PFAS Firefighting Foam Laws Enacted in Delaware and Pennsylvania

Delaware and Pennsylvania each enacted new restrictions on PFAS chemicals in firefighting foam, New Jersey entered a multistate licensing compact for athletic trainers, and a federal bill proposing a tariff on hemp-derived cannabinoid imports entered the record. The collection day logged 338 items across 12 states and the federal government, with the federal bill count inflated by a known batch collection event rather than a surge in new legislation.

Why it matters: Compliance staff tracking chemical rules now have two newly enacted state statutes to add to their files, licensing boards in states that recognize the athletic trainer compact have one more member state to track, and trade counsel following hemp imports have a new committee filing to watch.

What moved

• An Act To Amend Title 16 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Pfas In Firefighting Foam And Equipment. (HB356), Delaware. The bill prohibits manufacturers from selling class B firefighting foam containing intentionally added PFAS chemicals beginning January 1, 2028, with a limited exemption process for bulk petroleum facilities and manufacturer notification and recall deadlines in 2027 and 2028. Status: Passed (enacted), signed by the governor.

• Providing for medical devices; in Commonwealth services, further providing for assistance to fire companies and EMS companies and for State Fire Commissioner and providing for protection against PFAS chemicals and for firefighting protective equipment; in grants to fire companies and emergency medical services companies, further providing for award of grants; and imposing penalties. (SB804), Pennsylvania. The law restricts PFAS in Class B firefighting foam beginning July 1, 2027 for manufacturers and January 1, 2028 for users, and separately prohibits DEHP in intravenous solution containers and tubing on a phased schedule. Status: Passed (enacted) as Act No. 98 of 2026.

• Enters NJ into Athletic Trainer Compact. (S4113), New Jersey. The law enters New Jersey into a multistate licensure agreement letting licensed athletic trainers practice across member states through a compact privilege system, with uniform eligibility standards and an interstate commission overseeing administration. Status: Passed (enacted) as P.L. 2026, Chapter 66.

• Protecting American Hemp Farmers Act (HB10929), federal. The bill would impose a 50 percent tariff on hemp-derived cannabinoid products imported from China and require Customs and Border Protection testing for contaminants in imported cannabinoid products. Status: Introduced; next step is committee or floor action in the House Committee on Ways and Means. National coverage of tariffs and trade policy ran at roughly two and a half times its trailing pace on November 4; this hemp tariff bill is the day's federal filing on that subject.

• Medicaid waivers; consumer-directed services, employer of record. (HB470), Virginia. The bill directs Virginia's Department of Medical Assistance Services to seek federal authorization allowing Medicaid waiver beneficiaries receiving consumer-directed services to serve as their own employer of record, with limits on redesignation to twice per calendar year. Status: Engrossed (passed one chamber); next step is action in the other chamber.

By the numbers

• Federal regulations: 95 entered the record, against a trailing weekday average of about 71. Federal court opinions: 92, against a trailing weekday average of about 82.
• Bills across all jurisdictions: 22 entered the record, against a trailing weekday average under one, with the last comparable count on September 25. November 4 is a data-load day (a legislative sweep recorded 1,294 new bills and 1,822 changes), so this reflects a batch of bill collection rather than a surge in legislative activity. Bill collection arrives in batches, so this reflects when bills were collected, not when they were introduced.
• States combined logged 142 items across 12 states. Ohio logged 40 regulations against a trailing weekday average of about 26. California logged 35 court opinions against a trailing weekday average of about 19. Florida logged 33 regulations against a trailing weekday average of about 43. Alaska logged 17 regulations against a trailing weekday average of about 13.

Bill actions

No tracked bill carried an action dated November 4 among tracked bills.

Methodology

"Collected" means the date OmniLegislation's pipeline processed a record, not the date on the underlying source document. Counts are deduplicated processed records from OmniLegislation's own pipeline, and item descriptions come from the pipeline's own summaries of each record. Baselines are trailing 30 day daily averages for the same kind of day, weekdays against weekdays, excluding known bulk-load days; the highest single-day counts are measured since tracking began on April 5, 2026, and include load days, which are labelled. Bill actions cover tracked bills only. This report covers November 4, 2026. Bill records originate from LegiScan; court opinions from CourtListener, a Free Law Project service; federal regulations from the Federal Register.