Delaware Senate Passes Bill Granting Subpoena Powers to Counties to Ensure Fair Market Property Values
March 12, 2026/
The Delaware Senate has passed a bill rounding out the first wave of legislation that officials say was aimed at rectifying the recent statewide property reassessment process that caused property taxes to spike for thousands of Delawareans. Senate Bill 230(S), sponsored by Senator Spiros Mantzavinos, grants subpoena power to all three Delaware counties so finance officials can efficiently access testimony and documentary evidence used to determine the fair market value of real property. Senate Bill 230(S) then passed the Senate for a final time on Wednesday and now heads to the Governor鈥檚 desk for approval. This legislation is the second of two bills introduced in January related to the property reassessment process. Senate Bill 228(S), sponsored by Senator Dan Cruce, granted authority to the Office of Finance for New Castle County to conduct a quality control review of non-residential tax parcels to ensure they were accurately assessed. The measure further enables New Castle County to correct valuation errors it may find as part of its review.