Rep. David Bentz

This Act prohibits a person who is the subject of a Protection from Abuse Order of the Family Court and who knows or has reason to know, that the Order has been issued from purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling a deadly weapon or ammunition for a firearm in this State. This Act also prohibits the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant, active indictment or information related to a felony or misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from purchasing a firearm. The subject of the pending criminal process must know or have reason to know that the process is pending in order for the prohibition to apply. This Act also makes technical changes to the existing law to make it conform to the Legislative Drafting Manual.

Section 1 of this bill establishes the crimes of possession of an unfinished firearm frame or receiver with no serial number, possession of and manufacturing a covert or undetectable firearm, possession of and manufacturing an untraceable firearm, and manufacturing or distributing a firearm using a three-dimensional printer. This bill also makes it a crime to possess a firearm frame or receiver with a removed, obliterated, or altered serial number. This bill makes very limited exceptions to the requirement that certain guns have serial numbers which are: (1) Firearms manufactured before 1968; (2) Muzzle loaders that only use black powder, and antique replicas. Finally, this bill makes clear that § 1463 of Title 11 concerning untraceable firearms does not apply to members of the military forces or members of a police force in this State duly authorized to carry an untraceable firearm, and does not apply to the manufacture or importation for sale to a law-enforcement or military entity in this State. Section 2 is a severability clause. Section 3 provides that Section 1459A of Title 11, which is possession of an unfinished firearm frame or receiver with no serial number, takes effect 90 days after the Act's enactment into law.

This Act requires that individual, group, State employee, and public assistance insurance plans provide coverage for a medically necessary insulin pump at no cost to a covered individual.

Delaware has been irreparably harmed by the opioid crisis. In 2018, 400 people died of an overdose in Delaware, and in 2019, 431 people died of an overdose. Settlements from opioid distributors, manufacturers, and pharmacies are expected to provide significant monies over a substantial period of time to Delaware. These funds are intended to address to harm caused by the opioid crisis in our communities. This Act establishes the Prescription Opioid Settlement Fund (Settlement Fund) and Prescription Opioid Distribution Commission (Commission), to ensure that settlement money is used to remediate and abate the opioid crisis and is not diverted to other purposes. The Commission is part of the Behavioral Health Consortium and is established to ensure that decisions on how to spend funds are reached through consensus driven process that takes into account the views and experience of affected communities. The Behavioral Health Consortium will distribute money received by the Settlement Fund and the Prescription Opioid Impact Fund (Impact Fund), enacted by Senate Bill No. 34 of the 150th General Assembly, according to the recommendations of the Commission. The Commission shall seek input from the public and relevant stakeholders and shall convene a Local Government Committee to ensure that recommendations from counties and municipal governments are carefully considered. The terms of settlement agreements, bankruptcy plans, or other agreements for the payment of monies by defendants in opioid-related litigation will likely include terms that establish how the money must be spent. The Commission is required to adhere to those terms. The Commission must produce an annual report regarding the receipt and disbursement of funds. This Act preserves the status quo of the existing parties to litigation while limiting the ability for new local government opioid suits to be brought, because new lawsuits could limit the size of Delaware’s recovery in global settlements that are expected to be reached. This Act repeals the sunset of the Prescription Opioid Impact Fee (Impact Fee) and Impact Fund It also repeals the report requirement for the Impact Fund because the information in that report will be included in the new report that the Commission must produce. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 4 of Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of three-quarters of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to appropriate funds to a county or municipality. This Act also 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 charter issued to a municipal corporation.

This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 120. Like Senate Bill No. 120, this Substitute continues recent efforts to strengthen the primary care system in this State by doing the following: (1) Directing the Health Care Commission to monitor compliance with value-based care delivery models and develop, and monitor compliance with, alternative payment methods that promote value-based care. (2) Requiring rate filings limit aggregate unit price growth for inpatient, outpatient, and other medical services, to certain percentage increases. (3) Requiring an insurance carrier to spend a certain percentage of its total cost on primary care. (4) Requiring the Office of Value-Based Health Care Delivery to establish mandatory minimums for payment innovations, including alternative payment models, and evaluate annually whether primary care spending is increasing in compliance with the established mandatory minimums for payment innovations. (5) In Sections 2 and 3 of this Act, revising the appointment process for members of the Primary Care Reform Collaborative who are not members by virtue of position to comply with the requirements of the Delaware Constitution. These revisions are largely similar to those proposed in Senate Substitute No. 1 to Senate Bill No. 59 (151st General Assembly) (“the Substitute”). As such, Section 2 is designed to take effect if the Substitute does not pass both chambers or passes but is not enacted; Section 3 is designed to take effect if the Substitute passes both chambers and is enacted. (6) Making technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual This Substitute differs from Senate Bill No. 120 as it does all of the following: (1) Adds a “whereas clause” stating that the Department of Insurance does not regulate Medicaid or employer-based plans provided under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or their rates. (2) Provides that rate filings for health benefit plans may not include aggregate unit price growth for nonprofessional services that exceed the greater of 2% or Core CPI plus 1% in 2024, 2025, and 2026. (3) Makes a technical correction to properly alphabetize definitions in Section 4 of the Act (relating to § 2503 of Title 18). (4) Removes “mental health and substance abuse disorder” from the definition of an “inpatient hospital”. (5) Adds a definition of “professional services” and makes clear that “nonprofessional services”, which are subject to the aggregate unit price growth limits of § 2503(a)(12)a. of Title 18, do not include professional services. (6) Amends the definition of “other medical services” to make clear the term includes the facility component of vision exams, dental services, and other services when those services are billed separately from the professional component. (7) Changes the date for mandatory minimums for payment innovations to support a robust system of primary care to January 1, 2026. (8) Make clear that the Office of Value-Based Health Care Delivery is to annually evaluate whether primary care spending is increasing in compliance with the requirements of, and regulations adopted under, all of Title 18. (9) Requires the Office of Value-Based Health Care Delivery to collect data and develop reports to monitor and evaluate the percentage of spending in primary care that is delegated to hospitals and related networks for care coordination through alternative payment models. (10) Removes the sunset date on provisions requiring individual, group, and State employee insurance plans to reimburse primary care physicians, certified nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other front-line practitioners for chronic care management and primary care at no less than the physician Medicare rate. (11) Sunsets Sections 5 and 6 of this Act and § 2503(a)(12)a. of Title 18 as contained in Section 4 of this Act on January 1, 2027.

This bill removes the training minimum wage and youth minimum wage, which takes effect 90 days after enactment.

This Act requires that home health-care services for Medicaid long-term care services and support providers be reimbursed for services by Medicaid-contracted organizations at a rate equal to or more than the rate set by the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance for equivalent services. This rate floor system is currently used for reimbursement rates for home health-care nursing services paid for by Medicaid-contracted organizations. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act provides a phased in approach to further the reduction of single-use plastic bags. This Act increases the minimum thickness for a plastic bag to qualify as a reusable bag from 2.25 mils to 10 mils effective January 1, 2022 and makes the restrictions applicable to stores regardless of size effective July 1, 2022. This Act also makes corrections to existing law to make it conform to the standards of the Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act permits an individual to practice dentistry for the Division of Public Health (Division) under a provisional license. Delaware law provides several routes for entering practice on an interim basis until full licensure can be obtained, however, none of these routes specifically permit hiring by the Division with the intent to practice in a state-supported dental clinic. This Act will assist the Division in recruiting dentists to serve those in need. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This bill changes the requirements for members to be appointed to the Delaware Emergency Medical Services Oversight Council. The bill also clarifies that a member may serve for a term of up to three years and is eligible for reappointment and the number of members needed to constitute a quorum. In addition, the bill allows for removal of a member by the Governor under certain circumstances and clarifies that the Council may adopt bylaws for adopting operating procedures. The bill also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.