| SB 15 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Lopez | This Act, modeled on similar laws in Virginia and Maryland, requires a health-care provider to provide notice to a patient at the time blood is drawn to perform a laboratory test for Lyme disease that explains the limitations of the test and instructs the patient to see their health-care provider if the patient continues to experience unexplained symptoms. This Act is consumer and patient friendly. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE PROVISION OF INFORMATION ABOUT LYME DISEASE. |
| HB 65 w/ HA 2 | Signed | K. Williams | This Bill enables the use of roof or ground mounted solar systems on privately owned residential dwellings by making covenants or other restrictions that effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict the installation of solar photovoltaic systems in Delaware void and unenforceable, regardless of the date recorded. This Bill also explains that it is the policy of the State of Delaware to protect the public health, safety, and welfare by encouraging the development and use of renewable resources and to remove obstacles thereto. This Bill further provides for costs and reasonable attorneys' fees to be awarded to the prevailing party in any litigation arising under the provisions of this Section. This Bill does not render void and unenforceable reasonable restrictions on roof or ground mounted solar systems. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 25 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS AND RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS. |
| SB 32 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Brown | This Act prohibits the practice known as patient brokering, which is the practice where patient brokers are paid a fee to place insured people in treatment centers so that the treatment centers receive thousands of dollars in insurance claim payments for each patient. Increasingly, patient brokers fraudulently enroll patients in low-deductible health plans with out-of-network treatment benefits. Patient brokers target individuals with substance use disorders, who are told that they are receiving their treatment through a scholarship. Not only does this perpetrate fraud against insurers, when insurance plans are terminated for nonpayment of the premium, individuals are discharged from the treatment program with no services or housing and often in a state that is far from home. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING PATIENT BROKERING. |
| SB 63 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Delcollo | The Delaware Equal Accommodations Law, Chapter 45 of Title 6 of the Delaware Code, prevents discrimination against people because of their race, age, marital status, creed, color, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
This Act enhances the protections under the Delaware Equal Accommodations Law by prohibiting retaliatory discrimination against an individual for either of the following:
(1) Opposing an act or practice that is an unlawful practice under the Delaware Equal Accommodations Law.
(2) Making a charge, testifying, assisting, or participating in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing to enforce the Delaware Equal Accommodations Law. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE EQUAL ACCOMMODATIONS LAW. |
| HB 113 | Signed | Carson | This bill clarifies that Delaware law enforcement may enter into agreements to provide mutual assistance to other jurisdictions. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO POLICE MUTUAL AID AGREEMENTS. |
| HB 119 | Signed | Heffernan | The bill expands the qualified agencies authorized to receive grants approved by the Water Infrastructure Advisory Council to include non-profit corporations, such as the Diamond State Sustainability Corporation (“DSSC”), approved by Public Service Commission as a regulated water or wastewater utility. As a regulated utility, the DSSC assists low and moderate income residents and communities in rural areas of Delaware by acquiring and improving community-owned water and wastewater systems, many of which are aging or at risk of failure, and providing service pursuant to Commission-approved rates. This bill also expands the definition of “treatment works” to include “domestic wastewater” projects in order to allow for grants for community septic and sewage system upgrades. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO QUALIFIED AGENCIES AUTHORIZED TO RECEIVE GRANTS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL. |
| SB 131 | Signed | Brown | This Act authorizes the State and its counties and municipalities to install and use vehicle height monitoring systems ("vehicle height monitoring system") to assist in the enforcement of applicable State, county, or municipal law regarding motor vehicle size. This Act is patterned after Maryland's vehicle height monitoring system law, under which the City of Baltimore recently implemented an ordinance to use vehicle height monitoring system.
This Act does not create a new violation. It does establish the following:
- Requirements for the Department of Transportation ("DelDOT") to conduct the initial identification of
potential locations for vehicle height monitoring system and analysis of the appropriateness of each location.
- Requirements for the Department of Safety and Homeland Security ("DSHS") to select a system vendor
for use by the State, counties, and municipalities through an open competitive procurement process.
- Requirements for DSHS to approve and install vehicle height monitoring systems on State-maintained roads.
- Requirements for a county or municipality to approve and install vehicle height monitoring system on the
roads maintained by the county or municipality. A county or municipality must adopt an ordinance before
approving or installing a vehicle height monitoring system.
- Requirements and maintenance of vehicle height monitoring system, including the designation of a vehicle
height monitoring system technician to maintain a daily set-up log for each vehicle height monitoring system in
use. Daily set-up logs may be admitted as evidence in any court proceeding for a violation captured by a vehicle
height monitoring system.
- That the owner of a motor vehicle captured by a vehicle height monitoring system is liable for the violation,
unless the owner can demonstrate that someone else was in control or possession of the motor vehicle when the
violation occurred.
- A civil penalty under this section is limited to $250 for second violations, and $500 for third and subsequent
violations. A first violation is subject only to a warning notice, with no fine.
- Requirements for the information that must be included in a citation under this section and that a citation must
be mailed within 30 days of the violation.
- What must be included in an image recorded by a vehicle height monitoring system to use the image as
evidence.
- Limitations on the consequences of being liable under this section. A violation may not be used to assess
points on the person's driver license, recorded on the person's driving record, treated as a parking violation, or
considered in the provision of motor vehicle insurance coverage.
- The State or a county or municipality may designate a contractor to administer and process citations under this
section, but a contractor's fee may not be contingent on the number of citations issued or paid.
- That this section does not apply to certain vehicles, such as emergency vehicles or school buses.
Under this Act, the owner of a motor vehicle is liable for a violation that occurs while the owner uses the vehicle or an employee of the owner uses the vehicle for the purposes of employment. If, however, a driver other than an employee of the owner violates this Act while using the owner’s vehicle, a mechanism is in place to allow the owner to rebut the presumption that the owner was driving the vehicle at the time of the violation (see line 121). | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SIZE AND WEIGHT OF VEHICLES AND LOADS. |
| SB 134 | Signed | Poore | Under current Delaware law, the county sheriff’s offices are required to appraise goods that are being levied upon to pay debts. In addition, the sheriff’s offices can be held liable to pay the debts of a judgment debtor if, for example, they inadvertently neglect to make a return on a writ of execution. The appraisal provisions in Title 10 of the Delaware Code addressed in this act are out-of-date and impractical to implement. On the subject of the liability of the sheriff's offices, it is a questionable policy to require the sheriff’s office to pay the debt of a judgment debtor for an inadvertent mistake in handling the procedure to levy upon and sell the debtor’s property. This act repeals the appraisal provisions in Title 10 related to the sheriff’s offices. It also repeals provisions imposing liability on the sheriff’s office to pay debt obligations of debtors who fail to pay their bills, when the sheriff’s office commits an error through neglect. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATED TO COURTS AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE. |
| SB 135 | Signed | Lockman | The Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee approved a project to work with the Governor's Office throughout 2018 and 2019 to identify antiquated boards, commissions, and councils that need statutory updates or outright repeals. The Governor's Council on Agriculture was identified as needing updates to require 7 members rather than “up to” 7 members, and to remove the party balance requirement to make it easier to fill vacancies. Consideration must given to geographical and other diversities when appointing members.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE GOVERNOR'S COUNCIL ON AGRICULTURE. |
| SB 138 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Lockman | This Act is the result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee’s review of the Delaware Advisory Council on Career and Technical Education (“DACCTE”), and does the following:
- Clarifies that no more than 2 members may represent any 1 membership qualification.
- Adds 2 nonvoting members, a representative from the Department of Education and a student enrolled in a career and technical education (“CTE”) program.
- Removes the requirement that the chair represent the private sector.
- Limits the chair to 2, 5-year terms.
- Requires DACCTE to submit an annual report that includes advocacy efforts, a needs assessment for statewide CTE programming, and reports from on-site school monitoring visits.
- Requires at least 3 meetings per year take place after regular business hours and in each of the 3 counties.
- Adds quorum and member removal provisions.
- Conforms existing law to the drafting standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE ADVISORY COUNCIL ON CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION. |
