Daily Report for 3/20/2018

Governor's Actions

No legislation is Signed by Governor Today

New Legislation Introduced

BillCurrent StatusSponsorSynopsisTitle
HR 26PassedMiroThis resolution designates March 30, 2018 as "Doctors' Day" to recognize the valuable contributions made by physicians in Delaware.RECOGNIZING MARCH 30, 2018 AS "DOCTORS' DAY" IN DELAWARE.
SB 161CommitteeBushwellerUnder this Act, a provider of services under § 2118(a)(2)a.1. and 3. of Title 21 may not exceed the charges permissible under the fee schedule established by the Workers’ Compensation Oversight Panel for work-related injuries. And, this Act prohibits these providers of services from demanding or requesting any payments in addition to the charges authorized by this Act. It also requires these providers of services to adhere to health care practice guidelines and be subject to utilization review. In addition, this Act requires insurers to report any pattern of overcharging, excessive treatment, or other improper actions by a healthcare provider to the Division of Professional Regulation. Finally, this Act provides that if an insurer has a contractual arrangement with a medical provider governing the fees for medical services, the contract fees would apply. The fee schedule would apply only in the absence of any such contractual arrangement. AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION PAYMENTS.
HA 1 to HB 311PassedBoldenThis Amendment clarifies that the exemption from licensure applicable to social workers employed by non-profit agencies is not limited to social workers employed by hospitals. 
HB 343CommitteeHudsonModeled after legislation passed in New Jersey on August 8, 2013, this legislation prohibits a person named on the federal terrorist watchlist from purchasing, owning, possessing or controlling a deadly weapon or ammunition for a firearm within the State.AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE POSSESSION OF DEADLY WEAPONS.
HB 350CommitteeParadeeThis Act will create the Biometric Privacy Protection Act and Geolocation Privacy Protection Act in Title 6 of the Delaware Code to give Delaware’s citizens important protections with respect to the collection, storage, use, and disclosure of their unique biometric information (such as fingerprints, voiceprints, and retinal and facial scans) and, with respect to their use of mobile devices, geolocation information that can identify Biometrics are biological and behavioral characteristics, such as fingerprints, voiceprints, and retinal and facial scans, that uniquely identify a person, and they are increasingly being collected from Delaware’s citizens and used for a variety of purposes, including marketing, employment, and security. Biometrics are among our most sensitive personal information, potentially more valuable to identity thieves, hackers, and marketers than even Social Security numbers, and need to be protected as such. Currently under Delaware law, biometric information can be collected without an individual’s knowledge or consent, and a person capturing or collecting biometric information is not required to identify what biometric information is being collected, why it’s being collected, or how long it will be kept. Delaware law also contains no protections for individuals to prevent their biometric information from being sold or transferred to third parties. The use of biometrics offers great promise for improving the lives of Delaware’s citizens in a variety of ways, but the sensitivity and importance of biometric information requires that there be protections for Delawareans with regard to the collection and use of their biometric information. The Biometric Privacy Protection Act will expand the legal protections available under Delaware law to individuals relating to the collection and use of their biometric identifiers and biometric information. Among its provisions, the Biometric Information Privacy Protection Act: (1) Requires persons in possession of biometric data to develop and make publicly available written retention schedules and guidelines for keeping biometric information; (2) Requires persons to provide timely, reasonable notice and obtain informed, affirmative consent before acquiring, collecting, storing, or capturing biometric data; (3) Prohibits persons from selling or profiting from an individual’s biometric data; (4) Prohibits persons from disclosing or disseminating an individual’s biometric data except under specified circumstances, which include an individual’s informed, affirmative consent to the disclosure; and (5) Requires persons in possession of biometric data to implement and maintain reasonable procedures and practices to protect the biometric data and prevent its unauthorized disclosure. Geolocation information is data that can be used to determine the precise location of smartphones and other mobile devices and, by extension, the individuals carrying them. Such information can be used to track the users carrying those devices wherever they go. Location-based applications currently can make use of geolocation information on an individual’s mobile device without explicitly informing the individual that the geolocation information is being collected, used, stored, or disclosed, why it is being collected, used, stored, or disclosed, or to whom it is being disclosed, and without obtaining the individual’s consent to the collection, use, storage, or disclosure of the geolocation information. The Geolocation Privacy Protection Act will create legal protections for Delaware’s citizens relating to the collection, use, storage, or disclosure of the geolocation information on their mobile devices, by prohibiting persons from collecting, using, storing, or disclosing such information unless they first obtain an individual’s affirmative express consent after providing the individual with clear, prominent, and accurate notice that: (1) Tells the individual that the individual’s geolocation information is being collected, used, stored, or disclosed; (2) Informs the individual of the specific purposes for which the geolocation information is being collected, used, stored, or disclosed; (3) Informs the individual of the identity of any third parties to whom the geolocation information is being disclosed; and (4) Provides the individual with a hyperlink or other easy access to the geolocation information collected, used, stored, or disclosed. Both the Biometric Information Privacy Protection Act and the Geolocation Privacy Protection Act give the Consumer Protection Unit of the Department of Justice the authority to investigate and prosecute violations. There is no private right of action under the Biometric Information Privacy Protection Act or the Geolocation Privacy Protection Act. Both the Biometric Information Privacy Protection Act or the Geolocation Privacy Protection Act provide that their provisions do not apply to certain specified persons or entities or in certain specific situations. This Act provides that it will become effective January 1 following its enactment into law. AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PERSONAL INFORMATION PRIVACY.
SB 162CommitteeHenryConfessions are powerful evidence of guilt. This Act adopts the Uniform Law Commission's Uniform Electronic Recordation of Custodial Interrogations Act to promote truth-finding, promote efficiency, and protect constitutional values. To accomplish this, this Act mandates audio recording or audio and video recording of the custodial interrogation process by law enforcement when the interrogation relates to a crime described in § 4201(c) of Title 11, which designates certain crimes as violent felonies, or to a delinquent act. Recognizing that a blanket requirement of recording electronically all interrogation is not feasible, this Act provides 6 exceptions to the recording mandate: (1) exigent circumstances, (2) an individual's refusal to be recorded, (3) interrogations occurring in other jurisdictions, (4) when the interrogator reasonably believes that the offense involved is not one the Act mandates must be recorded, (5) when the interrogator or interrogator's supervisor reasonably believes electronic recording would reveal a confidential informant's identity or jeopardize the safety of the officer, the person interrogated, or another individual, and (6) equipment malfunctions. Further, this Act requires the prosecution to notify the defense of an intention to introduce an unrecorded statement and of the exception that permitted the lack of recording. This Act requires the prosecution to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that an exception applies. This Act also prescribes remedies for violations of the electronic recording requirement, including the giving of a cautionary instruction to the jury. Finally, this Act requires the Attorney General to adopt rules to implement this Act, which are to be enforced by each law enforcement agency.AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ELECTRONIC RECORDATION OF CUSTODIAL INTERROGATIONS.

Legislation Passed By Senate

BillCurrent StatusSponsorSynopsisTitle
SB 130 w/ SA 1CommitteeEnnisThis bill restores the Board of Parole’s authority to hear and make decisions regarding violations of offenders released through good time credits.AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PAROLE.
SB 149SignedLavelleThis legislation creates a fine for “Coal Rolling”, a practice that is often undetectable at the time of vehicle inspection due to the ability of an operator to change functions and increase emissions after passing inspection. Coal Rolling is the practice of modifying a diesel engine to increase the amount of fuel entering the engine in order to emit large amounts of black or grey sooty exhaust fumes into the air. It also may include the intentional removal of the particulate filter. Practitioners often additionally modify their vehicles by installing smoke switches and smoke stacks. In addition to the environmental concern of increased emissions, there is a safety component as the excessive emissions can impair a motorist’s visibility. AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES, OPERATIONS AND EQUIPMENT, RULES OF THE ROAD, MISCELLANEOUS RULES.
SA 3 to SB 10PassedMarshallThis amendment deletes the proposed minimum wage increases in Senate Bill No. 10, including the cost of living adjustments. Instead, the amendment creates a two-step increase in the minimum wage from $8.25 per hour to $8.75 per hour effective October 1, 2018, and to $9.25 per hour effective October 1, 2019.  
SB 154 w/ HA 1SignedHockerSection 1 eliminates the need to use an ordinance to appoint a Town Manager and specifies that all departments, including the Police Department, report directly to the Town Manager. Section 2 outlines the Town Manager's responsibility for the Police Department. Section 3 eliminates the organizational details of the beach patrol. AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF SOUTH BETHANY.
SA 1 to SB 130PassedEnnisThis amendment makes a technical correction to the bill. 

Legislation Passed By House of Representatives

BillCurrent StatusSponsorSynopsisTitle
SB 129 w/ SA 1SignedEnnisThis bill makes clear that farm equipment and implements of husbandry, including when being temporarily moved or transported by a manufacturer, dealer, business, or commercial transport company, shall not be subject to the weight requirements of Section 4502 and therefore not subject to overweight fees by the Secretary under Section 4504. AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO OVERWEIGHT FARM EQUIPMENT.
HA 1 to HS 1 for HB 330PassedSchwartzkopfThis amendment permits a qualified law-enforcement officer to use a weapon which by compressed air or spring discharges a pellet, slug or bullet. This amendment also clarifies that it is not unlawful to possess or sell a BB or air gun if the pellet or slug that is discharged is not larger than a .177 shot, which is the size of a BB shot. 
HA 1 to HS 1 for HB 287PassedK. WilliamsThis Amendment removes the requirement that a student must be eligible to take a statewide alternate assessment to receive the new diploma. The reason is the requirement actually limited the number of students who would receive the new diploma which was not the intention. 

Senate Committee Assignments

Committee
Banking, Business & Insurance
Education
Judicial & Community Affairs
Transportation

House Committee Assignments

Committee
Administration
Agriculture
Economic Development/Banking/Insurance/Commerce
Education
Health & Human Development
Housing & Community Affairs
Public Safety & Homeland Security

Senate Committee Report

No Senate Committee Report

House Committee Report

No House Committee Report

Senate Defeated Legislation

BillCurrent StatusSponsorSynopsisTitle
SB 10 w/ SA 3DefeatedMarshallThis Act increases the minimum wage required to be paid in this State by 50 cents a year beginning in 2017 and ending in 2020. After 2020, the minimum wage required to be paid in this State increases based on cost-of-living adjustments under the federal Social Security Act.This Act also makes technical corrections to conform to existing law related to the State’s deferral to the federal minimum wage to the guidelines of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. In addition, this Act requires that employers pay an increased minimum wage based on cost-of-living adjustments under the federal Social Security Act in any year in which the federal minimum wage does not increase.AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MINIMUM WAGE.

House Defeated Legislation

No House Defeated Legislation

Nominations Enacted upon by the Senate

No Records