Delaware Bills

in committee · Delaware · House Jun 14, 2018

HB 463: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO REIMBURSEMENT FOR AND PROVISION OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS OR PHARMACY SERVICES.

This Act authorizes a pharmacist or pharmacy to decline to dispense a prescription drug or provide a pharmacy service to an “insured” if the amount reimbursed by an entity subject to the Act is less than the pharmacy acquisition cost. This Act also prohibits a pharmacy benefits manager from reimbursing a pharmacist or pharmacy for a prescription drug or pharmacy service in an amount less than the pharmacy benefits manager reimburses itself or an affiliate for the same prescription drug or pharmacy service.

in committee · Delaware · Senate Jun 14, 2018

SB 250: AN ACT TO AMEND THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOL SAFETY.

This Act encourages and provides funding for the installation of detection equipment for deadly weapons, dangerous instruments, and other dangerous things at public, charter, and private schools.

in committee · Delaware · Senate Jun 14, 2018

SB 256: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 31 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR CHILD-SERVING ENTITIES.

This bill adds "youth sports organizations" to the enumerated list of "child servicing entity" that requires background checks to be completed for those that are involved within the organizations. The bill seeks to further protect one of our most vulnerable populations to ensure that we have additional protections in place when it comes to our youth.

in committee · Delaware · House Jun 13, 2018

HB 460: AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE VIII, § 6 OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO LIMITATIONS ON APPROPRIATIONS.

This Act is the first leg of a Constitutional Amendment reflecting the recommendations of the Advisory Panel to the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council (DEFAC) on Potential Fiscal Controls and Budget Smoothing Mechanisms established as per House Joint Resolution 8 of the 149th General Assembly (Panel). This Act would build upon the State’s existing appropriation limit methodology by moving the Budget Reserve Account into a newly defined Budget Stabilization Fund, defining rules for deposits to and withdrawals from said Budget Stabilization Fund, and adding a check of the appropriation limit against an index comprised of relevant indicators of growth of the State’s economy. The Panel further recommended that any final adoption of the structural budget reforms included in this Act be accompanied by statutory enactment of structural reforms to the Personal Income Tax by broadening the tax base as initially recommended by the DEFAC Advisory Council of Revenues report dated May 2015 and further detailed in the Panel’s report dated June 1, 2018.

in committee · Delaware · House Jun 13, 2018

HB 458: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE PRESCRIPTION MONITORING PROGRAM.

This Act removes language from the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program statute that unreasonably prevents law enforcement officials from accessing the PMP database when officials can show that the information on the database is relevant to an investigation or prosecution. This Act leaves intact the statutory right and responsibility of the Office of Controlled Substances to maintain the privacy of patients and patient information except under circumstances enumerated in the Delaware Code.

in committee · Delaware · House Jun 13, 2018

HB 447: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO POLICE OFFICERS’ AND FIREFIGHTERS’ EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS ACT.

This bill moves all police officers and firefighters employed by the State and its political subdivisions under the jurisdiction of the Police Officers’ and Firefighters’ Employment Relations Act. This bill allows all State merit employees to have full collective bargaining rights and protections under the jurisdiction of the Public Employment Relation Board. The purpose of this bill is to unify all police and firefighters employed by the State under the single statute which was created specifically for law enforcement personnel.

in committee · Delaware · House Jun 13, 2018

HB 421: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO INTERCEPTION OF COMMUNICATIONS.

This bill changes when the interception of certain communications is lawful. Currently, if one party to the communication gives consent to the interception, such interception is lawful. This bill requires that both parties to the communication give prior consent before the interception is lawful.

in committee · Delaware · Senate Jun 13, 2018

SB 222: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO RELEASE OF PERSONS ACCUSED OF CRIMES.

This Act amends Delaware’s laws regarding release of persons accused of crimes (Chapter 21 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code) as required in conjunction with the adoption of Senate Bill No. 221, which proposes a constitutional amendment to permit preventive detention of certain persons accused of crimes. This Act both protects defendants’ due process rights and public safety by expanding the list of circumstances for which defendants may be detained pretrial without the opportunity for release and providing adequate due process protections for detention-eligible defendants. This Act protects public safety by permitting courts to detain defendants who are charged with an enumerated offense, or to whom certain enumerated circumstances apply, and who present unmitigated risks of non-appearance in court or danger to public safety. This Act also protects defendants’ rights by doing the following: (1) Requiring the Attorney General to establish by proof positive or presumption great that the defendant committed the detention-eligible offense and by clear and convincing evidence that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably assure the defendants appearance in court or the safety of a witness, a victim, or the community. (2) Ensuring detention-eligible defendants are represented by counsel at the initial detention and subsequent hearings. (3) Requiring courts to hold a full detention hearing within 10 days of the defendant’s arrest where defendants have the right to testify, to present evidence, and to cross-examine witnesses against them. (4) Requiring expedited review of the detention order by Superior Court. (5) Providing speedy trial protections for any defendant who is detained prior to adjudication. This Act also does the following: (1) Improves procedural fairness by permitting courts to make transparent decisions about who to detain and who to release pretrial. (2) Strengthens the strong presumption of pretrial release upon least restrictive conditions for those defendants who can safely be released in the community. (3) Requires data collection and annual reporting of pretrial outcomes that will be available for public dissemination. Finally, this Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

in committee · Delaware · Senate Jun 13, 2018

SB 249: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE PROVISION OF INFORMATION ABOUT LYME DISEASE.

This Act, modeled on similar laws in Virginia and Maryland, requires a health care provider to provide notice to a patient at the time blood is drawn to perform a laboratory test for Lyme disease that explains the limitations of the test and instructs the patient to see their health care provider if the patient continues to experience unexplained symptoms.

in committee · Delaware · Senate Jun 12, 2018

SB 19: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE CREATION OF A PILOT PROGRAM FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS IN EARLY PRIMARY GRADES FOCUSED ON REDUCED CLASS SIZE AND AN INTENSIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE.

Some students from disadvantaged backgrounds arrive at school lacking the same vocabulary and word recognition skills of their peers, putting them at a disadvantage when developing literacy skills in primary grades. In analyzing this disparity, studies have shown that the third grade is a critical turning point in educational development and that students who are not preforming at grade level by this point will continue to fall behind their peers at an increasingly rapid pace. This Act will seek to diminish this performance gap by creating a 3-year pilot program for disadvantaged students in primary grades in Delaware public schools. The State will provide $1 million in grant funding per year, over a 3-year period, to support the pilot program. Under the Act, Delaware State University, Delaware Technical and Community College, and the University of Delaware are invited to help collect and analyze data to assess the program.

in committee · Delaware · House Jun 12, 2018

HB 299: AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE I OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO EQUAL PROTECTION.

This is the first leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution to provide equal rights on the basis of sex. There is no Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution. While Congress passed the Amendment in 1972, it was not ratified by the requisite number of states by the 1982 deadline. Delaware, however, was one of the first states to ratify the Amendment. About half of the states across the country have passed Equal Rights Amendments to their state constitutions in order to provide protection against discrimination based on sex. Without an Equal Rights Amendment, women’s rights and protections are limited. This Amendment is necessary to correct a constitutional shortcoming, reduce sex-based disparities and to codify our State’s value of equality.

in committee · Delaware · House Jun 12, 2018

HB 461: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO UNLAWFUL SEXUAL CONTACT.

Delaware law criminalizes “therapeutic deception,” a representation by the health professional that sexual contact by the health professional is consistent with or part of the patient’s treatment. This Act creates a felony level offense for a person that is a health professional and who, in the course of providing professional health services to the victim, intentionally has sexual contact with the victim. This would criminalize all sexual contact between a health professional and the health professional’s patient. This Act makes this conduct a felony offense, rather than a misdemeanor, due to the vulnerability of the victim as a patient seeking services from a health professional.

Bill results