Delaware Bills

signed · Delaware · Senate Jun 30, 2025

SB 121: AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF DEWEY BEACH.

This Act makes amendments to the Charter of the Town of Dewey Beach. Section 1 strikes language regarding budget requirements and process in Section 8(c) of the charter in favor of language that is currently included in Section 22 of the charter, concerning the Town Budget. Section 2 of the Act provides that the Town Manager is responsible for parking administration, in addition to the other enumerated responsibilities of the Town Manager under the current charter. Section 3 of the Act provides that the Town Manager, with the concurrence of the Audit Committee, may terminate the contract of an independent audit firm's contract to perform audit services for the Town. Section 4 of the Act provides that any candidate for Chief of Police who is not certified by the Delaware Council on Police Training must complete the necessary training for certification within 1 year of the date of employment, as a condition of employment. Section 5 of the Act provides that the Beach Patrol Captain is required to serve under a contract of no more than 3 years. Section 6 of the Act strikes redundant language regarding the town's power to borrow money, in favor of language currently included in Section 26 of the charter, concerning Borrowing Money and Issuing Bonds. Section 7 of the Act amends Section 26 of the charter to provide that bonds or other forms of certificates of indebtedness issued by the Town are exempt from all state, county, or municipal taxes and that the Town's indebtedness, in the aggregate, may not exceed $3 million at any one time.

signed · Delaware · Senate Jun 30, 2025

SB 180: AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 25, TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE BOARD OF PHARMACY.

The Board of Pharmacy (“Board”) has worked for several years to amend Chapter 25, Title 24 of the Delaware Code to update the statute governing pharmacy licensure and practice in this State. The result of these efforts is this Act, which modernizes Chapter 25 to include a licensure system similar to those already in place in many other states, reflects current practices and standards, and clarifies the law. The Board’s priority in amending Chapter 25 was to ensure competence and accountability of individuals, pharmacies, and other establishments regulated by the Board. This Act expands and updates the definitions section to include terms related to current practice, such as “compounding” and “outsourcing facilities.” Board membership terms are increased: Board members will be eligible to serve for a maximum of three consecutive, three-year terms. The Board officers are identified as president and vice president. Several sections are added to the Board’s powers and duties, including the authority to promulgate a Code of Ethics. This Act amends the qualifications for licensure as a pharmacist to set forth clearly objective criteria. With respect to licensure as a pharmacist by reciprocity, the “good standing” requirement is clarified, and a criminal background check requirement is added. The requirements for license renewal, reinstatement, and reactivation are amended to provide that, after a certain time period has expired, a licensee will be required to undergo a criminal background check and the licensee’s disciplinary history will be reviewed. This Act revises the potential Grounds for Discipline of pharmacists to include violation of the Code of Ethics. Available sanctions are broadened to include permanent revocation and potential administrative penalties not to exceed $10,000 for the first violation with further penalties optional for subsequent violations. These changes will serve as a deterrent for licensee conduct posing a risk to the public health, safety, and welfare. This Act strikes the provision for “Counseling of Pharmacists” to align statutory language with actual practice. Disciplinary matters are public and are addressed by the entire Board. The requirements for prescription labeling, pharmacy closing, and prescription departments will be addressed in rules and regulations to allow for necessary revisions as practice standards evolve. This Act also revises the requirements for pharmacies and non-resident pharmacies in the interest of objectivity and consistency. Grounds for discipline and available sanctions are expanded. In particular, the Board will have the discretion to impose an administrative penalty not to exceed $250,000 for each violation with further penalties available for ongoing violations. Further, with respect to non-resident pharmacies, the Board will also have the authority to impose administrative penalties, up to $10,000 per day, for the infraction of delivering drugs into Delaware without a license issued by the Board. This Act adds a new section for licensure requirements for manufacturers, wholesale distributors, outsourcing facilities, medical gas distributors, and retail non-pharmacies. Key personnel will be required to undergo criminal background checks. Possible administrative penalties are revised significantly, from $50 per day, to a maximum of $250,000 for each violation with further penalties available for ongoing violations. The option of this sanction will serve as a deterrent for wrongful conduct by establishments that are often delivering drugs from out-of-state into Delaware. This Act also makes revisions to ensure that statutory provisions are consistent with other Title 24 professional licensing board practice acts. Technical corrections serve to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act takes effect 1 year after enactment.

signed · Delaware · House Jun 30, 2025

HB 82: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS.

This Act requires that a school board candidate and member be an “inhabitant” of the district, or designated portion of a district, that member represents. “Inhabitant” is defined for this purpose as “a person who both claims legal residence and physically resides in a designated area or school district.” Further, the bill provides that if a school board member is not physically present in their district for more than 75% of the days in any yearlong period of that member’s term, the member ceases to qualify as an inhabitant. Absence required by military service is not counted as absence for purposes of this statute. This Act provides that a resident of a school district may bring an action in Superior Court asking the Court to declare a vacancy if the resident has cause to believe a member is no longer an inhabitant of that member’s district. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform to the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

signed · Delaware · Senate Jun 30, 2025

SB 183: AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF HARRINGTON RELATING TO TERM LIMITS, BANKING, BUDGET AND AUDIT DEADLINES, SUCCESSION OF AUTHORITY, AND SIGNING CHECKS.

On February 18, 2025, the City of Harrington passed Resolution 25-R-02 to seek support from the General Assembly to amend the City Charter. This Act amends the City of Harrington Charter, as requested by the City Council, by doing all of the following: 1. Removing limitations on the number of terms that an individual may serve as Mayor or a member of the City Council. 2. Removing the requirement that City funds be placed in a bank located in the City and allow the funds to be placed in bank approved by the City Council. 3. Changing the annual budget deadline from May 1 to June 1. 4. Changing the deadline for the auditor of accounts to submit an audit report from within 120 days from the end of the fiscal year to within 150 days from the end of the fiscal year. 5. Removing the Clerk of Council from the succession of authority for Mayor. 6. Allowing an approved member of the City Council to sign checks in the Mayor’s absence. This Act also makes additional requested changes, not included in Resolution 25-R-02, by doing all of the following: 1. Moving the deadline to determine the City’s revenue needs from May 1 to June 1 to match the updated budget deadline. 2. Removing the City Treasurer’s authority to approve and countersign checks or warrants for paying bills or other claims against the City, so that the checks or warrants must be approved and signed by the City Manager and the Mayor, or a Council member designated by the Mayor. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including adding language to clarify that the Vice Mayor is elected from among the City Council members instead of appointed. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend a municipal charter.

signed · Delaware · Senate Jun 30, 2025

SB 187: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EDUCATOR AND SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH PRACTITIONERS SUPPORT PROGRAMS.

The Department of Education (“Department”) currently administers the High Needs Educator Student Loan Repayment Program, the Speech-Language Pathologist Student Loan Repayment Program, and the Mental Health Services Student Loan Repayment Program. Annually, these programs help roughly 600 public school employees, including educators, speech-language pathologists, school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers, through a single application process, by making loan payments directly to student loan lenders. But paying the lenders directly has caused 2 persistent issues: 1. Because the payments are considered taxable income, award recipients have the tax withheld from their paychecks, even though the payments go directly to the lenders. This lowers the award recipients’ take-home pay and can create confusion and hardship. 2. The process involves sending out 600 or more individual checks each year. And many checks are returned or delayed due to changes in lender information or system mismatches. To avoid these issues, the Department recommends combining the 3 different student loan repayment programs into a single program and changing the award process from a system that repays lenders directly to a system that pays stipends to public school employees through the State central payroll operation. These changes would streamline a system that already uses a single application and would do all of the following: 1. Avoid surprise tax impacts and imputed income issues. 2. Reduce administrative burden and failed payments. 3. Provide more timely and transparent support to award recipients. The suggested changes are easy to implement, budget-neutral, and could allow public school employees who previously declined awards due to the tax consequences to benefit from the financial support. This Act makes the changes recommended by the Department by doing all of the following: 1. Eliminates the separate Speech-Language Pathologist Student Loan Repayment Program, Mental Health Services Student Loan Repayment Program, and High Needs Educator Student Loan Repayment Program, and combines them into a single program under § 4163 of Title 14. 2. Shifts payment of awards from paying the lenders directly to paying the award recipients a stipend through the State central payroll operation. 3. Streamlines the process for determining financial need by allowing the Department to focus on collecting the income and loan information that is necessary to fairly allocate program funds. 4. Changes the title of § 4163 of Title 14 from the High Needs Educator Student Loan Repayment Program to the “Public School Employee Support Program for High Need Areas” because the 3 programs are now combined into a single program and the program is no longer a direct student loan repayment program. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Education ✓ Healthcare

signed · Delaware · Senate Jun 30, 2025

SB 195: AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF DELMAR RELATING TO NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS AND THE POWER TO BORROW MONEY AND ISSUE BONDS.

This Act updates the Town of Delmar's Charter as follows: 1) changes the time period in which a candidate must notify the town manager of their candidacy from 10 to 30 days, 2) updates a portion of the charter that was intended to be updated in HB 396 of the 152nd general assembly to increase Delmar's bonding limit from $1,000,000 to $10,000,000, 3) updates the language describing the circumstances in which a voter may be denied to include no longer being a resident of Delmar or other disqualification as described within Delmar's Charter, and 4) changes the word "biannually" to "biennially".

signed · Delaware · House Jun 30, 2025

HB 6: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE AUDITOR OF ACCOUNTS.

This Act allows the Auditor of Accounts to issue subpoenas directly, removing a requirement that the Auditor first file a praecipe with the Superior Court prothonotary. It also allows the Auditor to effect service of such a subpoena, and to apply for a court order if a recipient fails to respond to a subpoena. Failure to comply with such a court order may be punished as contempt of court. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

signed · Delaware · Senate Jun 30, 2025

SB 164: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO WORKERS’ COMPENSATION.

This Act provides a one-time increase of 3% in aggregate worker’s compensation medical expenses to correct reimbursements for medical services coded as evaluation and management (E&M) for worker compensation cases. This is needed as the E&M reimbursement rate for Workers’ Compensation cases has fallen below the reimbursement rate of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services rates. This is a critical need as the State of Delaware is in critical need of physicians to accept and treat worker compensation patients.

Topics ✓ Healthcare ✓ Labor & Employment

signed · Delaware · Senate Jun 30, 2025

SB 171: AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF HOUSTON.

This Act amends the Town of Houston (“Town”) Charter to do all of the following: 1. Gender neutralize the Charter. 2. Clarify the voting rights for multiple owners of a single piece of real estate located in the Town. 3. Change the times for polling and elections. 4. Change the qualifications of Town Councilmembers, the Town Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Alderman, Assistant Alderman, Treasurer, Town Tax Collector, and Town Solicitor. 5. Change the dates on which nominations for Town Councilmembers can be made. 6. Clarify when Town Council meetings may be held and the date when Town Councilmembers can be sworn into office. 7. Change the type of contracts that the Town Council may enter into. 8. Change and clarify how Town taxes may be levied and collected. 9. Change how the Town budget must be posted. 10. Remove the regulation and control of observance of the Sabbath Day. 11. Change the Town’s right to regulate animals, beasts, birds, or fowl. 12. Increase the Town’s ability to levy fines. 13. Remove limits on the amount of revenue the Town may raise. 14. Clarify the utilities the Town may tax. 15. Increase the borrowing limits of the Town. 16. Give the Town greater flexibility to locate a bank to serve the Town. 17. Change the voting rights in special elections. 18. Corrects citations to the Delaware Code. This Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act also incorporates previously enacted changes [64 Del. Laws c. 211] that were inadvertently not included in the online copy of the Town of Houston’s Charter. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend a municipal charter.

signed · Delaware · Senate Jun 30, 2025

SB 145: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION PAYMENTS.

This Act does the following: (1) Updates the Workers’ Compensation Act to reflect current practices and technology including enabling workers’ compensations payments to be by made by direct deposit. (2) Allows the Office of Workers’ Compensation to increase the reimbursement percentage of activities from 66.6% to 100%. This ensures that the inspection and safety functions of the Division of Industrial Affairs are fully covered as they are partially covered right now. Insurance carriers pay the assessment imposed by this section. The annual budget process provides caps or spend authorities on these appropriated special funds on an annual basis. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Topics ✓ Labor & Employment

signed · Delaware · Senate Jun 30, 2025

SB 199: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 26 OF THE DELAWARE CODE AND CHAPTER 44 OF VOLUME 85 OF THE LAWS OF DELAWARE RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES.

This Act amends Chapter 44 of Volume 85 of the Laws of Delaware, formerly Senate Bill No. 159, as amended by Senate Amendment No. 1 and House Amendment No. 1, of the 153rd General Assembly, to delay the effective date of Chapter 44 of Volume 85 of the Laws of Delaware until January 31, 2026, and to repeal the sunset clause in Section of Chapter 44 of Volume 85 of the Laws of Delaware. This Act is retroactive to the enactment of Chapter 44 of Volume 85 of the Laws of Delaware. This Act does not affect or limit the retroactive effect of Section 2 of Chapter 44 of Volume 85 of the Laws of Delaware.

signed · Delaware · Senate Jun 24, 2025

SJR 6: DIRECTING THE DIVISION OF MEDICAID & MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TO EXPLORE CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM INITIATIVES.

This Senate Joint Resolution directs the Division of Medicaid & Medical Assistance (DMMA) to explore amending our Delaware Medicaid State Plan to allow for the adoption of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) From-Conception-to-End-of-Pregnancy (FCEP) option and the creation of a Health Services Initiative (HSI) that will allow our State to use federal funding to partially cover prenatal and postpartum care for individuals otherwise ineligible for free or low-cost health-care coverage due to immigration status. This Joint Resolution also requires DMMA to provide a report to the General Assembly as to its findings no later than January 1, 2026.

Topics ✓ Healthcare

Bill results