, last_action, source, source_identifier, source_url, source_hash, vintage, source_snapshot, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	legislature	session	identifier	citation	classification	subjects	status	primary_sponsors	version_count	action_count	vote_count	first_action	last_action	source	source_identifier	source_url	source_hash	vintage	source_snapshot	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
Bill	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 9, 12, 16, 24, AND 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO HUMAN REMAINS.	House Bill 162 authorizes the process of natural organic reduction to be used in this State. Natural organic reduction is the gentle, respectful process that accelerates the decomposition of human remains to soil. This process uses large vessels to hold human remains together with straw, wood chips, or other natural materials for about 30 days. The human remains and organic materials, mixed together with warm air, are periodically turned and the process eventually results in reduction of the human remains to a soil material that can then be provided to the deceased individual's family. Natural organic reduction is considered a more eco-friendly cremation alternative, forgoing the usage of formaldehyde and the release of carbon dioxide and mercury into the atmosphere. The process also uses 1/8 the energy of cremation.	us/states/de	Delaware General Assembly	152	HB 162	Delaware HB 162 (152)	bill		enacted	Bryan Townsend Cyndie Romer Eric Morrison Kendra Johnson Kerri Evelyn Harris Laura V. Sturgeon Marie Pinkney Paul S. Baumbach Peter C. Schwartzkopf Sarah McBride Sean M. Lynn Sean Matthews Sherry Dorsey Walker Trey Paradee	2	12	2	2023-06-22	2024-05-16	openstates	ocd-bill/9e814bd7-a9bc-4db8-9c13-ceca8dcdaf03	https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=140705	3d76db53e5e22b7235e5bf67b8aff605e69384b3b38caf82f2270433043a2612	2026-07-01	https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump	2026-07-06	reported	legislation bill us-de

Delaware HB 162 (152) — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 9, 12, 16, 24, AND 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO HUMAN REMAINS.

House Bill 162 authorizes the process of natural organic reduction to be used in this State. Natural organic reduction is the gentle, respectful process that accelerates the decomposition of human remains to soil. This process uses large vessels to hold human remains together with straw, wood chips, or other natural materials for about 30 days. The human remains and organic materials, mixed together with warm air, are periodically turned and the process eventually results in reduction of the human remains to a soil material that can then be provided to the deceased individual's family. Natural organic reduction is considered a more eco-friendly cremation alternative, forgoing the usage of formaldehyde and the release of carbon dioxide and mercury into the atmosphere. The process also uses 1/8 the energy of cremation.

Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. Bill Text (committee substitute) — source
2. HA 3 to HS 1 for HB 162 (committee substitute) — source

Votes

• SM — 37–2 (pass) · lower
• SM — 14–7 (pass) · upper

Sponsors

• Bryan Townsend — primary (person)
• Cyndie Romer — primary (person)
• Eric Morrison — primary (person)
• Kendra Johnson — primary (person)
• Kerri Evelyn Harris — primary (person)
• Laura V. Sturgeon — primary (person)
• Marie Pinkney — primary (person)
• Paul S. Baumbach — primary (person)
• Peter C. Schwartzkopf — primary (person)
• Sarah McBride — primary (person)
• Sean M. Lynn — primary (person)
• Sean Matthews — primary (person)
• Sherry Dorsey Walker — primary (person)
• Trey Paradee — primary (person)

Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

• 2023-06-22 was introduced and adopted in lieu of HB 162 introduction
• 2023-06-23 Amendment HA 1 to HS 1 - Introduced and Placed With Bill amendment-introduction
• 2023-06-27 Amendment HA 2 to HS 1 - Introduced and Placed With Bill amendment-introduction
• 2023-06-28 Amendment HA 3 to HS 1 - Introduced and Placed With Bill amendment-introduction
• 2024-01-23 Amendment HA 1 to HS 1 - Stricken in House
• 2024-01-23 Amendment HA 2 to HS 1 - Stricken in House
• 2024-01-23 Amendment HA 3 to HS 1 - Passed In House by Voice Vote amendment-passage
• 2024-01-23 Passed By House. Votes: 37 YES 2 NO 1 NOT VOTING 1 ABSENT passage
• 2024-01-23 Assigned to Health & Social Services Committee in Senate introduction, referral-committee
• 2024-03-13 Reported Out of Committee (Health & Social Services) in Senate with 5 Favorable, 2 On Its Merits committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable
• 2024-03-21 Passed By Senate. Votes: 14 YES 7 NO passage
• 2024-05-16 Signed by Governor executive-signature

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/9e814bd7-a9bc-4db8-9c13-ceca8dcdaf03. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Delaware legislature records).