This Act is a result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's ("JLOSC") review of Adult Protective Services ("APS"). JLOSC approved recommendations to modify several areas of the APS statute, Chapter 39 of Title 31. Based on the recommendations, this Act does all of the following: - Establishes timelines for when the Department of Health and Social Services ("Department") must begin an investigation after receiving a report concerning an allegation of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an adult who is impaired or incapacitated. - Establishes the Department's responsibility to conduct ongoing training programs for relevant staff. - Removes the Adult Protective Services Advisory Council from section 3903, Title 31. This council is absorbed into the existing Council on Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities, through separate legislation. - Modifies the reporting requirement of § 3910(a), Title 31, to specifically establish that health-care professionals have a duty to file a report with the Department when the professional has reasonable cause to believe that an adult who is impaired or incapacitated is in need of protective services; clarifies that privilege does not relieve an individual from the duty to report. - Removes language in § 3904(d)(1) regarding a fee schedule and income criteria process that the Department has not used and does not plan to institute. - Makes many technical changes to modernize and conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
A major environmental concern is the spread of pathogens and invasive species across water bodies. The use of live bait in both non-tidal and tidal waters can inadvertently result in the transfer of invasive species and pathogens to new waters. Freshwater ecosystems are particularly susceptible to invasive species spreading disease and destroying Delaware’s native species and freshwater habitats. This Act requires the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, through regulations, to determine which species of live bait may be harvested, imported, transported, sold, or used, in the tidal and non-tidal waters of the State. This Act requires the Department to post all such promulgated regulations on the Department’s website. This Act also permits the Department, by regulation, to prohibit or restrict the importation or sale of live bait species from other states or countries. This Act is to be implemented the earlier of 6 months after enactment or notice by the Secretary of the Department to the Register of Regulations that final regulations have been adopted.
This Act is the result of a successful pilot project involving disadvantaged business enterprises in State contracts. In 2023, Section 189 of Senate Bill No. 35, as amended by Senate Amendment No. 2, authorized the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to engage in a pilot program to include Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) as part of large public works projects. If an agency elects to award based on best value, this Act allows for projects, valued in excess of $30,000,000, to be scored using DBE usage of at least 10% but no more than 30%. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This House Substitute Bill for House Bill No.387 clarifies that some or all of the objective criteria shall be assigned a specified weight in determining best value. This House Substitute bill also amends the Synopsis.
This Act changes how the Insurance Commissioner and the State Treasurer provide for distributions from taxes collected by the Insurance Commissioner to be made to fire companies or departments in Delaware. The current method for reporting, calculating, and making distributions to fire companies or departments is complex to administer and can lead to incorrect payments. This Act simplifies the reporting process and provides a new method for calculating the funds distributed to fire departments and companies in the City of Wilmington, New Castle County outside of Wilmington, Kent County, and Sussex County. Specifically, it reduces the number of payments per year from two to one, gives the Insurance Commissioner more time to ensure the accuracy of insurer-reported financial data, and establishes detailed guidelines for how the funds should be distributed to the various fire companies or departments. This Act also makes changes to the reporting requirements related to payments made by the State Treasurer to the State Insurance Coverage Office. In addition, this Act amends the requirement related to the Delaware Volunteer Firefighter’s Association (“DVFA”) annual report to the Insurance Commissioner. This requirement is being amended because contrary to what the current statute states, the Insurance Commissioner does not use the report to calculate funding under this section. DVFA is now also required to send its annual report, which details the locations, apparatuses, and equipment maintained for its member fire companies or departments, to the State Fire Prevention Commission. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act is effective January 1, 2025.
According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of death from cancer in men. It is estimated that about 1 in 41 men will die of prostate cancer. According to ZERO Prostate Cancer, Black men face serious health care disparities regarding prostate cancer. 1 in 6 Black men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime compared to 1 in 8 men overall. Black men are also 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with, and 2.1 times more likely to die from, prostate cancer than white men. HB 302 requires all group, blanket, and individual health insurance policies to cover prostate screening for men at risk of prostate cancer. This Substitute bill broadens the definition of “prostate screening” to include any medically necessary and clinically appropriate method for the detection and diagnosis of prostate cancer, including a digital rectal exam and prostate specific antigen test, and associated laboratory work. This Substitute bill also clarifies the ages at which prostate screenings must be covered, consistent with the American Cancer Society guidelines, as follows: (1) Age 50 for men at average risk of developing prostate cancer; (2) Age 45 for men at high risk of developing prostate cancer, including African American men and men who have a first degree relative diagnosed with prostate cancer; and (3) Age 40 for men at even higher risk for prostate cancer, including men who have more than one first degree relative diagnosed with prostate cancer. This Substitute bill also extends the effective date to health insurance policies modified after December 31, 2025, and makes technical corrections.
This bill names the hill east of Mill Creek situated on New Castle County parcel number 08-025-00-018 as “Lieutenant McMichael’s Hill of Eminence”. This was the site of the action during the Revolutionary War that was the most impactful combat event that occurred on Delaware soil.
This Act authorizes the creation of Family Justice Centers within Delaware to provide victims of crime with a single source to obtain resources and support services.
This Act establishes a right to counsel for indigent parents in DSCYF custody proceedings. Parent representation will primarily be provided by a legal services entity contracted with the Family Court, but may also be provided by the Office of Defense Services or a private attorney appointed by the Court.
This Act does the following: (1) Makes amendments to the administration of the Ivyane Davis Memorial Scholarship Fund by removing disbursement requirements to allow more flexibility to scholarship recipients, and clarifying that scholarship funds may be used for direct or indirect educational expenses and may not be used to reduce the amount of a waiver under the Delaware Fostering Independence Through Education Tuition Waiver Program. The Act also removes the 1 year residency requirement preceding application for the scholarship. (2) Makes amendments to the administration of the Delaware Fostering Independence Through Education Tuition Waiver Program by codifying responsibility for administering the program with the Office of the Child Advocate (“Office”), and clarifying the responsibilities of the Office and those of the institutions of higher education. The Act clarifies that the waiver applies to both full-time and part-time students and summer and winter classes. The Act also lowers the maximum age of eligibility from 26 to 25, to bring this Program into alignment with the requirements of the Chafee Educational and Training Voucher program. Finally, the Act mandates that Ivyane Davis Scholarships and Chafee Education and Training Vouchers may not be applied to reduce the amount of the waiver and that students eligible for waivers may not apply for or take out loans to reduce the amount of the waiver. (3) Amends the Office of the Child Advocate’s duties outlined in § 9005A of Title 29 of the Delaware Code to include administration of the Fostering Independence Through Education Tuition Waiver Program. (4) Makes technical corrections for uniformity of language and to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This substitute bill requires the Secretary of DNREC to follow certain procedures when conducting public hearings, while giving discretion to the Secretary in choosing which hearings the procedures apply to. The bill becomes effective August 1, 2024.
This Act prohibits the Family Court from imposing a sentence of incarceration or ordering the suspension of a person’s license for failure to pay court-ordered child support unless it finds that the failure to pay is wilful and not due to an inability of the person to pay the support. This Act also makes technical corrections to correct a typographical error in existing code and to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
House Bill No. 303, with House Amendment No. 2, from the 151st General Assembly created an annual behavioral health well check and required carriers to provide coverage for this service. In order to ensure providers of behavioral health well checks are fairly compensated, HB 303 required carriers to reimburse through common procedural technology (CPT) codes at the same billing rate. The cited CPT codes (99381-99387, 99391-99397) are used for services akin to a typical annual well visit for a new or established patient. Billing for the annual behavioral health well check under these CPT codes may impact the accuracy of state claims data from the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance (DMMA) to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This Act amends Title 31 of the Delaware Code to allow DMMA to develop and implement new billing codes for a behavioral health well check. These developed codes must be comparable to the rates under the cited CPT codes.
