End-of-life option bill clears General Assembly

After more than a decade of discussions, debate and rewrites, a bill allowing end-of-life options for terminally ill patients passed the General Assembly.

The vote was tight in the Senate; however, when the bill was brought for reconsideration June 25, it passed 11-10 after failing in the Senate June 20. The bill passed the House 21-16 with four absent June 18.

It now goes to Gov. John Carney for consideration. If he does not sign it into law, he could veto and return it to the General Assembly, which would then need a two-thirds vote in order to pass. If the recent Senate vote were to stand, the bill would fail.

Carney could also let the bill become law by not signing it within a 10-working-day limit. Carney could not be reached for comment before the Cape Gazette’s deadline.

House Bill 140, known as the Ron Silverio/Heather Block End-of-Life Options Law, was named in honor of two terminally ill advocates for medical aid in dying who died before they could see the bill pass. Block was a Lewes resident.

“This is an issue about allowing adults facing a terminal illness to make critical decisions about their last days. Many people in the last stages of life wish to make their own choices regarding their life and their suffering,” said Rep. Paul Baumbach, D-Newark, in a press release.

Patients must be under a physician’s care and be cognizant of their decision, according to the bill.

House overrides Carney veto

In a highly unusual move, Carney vetoed a house bill that cleared the General Assembly by wide margins to increase transparency and accountability for the State Employee Benefits Committee. HB 282 with House Amendment 1, HA 2 and Senate Amendment 1, which earlier unanimously passed both House and Senate, would add procedural requirements to committee meetings, revise the membership of the SEBC, and require that the secretary of the Department of Human Resources inform state employees and retired state employees (eligible pensioners) about changes in benefits coverages affecting eligible pensioners who are receiving or eligible to receive retirement benefits under the state employees' pension plan, including proposed changes. Specifically, it removes the Delaware retiree appointed by the governor and adds two members who are Delaware residents eligible to receive healthcare insurance under state law.

In a statement, Carney said he vetoed the bill because he said the bill does nothing to rein in healthcare costs.

“It will make solving these problems more difficult,” Carney wrote in his veto statement. “Over the long term, these changes will likely lead to higher taxes, reduced state services, or a greater cost burden on active state employees, including teachers, law enforcement officers and other public servants. That is unacceptable.”

The bill returned to the House June 26, when it passed 40-0 with only one absent. Speaker of the House Rep. Valerie Longhurst, D-Bear, said the vote was the first successful veto override in 47 years.

“I have the utmost respect for Gov. Carney; however, the House of Representatives has a duty to implement legislation that positively affects the state, and a majority of legislators agree that HB 282 will do that,” Longhurst said in a statement.

The bill returned to the Senate for a final vote June 27, after the Cape Gazette’s deadline.

Now law with no signature

HB 281 with HA 3 and SA 1 became law after Gov. John Carney did not sign or veto it within the 10-working-day window. The bill passed the Senate May 23 with 39 votes and two absent and unanimously passed the Senate May 22 to allow a plan under Medicare Part C, a Medicare Advantage Plan, as an option for eligible pensioners who are first hired on or after Jan. 1, 2025, if the plan is selected and adopted by the State Employee Benefits Committee as a regulation under the Administrative Procedures Act.

Awaiting governor action

HB 287 unanimously passed the Senate June 26 and passed the House May 7 with 35 votes and six absent to require that an owner be reimbursed up to $1,500 annually for veterinary care expenses paid by the owner for the care of a law enforcement canine retired from a police department of a political subdivision of the state.

HB 328 unanimously passed the Senate June 26 and passed the House March 21 with 32 votes and nine absent to extend a sunset clause to 2030 for motorcyclists to use pulsating headlights as a way to alert other drivers of their presence, without allowing the use of flashing lights that would otherwise be used on emergency vehicles. 

HB 402 unanimously passed the Senate June 26 and passed the House 25-15 with one absent June 13 to require new schools and state buildings over 50,000 square feet to meet certain requirements to ensure that the building's roof is able to support solar energy infrastructure.

HS 1 for HB 270 with HA 1 passed the Senate 15-6 June 26 to create a civil penalty for any sale or display of ammunition that allows the ammunition to be accessible to a purchaser or transferee without the assistance of the vendor or an employee of the vendor. Ammunition in an enclosed display case, behind a counter or other customer access-preventing device is not considered accessible for purposes of this section.

HB 9 with HA 1 passed the Senate 16-5 June 26 and passed the House June 11 23-14 with four absent to require that all passenger vehicles and light-duty vehicles owned and operated by the state be zero-emission vehicles by 2040 by requiring increasing volumes of zero emission vehicles every few years. The Office of Management and Budget shall be authorized to grant exemptions to these requirements. Law enforcement vehicles and vessels of state agency law enforcement personnel; vehicles owned by the Department of Education, school districts, and charter schools; and designated take-home vehicles shall be exempt from these requirements as well.

SB 275 with SA 1 passed the House 35-2 with four absent June 26 and unanimously passed the Senate May 23 to combat aggressive driving and dangerous speed differentials on targeted roadways. For a first occurrence, a civil penalty of not less than $25 nor more than $75; for a subsequent occurrence, a civil penalty of not less than $57.50 nor more than $95.

SB 256 with SA 1 passed the House with 37 votes and four absent June 26 and unanimously passed the Senate June 11 to clarify the attorney general’s existing authority to enforce the state’s consumer protection laws, specifically the attorney general’s ability to pursue civil remedies, such as damages and restitution, without having to show that a person’s violation of a law or regulation enforced by the Department of Justice’s Division of Consumer Protection was wilful.

SB 233 with SA1 passed the House 25-13 with three absent June 26 and passed the Senate 15-6 on April 17 to establish employment protections for certain service employees during changes of ownership.

SB 203 passed the House with 37 votes and four absent June 26 to make changes to the crime of official misconduct by making it a graded penalty from a misdemeanor where the penalty is commensurate to the gravity of the misconduct. The bill passed the Senate 19-2 March 13.

HS 1 for HB 247 with SA 1, the Everyone Gets Home Act, passed the House with 38 votes and three absent with the Senate amendment after unanimously passing the Senate June 25 and originally the House June 13 to sharpen the Department of Transportation’s focus on the three most common types of fatal crashes: intersection (including driveway), roadway departure, and mid-block pedestrian. This act clarifies DelDOT’s authority to designate controlled-access facilities as a safety countermeasure for both intersection and mid-block pedestrian crashes and, when the facility designation has received the consent of county government, requires counties to use their own authority to assist DelDOT in consolidating vehicle entrances and exits to and from the facility. The act authorizes DelDOT to designate roadways as low-speed streets and low-speed local roads, permits counties to request such designations, and expands DelDOT’s discretion to deploy new traffic-control devices in order to reduce fatal crashes. 

SJR 9 passed the House and Senate June 20 for the official revenue, refund and unencumbered funds estimates for Fiscal Year 2024.

SJR 10 passed the House and Senate June 20 for the official general fund estimate for Fiscal Year 2025.

SB 325 passed both House and Senate June 20 for the Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations Act.

SB 326 passed both House and Senate June 20 to appropriate $168,362,517 to provide one-time funded projects through the Office of Management and Budget.

HB 200 with HA 1 unanimously passed the Senate June 25 and passed the House with 39 votes and two absent May 9 to establish a mental health services unit for Delaware high schools. The unit is phased in over three years, beginning in Fiscal Year 2024, to arrive at a final ratio of 250 full-time equivalent students grades 9-12 for a full-time school counselor, school social worker or licensed clinical social worker. Additionally, a unit ratio of 700 full-time equivalent students for grades 9-12 for employment of a full-time school psychologist.

SB 202, sponsored by Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes, passed the House June 25 with 38 votes, two not voting and one absent to increase from $200,000 to $375,000 line-of-duty death benefits for police officers, firefighters, auxiliary and volunteer ambulance and rescue company members, paramedics, and others. The bill unanimously passed the Senate Jan. 23. Two amendments were defeated in the House.

HS 2 for HB 273 with SA 1 unanimously passed the House June 25 after passing the Senate 16-5 June 18 with the Senate amendment. It originally passed the House 29-8 with four absent March 19 to add five additional speech-language diagnoses to the two diagnoses listed in HB 273 and references that all seven speech-language diagnoses are classified in the International Classification of Diseases for billing purposes. 

HS 1 for HB 286 with SA 1 passed the House June 25 with 37 votes and four absent and passed the Senate June 20 with 18 votes and three absent to prohibit discrimination in life insurance based on genetic characteristics, genetic information or the result of any genetic test that is not in a medical record as a basis for an individual's medical diagnosis or the basis of a medical diagnosis included in an individual's pertinent family history. In addition, this act prohibits a person engaged in the business of life insurance from requesting, requiring or purchasing information obtained from an entity providing direct-to-consumer genetic testing.

HB 333 with HA 1 passed the House June 25 with 38 votes and three absent and passed the Senate June 20 with 18 votes and three absent to create the Delaware Artificial Intelligence Commission tasked with making recommendations to the General Assembly and Department of Technology and Information.

HB 334 passed the Senate 16-5 June 25 and the House 29-10 with two absent March 19 to make changes to the Marijuana Control Act.

HB 352 with SA 1 passed the House 37-4 June 25 and the Senate June 20 with 18 votes and three absent to give county code enforcement constables the authority to tow abandoned vehicles on private property.

SB 16 passed the House with 38 votes and three absent June 25 after unanimously passing the Senate May 14 to reflect the long-standing practice of setting the annual salary for members of the governor’s cabinet in the annual operating budget, while making clear that the residency requirement for those positions currently in code has been moved to the Delaware Constitution by SB 15. It also aligns the end of the term of each of the members of the governor’s cabinet with the end of the governor’s term.

SB 166 passed the House 34-2 with five absent and passed the Senate March 21 by an 18-3 vote to allow for the delivery of alcoholic liquors from a restaurant, brewpub, tavern, taproom or other entity with a valid on-premise license. The bill also provides that the acts of a licensed consumer delivery permittee or a delivery driver are not attributable to the retailer.

SB 319 passed the House 38-2 with one absent June 25 and unanimously passed the Senate June 12 to change the requirements for continuing education for doctors related to Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias to require that doctors must only complete two hours of this continuing education once. 

SB 188 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 25 and unanimously passed the Senate Jan. 9 to enact the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact to support the mobility of licensed teachers across state lines.

SB 199 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 25 to clarify the definition of a large healthcare facility in Delaware Code.

SB 206 with SA 1 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 25 and unanimously passed the Senate May 16 to allow use of green lights on municipal owned-and-operated snow-removal equipment and vehicles during winter weather operations.

SS 1 for SB 221 with SA 2, filed by Sen. Dave Wilson, R-Lincoln, passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 25 and unanimously passed the Senate April 24 to require the Department of State to provide a state or U.S. flag to be draped over the coffin of the Delaware National Guard, fire or police department member who has served at least 10 years, if requested by next of kin. 

SB 257 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 25 and unanimously passed the Senate April 23 to change Delaware’s law related to liability insurance for rental vehicles. The minimum level of coverage required for a vehicle owner’s policy of liability insurance is also required for a vehicle owner’s rental of a vehicle.

SB 272 with SA 1 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 25 and unanimously passed the Senate May 16 to require health insurance providers to provide the same reimbursement to pharmacists that is already provided to other providers performing the same services at the same rates as advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants.

HS 2 for HB 110 passed the Senate 15-6 June 25 and the House May 23 by a 26-11 vote with four absent to require all health benefit plans delivered or issued for Medicaid to cover services related to the termination of pregnancy. Coverage provided under this section is not subject to any deductible, coinsurance, copayment or any other cost-sharing requirement and may not impose restrictions on services inconsistent with state law.

HB 369 unanimously passed the Senate June 26 and passed the House May 15 with 39 votes and two absent to define a successor professional engineer and delineate the acceptable parameters for a successor professional engineer’s use or reliance upon work performed by the previous professional engineer in responsible charge.

SB 305 with SA 1 passed the House 34-3 with four absent June 26 and unanimously passed the Senate June 11 to streamline and modernize the State Early Childhood Education Program.

SB 287 passed the House with 36 votes and five absent June 26 and passed the Senate May 23 by 18-3 to clarify duties and powers of the auditor of accounts.

SB 261 passed the House 36-1 with four absent June 26 and passed the Senate May 7 by 19 with two absent to amend Delaware code provisions that govern the Delaware Health Facilities Authority. 

SB 208 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 25 and unanimously passed the Senate Jan. 25 to amend law related to medical negligence insurance and litigation.

SS 1 for SB 212 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 25 and passed the Senate March 20 with 20 votes and one not voting to codify the Bureau of Health Equity in the Division of Public Health, which includes the Office of Minority Health and the Office of Women’s Health. The purpose of the BHE is to ensure that everyone in Delaware will achieve their full health potential by eliminating health disparities, particularly among all racial and ethnic minority groups.

SB 234 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 25 and unanimously passed the Senate March 26 to extend the timeframe for a customer to apply for a document fee credit refund from 15 days to 30 days. This change will improve customer service by allowing a customer more time to submit the applicable paperwork.

SB 239 with SA 1 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 25 and unanimously passed the Senate May 14 to remove the five-year term limit imposed upon hearing officers appointed by the secretary of Labor. It also removes the political party affiliation rule when considering new candidates that held that the number of officers from one major political party shall not exceed a majority of one. The act removes references to reappointments and clarifies that the removal of a hearing officer is made consistent with the State Merit Rules.

HB 23 unanimously passed the Senate June 25 and passed the House March 21 by 31 votes with 10 absent to allow more flexibility for higher education assistance for students in foster care by allowing money to be used for direct and indirect educational expenses. It also removes the one year residency requirement for applicants. 

HS1 for HB 255 with amendments unanimously passed the Senate June 25 and passed the House with 38 votes and three absent April 16 to update the Boiler Safety Program so it can issue certificates of compliance and the Secretary can grant variances. A 6th member is added to the Boiler Safety Council from associated labor unions. It adds an enforcement section for violators who fail to comply with Program requirements.

HB 279 with HA1 unanimously passed the Senate June 25 and passed the House March 12 by 39-1 with one absent requiring when a new school is constructed or a major renovation is undertaken, the construction or renovation must include certain safety features, including a secured vestibule and the installation of "ballistic resistant glass or other ballistic resistant materials" in certain areas of the school.

HB 355 passed the Senate 16-5 June 25 and the House March 28 with 38 votes and three absent to provide legal protections for financial institutions and other entities that provide financial or accounting services to cannabis-related businesses that are licensed or registered under Delaware law. Specifically, it clarifies that banks, credit unions, armored car services, and providers of accounting services are not subject to prosecution under Delaware law merely by providing lawful services to licensed businesses engaged in the production, distribution and sale of cannabis in Delaware. This Act aims to facilitate the operation of cannabis-related businesses by helping to ensure that such businesses have access to necessary financial and accounting services.

HB 358 with HA1 unanimously passed the Senate June 25 and passed the House May 9 with 37 votes and four absent to address the Board of Elevator Mechanics law, and remove the master distinction. This bill requires passage by a 3/5 majority because it authorizes fees for licensure and licensure renewals. 

HB 364 unanimously passed the Senate June 25 and passed the House June 11 with 39 votes and two absent to require that individual, blanket, and group health insurance carriers cover drug treatment for the associated conditions of metastatic cancer in the same way treatment for metastatic cancer is covered. Specifically, it requires insurance companies to cover any FDA approved drug prescribed to treat the side effects of metastatic cancer treatment and prohibits insurance companies from mandating that patients first fail to respond to a different drug or prove a history of failure of such drug.

HB 382 unanimously passed the Senate June 25 and passed the House May 23 with 38 votes and three absent to require that public school students receive a vision screening, including a test for color blindness, in kindergarten. Students must also receive vision screenings at appropriate intervals in grades 1 through 12, to be determined by the DOE.

HB 405 unanimously passed the Senate June 25 and the House June 13 to remove the requirement that a juvenile can only be referred to the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation Program a second or subsequent time if the juvenile’s prior referral was for a different offense than the second referral, allowing a juvenile to be referred for the same offense if the juvenile is otherwise qualified. 

HB 23 unanimously passed the Senate June 25 to amend the Ivyane Davis Memorial Scholarship Fund, and other child advocate programs. It passed the House March 21 with 31 votes and 10 absent.

HS1 for HB 255 unanimously passed the Senate June 25 to update the Boiler Safety Program allowing them to issue certificates of compliance, and the secretary to grant variance. A sixth member is added to the Boiler Safety Council from associated labor unions, and it adds an enforcement section for violators who fail to comply with program requirements. The bill passed the House April 16 with 38 votes and three absent.

HB 364 unanimously passed the Senate June 25 to require that individual, blanket, and group health insurance carriers cover drug treatment for the associated conditions of metastatic cancer in the same way treatment for metastatic cancer is covered. It passed the House June 11 with 39 votes and two absent.

HB 382 unanimously passed the Senate June 25 to require that public school students receive a vision screening, including a test for color blindness, in kindergarten. Students must also receive vision screenings at appropriate intervals in grades 1 through 12, to be determined by the Department of Education. The bill passed the House May 23 with 38 votes and three absent.

SB 194 passed the House by 39-1 with one absent to allow pharmacists, under protocol approved by the Division of Public Health, to provide HIV pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis treatments. The bill passed the Senate March 28 by a 16-5 vote.

HB 401 unanimously passed the Senate June 26 and the House June 13 to require the Division of Public Health to provide the results of lead screenings or tests to school nurses and require contracts or computer upgrades to include lead results.

HB 204 with HA1 and SA1 unanimously passed the House June 26 with the senate amendment and the Senate June 25 after earlier passing the House with 39 votes and two absent to grant authority to the Department of Health and Social Services to adopt regulations related to the operation of temporary staffing agencies that staff temporary nurses and other staff positions in long-term care facilities in the state and assign oversight within DHSS to the Division of Health Care Quality.

SA1 for SB 197 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 26 to require state agencies purchase only native plants, including cultivars and hybrids of native plants, in the development of new landscaped areas and in the rehabilitation of existing landscaped areas beginning Jan. 1, 2026. The bill uanimously passed the Senate Jan. 25.

SB 249 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 26 and passed the Senate 19-1 with one absent April 25 to amend law relating to captive insurance to provide the commissioner with additional flexibility to approve those types of financial institutions that would be authorized to hold required capital and surplus of captive insurance companies. 

SB 251 with SA1 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 26 and unanimously passed the Senate April 24 to revamp and rename the Delaware Institute of Veterinary Medical Education to the Delaware Veterinary Medicine Education Advisory Council, and provides the council work with both the Department of Education and the Department of Agriculture to establish a robust program that assists Delaware students interested in practicing veterinary medicine, encourages the students to return to Delaware to practice, and develops programs of education and training in veterinary medicine-related fields and research.

SB 279 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 26 and unanimously passed the Senate May 21 to add that ballistic resistant film may be used in addition to ballistic resistant glass for a safety feature of a new school or major renovation.

SB 297 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 26 and unanimously passed the Senate May 21 to acknowledge the importance of diversity and inclusivity in education by requiring the Department of Education to update content standards and regulations using a nonexhaustive list of racial, ethnic, and cultural groups.

SB 302 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 26 and unanimously passed the Senate June 11 to allow a licensed brewery-pub located within the premises of a public golf course to apply to the commissioner for a license to sell alcoholic beverages to patrons of the golf course if the brewery-pub and public golf course share common ownership.

SB 306 with SA1 and SA2 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 26 and unanimously passed the Senate June 11 to change criteria for employers who currently qualify for the uniform experience rating plan as approved by the Insurance Commissioner or who otherwise qualify for the program pursuant to parameters set by the Insurance Commissioner by regulation.

SB 320, sponsored by Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes, passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 26 and unanimously passed the Senate June 12 to create a new license category of speech/language pathology assistant that is licensed and regulated by the Board of Speech/Language Pathologists, Audiologists, and Hearing Aid Dispensers. 

HB 254 with HA1 unanimously passed the Senate June 26 and the House May 14 to amend the charter of the Town of Millville.

HB 190 with HA1 unanimously passed the Senate June 26 and passed the House with 39 votes and two absent April 16 to update the current law relating to the Spay Neuter Fund and the administration of that fund to make it easier to administer the fund and animal population control programs. 

HS2 for HB 252 unanimously passed the Senate June 26 and passed the House March 19 with 37 votes and four absent to grant graduates of the Delaware Institute of Higher Education teacher-residency program one year of experience credit in addition to any other experience. The goal is to incentivize a new graduate who has completed the year long Delaware residency program to stay and teach in Delaware by elevating their starting pay grade level by giving them one year of experience credit.

HS1 for HB 253 with HA1 unanimously passed the Senate June 26 and passed the House with 34 votes and seven absent on April 18 to require health insurance companies, including state employee/retiree health plans and Medicaid, to cover annual mammograms for the purpose of early detection for a woman 40 years of age or older, with or without referral from the woman’s health care provider. It also prohibits mammography facilities from requiring that women, 40 years of age or older, provide the facility with the name of a healthcare provider in order to receive an annual screening mammogram.

HS1 for HB 293 unanimously passed the Senate June 26 and passed the House with 34 votes and seven absent on April 18 would require that the Department of Elections ensure that polling places are accessible to voters with disabilities and elderly voters. It allows exceptions for states of emergency as determined by the Election Commissioner, or for circumstances in which no accessible polling place in a particular polling area is available and the Election Commissioner ensures that those voters impacted are provided with an alternative accessible polling place or alternative means for casting a ballot upon advance request.

HB 386 unanimously passed the Senate June 26 and passed the House May 23 with 37 votes and four absent to revise the definition of “massage establishment” by repealing the exemption for all business establishments licensed under Delaware law. This exemption allows a massage practitioner to work in a licensed cosmetology shop that does not hold a massage establishment license. 

HB 392  unanimously passed the Senate June 26 and passed the House June 11 with 39 votes and two absent to enable the Delaware Department of Agriculture, subject to the availability of funding, to reimburse eligible dairy operators in the state for the cost of the premium to enroll in the USDA program.

House passed

HCR 146 supports the Redding Commission for Educational Equity’s recommendations to move immediately to support Christina School District’s City of Wilmington students and to plan for the eventual withdrawal of the Christina School District from the City of Wilmington.

HB 155 with amendments passed the House June 18 by 25-16 to make the unsafe storage of a firearm in a vehicle a class A misdemeanor if the person knowingly leaves a firearm unattended in a vehicle and the firearm is not stored in a locked box or container, a firearms rack that is on the motor vehicle, or locked in the trunk. The bill passed both the House and Senate in 2023 but returned to the House and then again to the Senate with another amendment.

HCR 153 directs the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Social Services to jointly produce a report outlining the creation of a student injury monitoring system. The system is intended to facilitate the sharing of injury information from medical professionals to school nurses, counselors, athletic trainers, and any other necessary medical professionals working in schools, focusing on injuries that require surgery, pain management, physical therapy, and concussions, while ensuring compliance with health information privacy laws.

HCR 143 passed by voice vote to encourage the Delaware medical community to educate the citizens of Delaware about the forced organ harvesting that occurs in China, in the event they decide to travel to China for an expedited transplant. 

SB 15 passed the House with 38 votes and three absent June 25 and unanimously passed the Senate May 14 to amend the Delaware Constitution to require each holdover cabinet member to be reconfirmed at the beginning of each term of the Governor. The bill also would enshrine residency requirements for cabinet-level positions in the Constitution rather than in code where those rules are currently delineated. The 153rd General Assembly must pass the bill with a ⅔ vote in order to amend the Constitution.

HCR 160 passed the House June 26 calling for the formation of a formal steering froup to guide the planning and implementation of a medical school in Delaware.

HB 297 with HA1 passed the House June 26 with 38 votes and two absent to increase the funding required to be secured by a developer to ensure the developer fulfills the developer's obligations to construct and complete improvements within a subdivision. It’s now LOT in the Senate.

HS1 for HB 387 passed the House with 39 votes and two absent June 26 to clarify Delaware’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprises for large public works projects. Now LOT in the Senate.

HS1 for HB 389 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 26 to provide for an annual raffle license that will allow for the holding of up to 20 raffle events a year. If obtained, the organization must provide notice to the Board at least 7 days prior to any raffle event but does not have to include details of the prizes or values in the notice. The bill is LOT in the Senate.

HB 417 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 26 to remove statute of limitations to allow survivors of child sexual abuse that occurred in Delaware to file suit against their abusers in the Superior Court at any time. This is intended to apply retroactively. The bill is LOT in the Senate.

Senate passed

SCR 201 unanimously passed June 25 to establish the Public Education Funding Commission to continue the comprehensive review of public education funding for all students and populations served by district and charter schools, develop a roadmap of recommendations to implement improvements to the public education funding system, and serve as an ongoing body to review the funding annually and recommend updates and changes.

SCR 193 unanimously passed the Senate June 26 directing the DIAA to analyze data regarding the disparity in public and private school team championship sanctioned events.

HB 311 with HA1, HA2 passed the Senate 15-6 June 26 with a Senate amendment and returns to the House after originally passing the House 24-16 with one absent June 13 to add post-secondary colleges and universities to the Safe School Zone criminal offense so that any person who knowingly possesses a firearm, as defined in Title 11, while in or on a college or university facility or campus may be charged with this additional offense. The same exceptions set forth in the statute will apply to a college or university. This Act also adds commissioned security guards to the categories of individuals who may possess a firearm while acting in their official capacity within a Safe School Zone. A person convicted under this section will be guilty of a Class E felony. SA1 was added June 25.

HS1 for HB 191 with amendments passed the Senate 16-4 with one not voting June 26 to provide clarity on the process by which a tenant may file an action in the Justice of the Peace Court to withhold rent payments in escrow. Specifically, the bill provides what the tenant must file in order to bring such action and how such actions proceed in court. This substitute bill also provides the remedy of termination of lease when the conditions of the rental unit threatens the life, health, or safety of the tenant or a member of the tenant’s household. The bill passed the House in June 2023 by 22-1 with two not voting and 16 absent, and returns with the senate amendments.. 

SB 329 unanimously passed the Senate June 26 to define “United States military pension” for the exclusion for taxable income.

HB 378 with SA1 unanimously passed the Senate June 26 and returns to the House after originally passing the  House May 16 with 37 votes and three absent to require health spas selling subscription services online to provide a prospective buyer of such a subscription the right to cancel the automatic renewal online.

SB 292 with HA2 passed the House with 37 votes and four absent June 26 and returns to the Senate with the amendment after originally passing the Senate May 23 by 18-3 to update the statute on disclosure of pupil records to ensure compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, so that educational records of students, and personally identifiable information contained therein, may only be disclosed or redisclosed in accordance with FERPA and its implementing regulations. 

SB 311 with HA1 passed the House with 37 votes and four absent June 26 and returns to the Senate with the amendment after originally unanimously passed the Senate June 13 to provide the ability for charter schools to hire the administrators that they deem beneficial to the success of the school’s education program and the needs of students and staff. HA1 was added by Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach.

Committee action

House Agriculture

HB 449 removes the requirement that Kent County establish a Farmland Preservation Advisory Board.

House Appropriations Committee

HB 360 with HA1 would add Eid ul-Fitr to a legal state holiday that would rotate on a 3-year basis between Diwali, Eid ul-Fitr, and Yom Kippur, so that only one of those holidays would be a legal state holiday in any given year. 

HB 330 with HA1 passed the House June 20 with 38 votes and three absent to increase the amount of the annual appropriation to prefund future state employee retiree health insurance as recommended by the Retiree Healthcare Benefits Advisory Subcommittee of the State Employee Benefits Committee. This appropriation must be included in the plan for proposed expenditures that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget submits to the Governor and in the Governor's Budget Appropriation Bill. This act also revises existing law to allow the current practice of making the annual payment to the OPEB Fund of 1% of the operating budget appropriations for the prior fiscal year in a supplementary appropriation. 

HB 438 with HA1 would change the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program by removing the employer as the party responsible for making eligibility determinations and claims decisions and instead reallocates this responsibility to the Department of Labor and gives the Department authority to enter into contracts with other entities to review and adjudicate claims for benefits.

HB 434 would require DNREC to be transparent and citizen friendly in how it conducts public hearings by returning to the pre-COVID in-person public hearing process. The bill requires DNREC to hold public hearings having a physical location allowing the public to attend and testify in person. These hearings may allow virtual participation in addition to in-person participation. All public hearings must be noticed for at least 2 hours of testimony and in no event shall testimony be limited to less than 1 minute per person.

SB 195 passed the Senate June 20 by 17 votes with four absent to improve advanced health directives in the state.

House Health & Human Development Committee

HB 452 would require that all rental units constructed before January 1, 1978, are certified as lead free or lead safe by a specific deadline. Lead inspectors must be approved by the State to conduct inspections and if necessary, lead abatement and remediation. A certificate exemption may be issued for no more than 6 months.

House Housing Committee

SS1 for SB 247 passed the Senate June 18 with 20 votes and one not voting to protect residents of manufactured housing communities from landlords who seek to impose rent increases even while refusing to address outstanding health and safety violations.

HB 450 creates a rental housing registry for the State of Delaware that is searchable by the public. In addition to basic information about the rental unit, the landlord must provide the results of any lead-based paint inspection or risk assessment of a unit constructed before Jan. 1, 1978.

House Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee

SB 262 with  SA2 unanimously passed the Senate June 25 to permit trucks with five or more axles that are hauling farm produce grown in this state and traveling from the farm on which the farm produce is grown to a location at which the farm produce is to be processed or stored, or from a location at which the farm produce is processed or stored to an export facility within this state, to weigh up to 90,000 pounds or combined manufacturer’s gross combined weight rating, whichever is less, before a penalty is assessed for exceeding weight restrictions. A truck hauling farm produce is granted this increased weight limit if the truck complies with several conditions aimed at ensuring public safety. 

Senate Education Committee

SB 191 generally requires a student athlete to compete for athletic teams or in sports associated with their biological sex, as determined at or near birth and based on the student’s birth certificate or other government record if a birth certificate is unobtainable. An exception is permitted to allow female athletes to compete in male sports if a corresponding female sport is not available. To facilitate this Act, a school district, charter school, or Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association member school must designate an athletic team or sport sponsored by the school district, charter school, or Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association member school based on the biological sex of students.

Senate Elections & Government Affairs

HB 411 with HA1 passed the House June 20 with 36 votes and five absent to hold current members of Delaware Volunteer Fire Departments to the same standards as applicants with relation to criminal activity.

HB 437 passed the House June 20 with 40 votes and one absent to modify the Delaware Commission of Veterans’ Affairs employee requirements to make the Executive Director an exempt position, and to allow the hiring of non-veteran employees when needed.

Senate Executive Committee

SB 311 unanimously passed the Senate June 13 to provide the ability for charter schools to hire the administrators that they deem beneficial to the success of the school’s education program and the needs of students and staff. 

Senate Finance Committee

HB 124 passed the House June 18 by 35-4 with two absent to eliminate animal noise and noise disturbances from the Noise Control and Abatement Chapter in state code. This bill adds restrictions concerning barking dogs with other provisions concerning dogs currently being enforced by the Office of Animal Welfare, and does not prohibit municipalities from enforcing their own dog laws or ordinances if they have their own enforcement agency. This bill clarifies that police officers shall assist the Office of Animal Welfare, as occasion requires, with the enforcement of all State and local dog control laws. 

HB 330 passed the House June 20 with 38 votes and three absent to increase the amount of the annual appropriation to prefund future state employee retiree health insurance as recommended by the Retiree. 

HB 347 passed the House June 11 with 38 votes and three absent to give nonexempt Delaware Department of Transportation employees who work over 37.5 hours to be paid at time and a half.

HB 340 unanimously passed the House June 18 to authorize the creation of Family Justice Centers within Delaware to provide victims of crime with a single source to obtain resources and support services.

Senate Judiciary Committee

HB 165 passed the House June 20 by 32-1 with eight absent to codify the prosecution’s obligation under Brady v. Maryland, which requires the prosecution to provide evidence favorable to an accused. The purpose of this bill is to ensure the fairness and finality of criminal trials and guilty plea by requiring that the accused in every criminal case promptly receives all information and evidence favorable that is material to guilt or to punishment. The bill sets for what the prosecution must mandatorily disclose to the defense, which includes information relating to the credibility of a police officer and impeachment evidence of government witnesses such as favorable treatment of the witness’s criminal charges. The bill sets forth the process and timing of such disclosure and requires the prosecutor on the case to file a certificate of compliance with the court, and the bill provides a process by which the state can seek a protective order relating to the disclosure of information it must disclosure if the state can show that disclosure would create a substantial risk of physical harm, intimidation, bribery, economic reprisals or unnecessary annoyance or embarrassment.

SB 333 would eliminate the requirement that a school, school district, or licensed child care provider keep sex offender community notifications in a binder, and lets people know notifications can be found online.

SB 334 would allow discharge of firearms under certain conditions, including the use of an artificial or natural barrier, allows for less required distance for archery equipment, and exempts lands designated as training areas by the Department of Natural Resources, the Delaware National Guard, the Department of Corrections, or other law enforcement agency which are primarily used for the training of firearms and firearm safety.