Sen. Bruce C. Ennis

This Act amends Title 21 to specify the requirements for an applicant to obtain or renew a motor vehicle dealer license and aligns the requirements with other state licensing requirements. The current law only requires the applicant to show they have and will comply with the laws of this state and other states. Due to the statute’s current ambiguity the Division of Motor Vehicles is often asked to review an applicant’s criminal history prior to submission of a full application which makes it difficult for the Division to determine if the applicant qualifies for licensure.

The bill requires that third-party cost-sharing assistance utilized by patients is applied toward the enrollee's health insurance deductibles and any out-of-pocket limits. Additionally, the bill defines what constitutes a “cost-sharing requirement” as well as how to calculate the assistance when applying to patient’s deductibles and out-of-pocket limits. This bill applies to both carriers and pharmacy benefits managers with an effective date of January 1, 2024.

This bill provides a mechanism to grant pension increases to retired State Employees, retired Judges, and retired “New” State police. This bill dedicates a minimum of 2.33% of payroll to be deposited annually to the Post Retirement Fund. This bill also provides for a pension increase as determined by the Board of Pension Trustees.

This Act modifies Superior Court’s statute pertaining to creation of the Court’s record. Previously, the statute only contemplated stenographic recording of court proceedings. Technology has advanced which permits the Court to utilize other methods, in addition to stenographers, to create the court’s record. This Act updates the statutory language related to court reports and is consistent with language used by other Delaware Courts.

This bill brings Delaware into conformity with national standards on fire safety dampers and smoke dampers. It requires all buildings of public accommodation and shared residential buildings to conform to standards that will ensure life-saving alarms and fire dampening efforts are safe and up to nationally recognized standards.

This act streamlines the appointment process for the Delaware Nutrient Management Commission, expands the definition of dairy farmer to include all cattlemen, consolidates the appointment authorities, and simplifies the number of representatives.

The Justice of the Peace Court actively discourages the acceptance of warrants from citizens, yet the statute as it currently stands may be interpreted to allow such warrants. This Act abolishes citizen warrants in the Justice of the Peace Court and creates a requirement that all warrants must issue only by information sworn to by a law-enforcement officer.

This Act establishes certification and continuing education requirements for central service technicians working in hospitals and freestanding surgical centers. Central service technicians are an important part of the healthcare team responsible for decontaminating, inspecting, assembling, disassembling, packaging, and sterilizing reusable surgical instruments and equipment. This Act requires individuals who perform the tasks of a central service technician to pass a nationally accredited examination and to hold either a certified registered central service technician credential or certified sterile processing and distribution technician credential within 18 months of hire. This Act grandfathers anyone working as a central service technician in a health care facility on or before January 1, 2023.

This bill makes needed changes to the Lyme Disease Oversight Board by adding 2 members including an infectious disease epidemiologist and a licensed veterinarian or entomology specialist.

This bill permits health-care providers who are licensed in a state other than Delaware to deliver health-care services by telehealth and telemedicine only if a health-care provider-patient relationship has been established in accordance with § 6003 of Title 24.