This Resolution reauthorizes the work of and extends the final report deadline for the Delaware Justice 40 Oversight Committee.
Section 716(a) of Title 24 prohibits annual or lifetime numerical limits on chiropractic visits for the treatment of back pain. The treatment of chronic back pain through chiropractic supportive care can prevent patients from requiring opioid pain medications or more expensive treatments. This Act prohibits the denial of insurance coverage under § 716(a) for chiropractic supportive care, which constitutes maintenance therapy. This requirement applies to policies, contracts, or certificates issued, renewed, modified, altered, amended, or reissued after December 31, 2023. In addition, this Act clarifies, but does not expand, the insurance coverage subject to the requirements under § 716(a), states that the requirements under this subsection cannot be waived by contract, and requires that the regulations implementing § 176 establish utilization review standards. This Act also updates the definitions in Chapter 7 of Title 24 to be consistent with the current scope of chiropractic practice and makes corresponding revisions to the terms used in existing law. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act makes the State Council for Persons with Disabilities consistent with current practice by revising its responsibilities to collect data regarding persons with disabilities. This Act also amends the members of the Council and clarifies the definition of “persons with disabilities”. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
According to a survey conducted by the American Bar Association, 90 percent of early-career lawyers have student loans, averaging $130,000. The same survey found that Black borrowers accumulated more debt to obtain their law degree compared to other borrowers of other racial/ethnic backgrounds, and that most young lawyers who borrowed for their education reported that their debt caused them to delay or forego pursuing traditional life milestones, such as purchasing a home, marriage, and starting a family. According to the survey, an overwhelming majority of borrowers – roughly 80 percent – indicated their debt influenced their choice of job or career in some way. Most borrowers reported that salary factored more heavily into their job selection than anticipated. Nearly a third of the sample indicated their position was less focused on public service or doing good than intended when they started law school. In Delaware, the Office of Defense Services, and the Department of Justice, the primary employers of attorneys working for the state, found that student loan debt was an enormous burden. Attorneys reported monthly payments between $500 and $1,000 and debts exceeding $100,000. The student loan crisis, coupled with sizable salary pay gaps between the state and private sector, has created recruitment and retention issues in the legal sector of state government and has made it difficult to provide improved access to justice. This Act establishes a Student Loan Repayment Program for attorneys employed with the State of Delaware working as attorneys. The program allows qualified applicants to apply for a payment from the State to the applicant’s lending agency to pay a portion of the applicant’s student loan debt. The purpose of the program is to improve recruitment and retention for legal service providers at a time when the state is having difficulty attracting attorneys passionate about public service. The amount of the award shall be no less than $2,500 and no more than $5,000 annually for 10 years. There is a salary cap of $110,000. The program will be administered by the Criminal Justice Council and overseen by a committee of stakeholders in the state’s legal system.
This Act deletes from the Delaware Code a derogatory and highly offensive term for Italian-, Spanish-, and Portuguese-American immigrants.
This bill creates a special license plate for Combat Veterans.
This Act provides that the Department of Correction must provide a copy of all policies relating to the accrual and forfeiture of good time to inmates, as well as a quarterly written accounting of good time credit earned and/or forfeited. The requirement that all accrued time must be forfeited upon conviction of any crime within custody, the complete forfeiture will apply only to commission of felonies. Forfeiture of good times for rule violations is changed to apply only to Class I disciplinary violations. The Act also updates § 4322 of Title 11 to allow dissemination of Department of Correction policies and procedures to inmates and the public where such dissemination would not endanger safety or security of a correctional facility, corrections staff, inmates, or the public.
This Act prohibits landlords from renting a dwelling unit that the landlord knows has a current bed bug infestation. This Act also obligates landlords to notify prospective tenants if an adjacent unit or units are currently infested with or are being treated for bed bugs. In addition, the Act sets forth the steps a landlord must take upon receiving notice of an actual or suspected bed bug infestation, including acknowledging the complaint, inspecting or obtaining investigatory services from a pest management professional, obtaining remedial services from a pest management professional, notifying tenants of inspection, remediation, notifying tenants of the pest management professional's determination regarding the infestation, and maintaining a written record of all complaints and control measures provided for a period of 2 years. Further, the Act provides that if notice of an actual or suspected bed bug infestation is provided within 60 days after occupancy or within 30 days of discovery of a bed bug infestation in an adjoining unit in the building, the landlord is responsible for the costs of investigating and remediating the infestation; if the notice is provided more than 60 days after occupancy and not within 30 days of discovery of a bed bug infestation in an adjoining unit, the landlord is responsible for investigating and remediating the infection, but the tenant shall share in the responsibility for the reasonable costs of the investigation and remediation.
Acquiring a driver’s license is an important part of young adults in foster care achieving normalcy and eventual independence. Yet, youth in long term foster care face numerous unique barriers in this endeavor. Not only are there logistical challenges in the process of obtaining a license for teenagers not in parental care, but the automobile insurance industry’s rules can be unaccommodating and financially prohibitive. And, research shows that youth who leave foster care with a driver’s license are more likely to have a successful outcome, avoiding homelessness and incarceration, as reliable transportation is a crucial step to employment. Like Senate Bill No. 151, this Substitute Act seeks to aid youth in foster care by doing the following: (1) Establishing a pilot program within the Office of the Child Advocate (“Office”) that would pay the cost of driver education, licensure and other costs incidental to licensure, and motor vehicle insurance. (2) Prohibiting automobile insurers from using certain factors in determining a foster child’s automobile insurance rates. (3) Prohibiting the DMV from charging certain fees related to licensure for a foster child participating in the Office’s pilot program. (4) Exempting certain individuals from liability for negligence of a foster child. This Substitute differs from Senate Bill No. 151 as follows: (1) By directing that the Act is to be implemented the earlier of April 1, 2023, or the date of publication in the Register of Regulations of a notice by the Child Advocate that the Act is to be implemented. (2) By setting the date reports from the Office of the Child Advocate are due based on the implementation date of the Act. (3) By directing the Act to expire, or sunset, 2 years from the implementation date of the Act.
This Act clarifies the scope and protections for individuals with disabilities under the Delaware Equal Accommodations Law (DEAL) and further aligns definitions and scope of DEAL with federal law protecting individuals with disabilities from discrimination by places of public accommodation, including the Americans with Disabilities Act. This Act is consistent with the Superior Court's decision in Ray v. State Human Rels. Comm'n, 2021 Del. Super. LEXIS 668, which held that "[a]ny interpretation to suggest the legislature made a choice to narrow DEAL's protection ignores both the express mandates and comprehensive guidance under DEAL. It takes away the right of a protected class member to be heard. As interpreted, Delaware law would need to reject what has been universally accepted." This alignment with federal law includes all of the following: 1. Using the same terms and definitions for those terms. 2. Clarifying that places of public accommodation must make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, and procedures, sometimes referred to as “reasonable accommodations”, unless doing so would fundamentally alter the program, business, or service. 3. Clarifying that a public accommodation must provide auxiliary aids and services, unless doing so would fundamentally alter the program, business, or service or be an undue burden. 4. Clarifying that places of public accommodation must remove physical barriers if doing so is readily achievable. 5. Clarifying that state investigations of complaints must apply the requirements under state law in a manner consistent with equivalent requirements under federal laws. This Act also does all of the following 1. Clarifies that an individual does not have to use the exact terms in DEAL to request a reasonable modification or auxiliary aids and services for the request to be covered by DEAL. 2. Extends the time to file a complaint under DEAL to 1 year. 3. Allows the Commission to waive the cost of transcript, upon application by a party. 4. Makes corresponding changes to the requirement under § 10006A of Title 29 that a public body allow a member with a disability to use electronic means of communication to attend a meeting because "reasonable modification" is the term now used under § 4504 of Title 6. The term "reasonable accommodation" is retained because that is the term used under state and federal law in employment contexts, which might apply to a member of public body. 5. Makes technical corrections to clarify existing law and conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
