Rep. Ed Osienski

This Act sets forth requirements and restrictions for the manufacture, distribution, and sale of THC-infused beverages in this State. This Act allows manufacturers to operate in Delaware with authorization, and sets forth manufacturing and product requirements. Out-of-state and in-state manufacturers must deliver their infused beverages to licensed importers, who must comply with notice and testing requirements before the infused beverages can be transported from an importer’s warehouse to package stores for sale, and must keep detailed records of their shipments. Package stores may obtain authorization to sell infused beverages for off-premises consumption, and must comply with requirements concerning the placement of infused beverages in the store, signage, and packaging criteria. This Act also allows licensed retail marijuana stores to sell infused beverages. This Act classifies cannabidiol (CBD), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabinol (CBN), and cannabichromene (CBC) as nonintoxicating cannabinoids and those cannabinoids not excluded from sale to consumers by this Act. This Act increases the potential civil penalties for selling marijuana, marijuana products, and infused beverages to individuals under 21, allowing a fine of up to $10,000 for subsequent offenses within 5 years. Additionally, for violations of provisions of Title 4 pertaining to infused beverages, an administrative civil penalty may be imposed of the greater $250 or up to 10 percent of the estimated average gross monthly sales of infused beverages for the operations of a licensee within 12 months preceding the date the penalty is imposed. This Act also updates outdated provisions of code and makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act sets forth taxation of infused beverages, which is set at $0.50 per container and taxed at the warehouse distributor, not the retail point of sale. This Act specifies that the Act takes effect 90 days after enactment and the sale of infused beverages may sunset if a Federal legislative act that changes the definition of “hemp” under 7 U.S.C. § 1639 (o) to a controlled substance. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 11 of Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to impose or levy a tax or license fee. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 11 of Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to impose or levy a tax or license fee.

This Joint Resolution directs the Department of Education to compile and submit a comprehensive report regarding the workforce data and compensation of education support professionals for the most recent school year. The report must identify staffing levels, vacancies, average wages paid, and the number of employees earning below a $40 hourly wage threshold. The Department is further required to recommend pay scales that align with a minimum living wage and submit its findings to the General Assembly and relevant state offices by November 2, 2026.

This Act requires that the Office of Management and Budget prepare an annual report regarding hiring for state large public works projects with an aggregate cost of $3 million or more. The information in these reports will help identify if Delaware workers, particularly individuals who live near a state public works project, are being hired to work on these projects and for how many hours. This information will also inform the Department of Labor regarding the trades for which trainings should be developed, including details such as if there is a need for training that acclimates aging workers to new technology or to develop youth workforce trainings to prepare future generations to meet employer needs.

In 2013, Congress enacted the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013, 34 U.S.C. § 60105, which requires states to report to the U.S. Department of Justice the deaths of individuals who die in the custody of law enforcement. Failure to comply may result in the reduction of certain federal grant funds. In 2024, the Criminal Justice Council, which is responsible for ensuring Delaware's participation in the data collection required by the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013, arranged for the Statistical Analysis Center to serve as the Criminal Justice Center's agent to coordinate and manage the logistics of this data collection. The Criminal Justice Council and Statistical Analysis Center issued guidance to law enforcement on the requirements of the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013 and the process and procedures to be used to comply with these reporting requirements. This Act codifies the process and procedures established by the Criminal Justice Council and Statistical Analysis Center related to the reporting required by the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013. In addition, this Act requires compliance reporting and provides that a law-enforcement agency that fails to comply with this Act is ineligible for certain funding until the agency complies with this Act.

This Act includes changes to align the editorial powers of the Registrar with the Delaware Code editors related to removing gendered language from regulations when the intended meaning is clear. This Act revises the submission and publication schedule of the Register of Regulations to provide more consistent review and processing times to the Registrar, which will allow for more effective interaction with promulgating agencies and more efficient distribution of the Registrar's workload. This Act also removes language requiring the antiquated practice of providing copies of the Register of Regulations to 2 state daily newspapers. The Register of Regulations will continue to be published online for the public and copies will be provided, upon request, to the public, law libraries and public libraries in this state, and the Director of the Division of Libraries. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act elevates the charge for assaulting a postal worker acting in the lawful performance of duty from assault in the third degree to assault in the second degree.

This Act adds optometrists as health care providers who are eligible for the Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program and limits the number of health care loan provider repayment grants to 2 optometrists per year.

This Act institutes a State nontidal wetlands program to include additional wetlands that are no longer regulated at the federal level. The State wetlands program will cover both tidal and nontidal wetlands, and in that manner fill in gaps in federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act and mitigate the uncertainty surrounding the limits to federal jurisdiction and improve efficiencies in the wetland permitting processes. Section 1 of the Act makes a number of changes to Chapter 66 of Title 7 of the Delaware Code: Section 1 adds definitions to § 6603 of Title 7, including for "aquatic habitat functions and services"; "Community Water Access Structure"; "Delaware Wetland Screening Tool," which is a screening tool o be developed in regulations to determine whether an area has the potential to qualify as a wetland; "Exceptional Value Wetlands", which are wetlands that are unique or high functioning, that support flora or fauna that are endangered or threatened, that are located in public water supply Source Water Protection Areas, or located within designated natural areas; "foot bridge"; "linear utility infrastructure projects"; "mitigation"; "normal residential gardening and lawn and landscape maintenance"; "pilings"; "unique wetlands," meaning wetlands that are categorized by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) as Coastal Plain seasonal ponds, inner-dune depression meadows, peatland fens, Piedmont stream valley wetlands, bald cypress swamps, Atlantic white cedar swamps, or black ash seepage swamps; "voluntary wetland habitat restoration project"; and "wetland walkway". In addition, the definition of "wetlands" is revised to include all tidal and nontidal wetlands in the State, and will be further clarified in regulations adopted by DNREC. Section 1 also amends § 6604 of Title 7 to provide that an applicant for a wetlands permit has the burden of proving whether a proposed activity is within tidal or nontidal wetlands. In addition, Section 1 amends § 660 of Title 7, concerning activities that are exempt from permit requirements under Chapter 66 of Title 7. Under the Act, the following activities are exempt: farming, provided certain requirements are met, including that farming or an intent to farm has been conducted on the land in the prior 10 years on a rolling basis; silvicultural activities permitted by the Department of Agriculture; conservation practices on lands that are engaged in programs through certain federal or state governmental agencies; hunting, fishing, trapping, and duck blinds; wildlife nesting structures; mosquito control activities authorized by the DNREC; construction of certain drainage ditches, tax ditches, swales, and other drainage features; artificial ponds and borrow pits; construction of directional aids to navigation; placing of boundary stakes; foot bridges; normal residential gardening and lawn and landscape maintenance. In addition, other activities are conditionally exempt: certain activities that would be allowed under a nationwide permit issued by the United States Army Corps of Engineers; nontidal wetlands equal to or less than a contiguous 0.50 acres, provided certain criteria are met; work performed by a state, county, or municipal government or conservation district, or such an entity's designated contractor, on nontidal wetlands in the Delaware Atlantic Coastal Plains Province with a contributing drainage area of less than 800 acres; maintenance, reconstruction, or retrofitting work performed by or with the assistance of any state, county, or municipal government or conservation district in nontidal wetlands; certain work in agricultural drainage ditches; the creation or maintenance of certain ponds constructed in uplands; and wetland walkways, under certain conditions. Section 1 also amends § 6607 of Title 7, concerning the procedures, regulations, and application fees associated with permit applications. The Act provides that initial regulations promulgated under Chapter 66 will establish the Delaware Wetland Screening Tool. Further, in addition to the regulations the Secretary of DNREC is already directed to adopt, the Secretary is instructed to adopt regulations affording additional protections to Exceptional Value Wetlands; reducing duplication with the permitting requirements of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; improving the State's ability to account for impacts from wetlands permitting actions; promulgating mitigation strategies to facilitate no overall net loss in wetland acreage and function and to protect the State's resilience to the impacts of climate change; and establishing general permits for common and environmentally beneficial activities with minimal environmental impact. Section 1 further amends § 6607 concerning the timeline for DNREC issuing a decision regarding a permit application Section 1 creates a new § 6621, establishing the Wetlands Regulatory Advisory Committee. The Committee is directed to assist DNREC in developing the initial regulations required under Chapter 66 of Title 7 and to evaluate the permitting processes for activities regulated by state and federal agencies. The Committee is to be made up of 23 members, including the County Administrator or County Executive, or the County Administrator's or County Executive's designee; representatives from the Delaware Farm Bureau, the conservation districts, various environmental advocacy groups, an environmental justice organization, the Home Builders Association of Delaware, the Delaware Association of Realtors, the American Council of Engineering Companies of Delaware, the Delmarva Chicken Association, a general business group, a private wetlands consultant certified by the Society of Wetlands Scientists, and members from higher education institutions with specialization in wetlands science, agricultural economics, and with knowledge of forestry or soil conservation. The Committee is directed to review DNREC's implementation of the initial regulations required by Chapter 66 and provide a final report recommending legislative or regulatory improvements. Section 2 of the Act deletes Chapter 66A of Title 7 of the Delaware Code, "Nontidal Wetland Standards," which had created a Wetlands Advisory Committee to assist the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control in developing wetland protection priorities for the State and identifying a comprehensive approach for improving nontidal wetland conservation, restoration, and education to recommend to the General Assembly, and to evaluate the permitting process for activities regulated by state and federal agencies. Section 3 of the Act provides that activities in private nontidal subaqueous lands authorized under a nationwide permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and in effect in the state are exempt from any requirements under Chapter 72 of Titel 7 of the Delaware Code, if a water quality certification has been received from the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, where necessary. Section 4 of the Act provides that §§ 6621 and 6622 of Section 1 of the Act, and Section 2 of the Act, are effective upon enactment; Section 3 of the Act is effective 60 days after enactment; and the remaining provisions of the Act are effective upon the adoption of initial regulations by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

This Act amends Titles 16, 18, 29, and 31 of the Delaware Code and Chapter 237, Volume 83 of the Laws of Delaware relating to primary care insurance. Among other things, the Act does the following: Section 1 of the Act amends § 9903 of Title 16 of the Delaware Code to provide that the Health Care Commission, in coordination with the Primary Care Reform Collaborative, will monitor compliance of primary care providers with value-based care delivery models established under the Office of Value-Based Health Care Delivery (OVBHCD). Section 2 of the Act amends § 9904A of Title 16 to remove a time frame limitation for the period during which the Health Care Commission is authorized to request written reports by health insurers regarding progress in adopting and implementing value-based payment models. Under the Act, the PCRC may continue to request such reporting going forward. Section 3 of the Act amends § 329 of Title 18 to provide that administrative penalties for violations of §2503(a)(12), §2503(a)(15), § 3342B, and § 3556A of Title 18 may be equivalent to the amount of the violation, and that penalties imposed for such violations are to be deposited into a Primary Care Fund, which will be used by the Statewide Benefits Office and the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance. Section 4 of the Act amends § 334 of Title 18 to clarify that the OVBHCD has the ability to promulgate regulations necessary to accomplish the stated goals of reducing health-care costs by increasing the availability of high quality, cost-efficient health insurance products that have stable, predictable, and affordable rates. Section 5 of the Act amends § 2503 of Title 18 to extend current cost containment calculations to rate filing year 2027. Given their relative size and patient populations within Delaware's health care market, Delaware's two smallest hospitals and lone free-standing children's hospital are exempt from that extension. In rate filing year 2028 and thereafter, the Act specifies that costs per service for health benefit plans may not exceed certain Medicare Reference-Based Pricing Targets, which are based on the “Full Medicare rate,” meaning the applicable wage-adjusted base Medicare rate for different services, the Free-Standing Children’s Hospital Medicare outpatient payment rate, or the TEFRA Rate, meaning the target amount under the federal Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) Waiver Program applicable to Free-Standing Children's Hospitals, unless certain exemptions apply. Those exemptions are for Delaware's two smallest hospitals and, if making progress with value-based care, for a Delaware hospital in a high-growth, high-Medicare population region. Carriers issuing plans in the commercial market for 2 consecutive years and that cover more than 5,000 members must meet minimum percentages of alternative payment model contracting, as specified. Section 6 of the Act amends § 3342B of Title 18 concerning primary care coverage offered by individual insurance plans. Under the Act, starting in 2026, carriers must spend at least 11.5% of their total cost of medical care on primary care, at least 5% of which must be via prospective primary care management payments. Carriers must offer value-based care programs and may not deny contracted providers the opportunity to participate in an offered value-based care program. In addition, the Commissioner is required to issue regulations regarding the calculation of total cost of care. Section 7 of the Act applies the same changes as Section 6 of the Act to § 3556A of Title 18, concerning primary care coverage offered by group insurance plans. Section 8 of the Act deletes a sunsetting clause contained in Section 14, Chapter 237, Volume 83 of the Laws of Delaware, which would have repealed § 2503(a)(12)a., § 3442B(b)(3), and § 3556A(b)(3) of title 18, effective January 1, 2027. Section 9 of the Act amends § 5204 of Title 29 to provide that health-insurance coverage for public officers and employees shall be provided by a carrier whose cost per service may not exceed certain Medicare Reference-Based Pricing Targets, which are based on the Full Medicare rate, the Free-Standing Children's Hospital Medicare outpatient payment rate, or the TEFRA Rate, unless certain exemptions apply. Those exemptions are for Delaware's two smallest hospitals and, if making progress with value-based care, for a Delaware hospital in a high-growth, high-Medicare population region. In addition, Section 9 of the Act specifies that coverage shall be provided by a carrier offering value-based care programs equivalent to the commercial market requirements. Section 10 of the Act amends §5224 of Title 29 concerning primary care coverage of insurance coverage for public officers and employees, to require plans to report data to the OVBHCD on the percentage of primary care spending as a percentage of total medical costs for plan years 2027 and 2028 and to increase spending on primary care by 1% per year thereafter until primary care spending reaches 11.5% of total medical costs. Section 11 of the Act creates §539 of Title 31, concerning state public assistance, to require entities providing health insurance under § 505(3) to report data on the percentage of primary care spending as a percentage of total medical costs for 2 plan years and, in subsequent years, increase primary care spending by 1% until primary care spending reaches 11.5% of total medical costs. Section 12 of the Act provides that the Department of Insurance shall promulgate regulations pursuant to the Act within 18 months of enactment, but shall promulgate regulations on or before January 1, 2027 establishing a methodology to determine any appropriate annual inflationary or other applicable adjustments to a hospital's Full Medicare Rate. Like Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 1, this Act differs from Senate Bill No. 1 in that it bases the limits for costs per service for health benefit plans on Medicare Reference-Based Pricing Targets, which may differ based on whether the services are outpatient services, inpatient hospital services, or emergency department services, and on whether the services are being provided by a Free-Standing Children's Hospital; under Senate Bill No. 1, the limits for cost-per-service were based on a percentage of Medicare reimbursement for comparable services. In addition, this Act provides more guidance regarding the application of exemptions from those limits. In addition, Senate Substitute No. 2 for Senate Bill No. 1 differs from Senate Bill No. 1 in that it makes technical edits to definitions and it provides that the Department of Insurance and the State Employee Benefits Office shall lead a process, in consultation with Delaware hospitals, to recommend an appropriate methodology to determine and apply any inflationary or other applicable adjustments to a hospital's Full Medicare Rate not otherwise captured in a hospital's annual Medicare rate update by January 1, 2027. Senate Substitute No. 2 for Senate Bill No. 1 also adds an exemption from the aggregate unit price growth limits in § 2503(a)(12)a.3. of Title 18 for a hospital that is a Free-Standing Children's Hospital, a hospital that qualifies as a Medicare-Dependent Rural Hospital on the grounds that it meets the definition of a Medicare-dependent hospital under 42 C.F.R. § 412.108 for at least 3 of the 5 years immediately preceding the applicable rate filing year, or an Urban Medicaid DSH Hospital.

This Act is a Substitute for House Bill No. 450. Like House Bill No. 450, this Substitute Act is to be known as the Reforming Opportunities and Accelerated Development for Delaware Act (“ROAD-DE Act”) and will make significant changes to Delaware’s land use permitting process by building on Governor Meyer’s Executive Order No. 18, which created the Permitting Accelerator to reform policies, processes, and procedures that have accumulated over decades and are holding back jobs, housing, and other critical infrastructure statewide. In 2019, a study of Delaware’s permitting process was undertaken. The study concluded that Delaware’s permitting process was significantly longer and more challenging than those of surrounding states in the region. In 2025, this State began digitizing permitting processes. During the initial stages of that effort, more than 52 hours of interviews with 57 stakeholders were conducted across state agencies, local governments, developers, and technical experts. Those interviews revealed that statewide delays are not driven by isolated performance issues. Rather, they stem from structural misalignment, sequential review processes, incentive distortions, and capacity constraints that compound across agencies. Delaware’s permitting process can stretch beyond 24 months, placing this State at a distinct economic development disadvantage when it comes to attracting and growing businesses. In the region, Delaware’s competitors, including Maryland and Pennsylvania, can achieve substantially faster permit approvals, making them more attractive locations for economic development and affordable housing. The 2019 and 2025 studies resulted in recommendations that the permitting process be streamlined and modified to improve accountability and eliminate redundancies within various government agencies, particularly within the Delaware Department of Transportation (“DelDOT”). To implement these recommendations, this Substitute Act, like House Bill No. 450, does all of the following: (1) Section 1 of this Substitute Act requires DelDOT to base the threshold for determining if a traffic impact study is required on peak-hour trips, not vehicle trips per day, and set the minimum peak hour trips threshold at 500 peak-hour trips for residential developments and 500 peak-hour trips, excluding pass-by trips, for all other development types. (2) Sections 2, 4, 6, and 8 of this Substitute Act require the counties and municipalities to base their threshold for determining if a traffic impact study is required on the same requirements as required for DelDOT in Section 1 of this Act. (3) Sections 3, 5, 7, and 8 of this Substitute Act provide for certain residential density requirements. (4) Section 9 of this Substitute Act requires DelDOT to deploy, operate, and maintain technological systems for the automated monitoring, analysis, and management of transportation infrastructure and traffic operations. (5) Section 10 of this Substitute Act provides that engineering studies or traffic investigations conducted by DelDOT may include automated or continuous data collection systems, remote sensing technologies, digital imaging, algorithmic analysis of traffic patterns, and other technological methods used to evaluate roadway safety, traffic operations, and infrastructure conditions. (6) Section 11 of this Substitute Act requires DelDOT to establish and collect transportation impact fees throughout this State and to use the moneys collected to fund off-site improvements to bring existing transportation infrastructure up to current State standards. Additionally, this Section requires DelDOT to use the moneys collected in the county in which the transportation impact fee was collected unless the county or the municipalities within the county fail to adopt the traffic impact study and residential density requirements under Sections 2 through 8 of this Act. This Substitute Act differs from House Bill No. 450 as follows: (1) Changes the residential density requirements provision contained in Sections 3, 5, 7, and 8 of this Substitute Act for the original Act. (2) Requires DelDOT to consult with the applicable municipal government on how to spend the money collected from the transportation impact fee. (3) Increases the amount of the surcharge DelDOT must assess on the transportation impact fee from 1% to 2%. (4) Adds the Brownfield Development Program as 1 of the programs to receive money from the surcharge assessed on the transportation impact fee by DelDOT. This Substitute 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, whether directly, by amendment to a specific municipality’s charter, or, as in this Act, indirectly, by a general law. This Substitute Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.