Sen. Kyra Hoffner

This Act allows for correctional officers employed with the Department of Correction to make a written request that their personal information not be published and remain confidential. The Act takes effect 180 days following its enactment. The substitute bill changes the following from the original bill: (1) Adds an applicability section clarifying these privacy protections only apply for correctional officers who serve or have served with the Department of Correction on the enactment date. (2) Retains the original language of “publicly posts” as opposed to “knowingly posts”. (3) Changes the duration period of the written request to two years. (4) Clarifies that a correctional officer that is removed for cause or fired will have their written request immediately removed. (5) Allows for renewal of written requests by correctional officers who remain employed with the Department of Correction. (6) Allows for a correctional officer to revoke their written request. (7) Allows for a correctional officer who retires or leaves the job in good standing to obtain a two-year extension of their written request from the date of their retirement or date of leave.

This Act requires the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance (“Division”) to produce a report by March 31, 2025, that documents home care services as measured using the most common billing codes for the home care industry. The Act identifies the specific billing codes which are defined as “qualified home care codes.” The Act creates a duty for the Division to provide an annual report on March 31 of every year to document the use of home care services in the State by tracking the use of qualified home care codes. Additionally, an independent, third-party organization will be identified to create an annual report.

This Act clarifies that elected officials may not be prevented from engaging in constituent relations and that candidates for public office or staff or volunteers may not be prevented from engaging in election-related or similar activities in residential communities.

This Concurrent Resolution designates March 26, 2024, as "Epilepsy Awareness Day" in Delaware and calls upon State agencies and the people of Delaware to undertake suitable efforts to increase epilepsy awareness.

This resolution expresses support for the designation of March 2024 as "National Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month."

This concurrent resolution designates February 2024 as “Turner Syndrome Awareness Month” in the State of Delaware.

Since its creation the Water Supply Coordinating Council (the Council) has provided critical guidance to proactively address identified water supply issues. However, the actions of the Council have largely focused on recommendations and implementation associated with water supplies in the drought-prone portions of Northern New Castle County. While the water supplies in that area remain critical to the State, additional focus is needed on similar water supply coordination in other portions of the State as well. Many of the Council’s reports have made recommendations for other actions in these areas, however, it is critical that appropriate local/regional representation be included to receive the necessary input and feedback that made the New Castle County implementation successful. Therefore, this Act is intended to reconstitute the Council to provide for a smaller more consistent quorum for state-wide coordination while establishing the structure for direct regional (County-level) contributions and implementation. It is intended that the preliminary charge of each County-level subcommittee will be to establish the appropriate memberships to best address their prioritized concerns.

This bill creates a special license plate for Plastic Free Delaware, Inc., a nonprofit whose mission is to reduce single-use plastic pollution and build a culture of zero waste in Delaware through educational programs, awareness building, and policy initiatives.

This Act is a result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's review of the Tourism Advisory Board ("Board"). First formed in 1981, the Board has served in an advisory role to the Delaware Tourism Office, Division of Small Business, and the Department of State. The Board's primary purpose is advocating for and promoting tourism in Delaware. Its duties include researching and studying matters appropriate to best support the Delaware Tourism Office functions. The Board was once heavily involved in providing the Tourism Office with advice and support. By 2013, however, the Tourism Office's need for the Board's advice and support decreased, as the Tourism Office's staffing and funding structure were improved under the Delaware Economic Development Office. Now under the Division of Small Business, the work of the Tourism Office is captured in the Division's annual report, which has not referenced the Board for at least the last 5 years. The Board's only official act since 2018 was a letter to the General Assembly to support the inclusion of short-term rentals under the State's Public Accommodations Tax. Over the last 10 years, the Tourism Office has run a successful tourism program without the advice or support of the Board, including winning prestigious industry awards, launching marketing initiatives, holding workshops to support the tourism industry, and releasing the latest Value of Tourism publication in 2019. For these reasons, and with the support of the Tourism Office, the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee concluded that, although the Board once served an important role in tourism in Delaware, the Board is no longer meeting its statutory duties or fulfilling a state need, and that the Board should be terminated. This Act therefore terminates the Tourism Advisory Board.

This Act is a result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's review of the Delaware State Arts Council, and does the following: - Removes or updates outdated language. - Clarifies Council members' terms. - Updates the method for chair selection and provides that this update does not take effect until the current chair resigns or the chair position is otherwise vacant. - Clarifies quorum. - Clarifies that the Delaware Division for the Arts provides reasonable staff support to assist the Council. - Clarifies the Council's authority to create subcommittees. - Clarifies that Council members may participate in the grant review process as needed. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.