SB 161 | Committee | Bushweller | Under 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. |
HB 350 | Committee | Paradee | This 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 162 | Committee | Henry | Confessions 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. |