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Daily Report for 4/27/2021

Governor's Actions

No legislation is Signed by Governor Today

New Legislation Introduced

Bill	Current Status	Sponsor	Synopsis	Title
SCR 12	Passed	Lawson	This concurrent resolution recognizes the month of May 2021 as "Healthy Vision Month" in the State of Delaware.	RECOGNIZING THE MONTH OF MAY 2021 AS "HEALTHY VISION MONTH" IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE.
SCR 32	Passed	Lopez	This resolution proclaims May 2021 "Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month" in the State of Delaware.	PROCLAIMING MAY 2021 "CYSTIC FIBROSIS AWARENESS MONTH" IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE.
SCR 31	Passed	Lopez	This concurrent resolution designates the month of May 2021 as "Lyme Disease Awareness Month" in the State of Delaware.	DESIGNATING THE MONTH OF MAY 2021 AS "LYME DISEASE AWARENESS MONTH" IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE.
SCR 27	Passed	Gay	This resolution recognizes long-term care workers and facilities in Delaware and designates May 9 through 15, 2021 as Skilled Nursing Care Week in Delaware.	RECOGNIZING LONG-TERM CARE WORKERS AND FACILITIES IN DELAWARE AND DESIGNATING MAY 9 THROUGH 15, 2021 AS SKILLED NURSING CARE WEEK IN DELAWARE.
SCR 39	Passed	Poore	This resolution designates May 2-9, 2021, as "Tardive Dyskinesia Awareness Week" in Delaware.	DESIGNATING MAY 2 – 9, 2021, AS “TARDIVE DYSKINESIA AWARENESS WEEK” IN DELAWARE.
SS 2 for SB 78 w/ SA 1	Signed	Sturgeon	Senate Bill No. 78 enhances the qualifications for an individual to serve as a member of a school board or the State Board of Education. Specifically, this Act does all of the following: 1. Requires a prospective member of a school district board or State Board of Education to undergo the background check for child-serving entities and provides authority for the State Bureau of Identification to provide the required background check information to the appropriate entities. 2. Provides that background check information provided under this Act is not a public record under the Delaware Freedom of Information Act. 3. Requires that the Commissioner of Elections determine that an individual does not have any disqualifying convictions before the individual can be a candidate for election to a school board. 4. Requires the suspension of a member of a school board or the State Board of Education if the member is charged with a crime that would disqualify the individual from holding the position if convicted. 5. Requires the suspension of a charter school board member who is charged with a disqualifying offense. Existing law requires potential charter school board members to undergo and pass a criminal background check to serve as a charter school board member. 6. Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. The disqualifying convictions under Senate Bill No. 78 are similar to those that cause an educator to lose their license or certificate and the additional qualifications do not apply to current school board members until the expiration of the member’s current term, unless the member is charged with a disqualifying crime while serving. Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 78 differs from Senate Bill No. 78 as follows: 1. Automatically suspends a member of the State Board of Education or a vocational-technical school district board if the member is charged with a disqualifying crime instead of requiring the Governor to suspend the member. 2. Imposes a 10-year period of ineligibility, instead of a lifetime bar, for someone convicted of a violent felony. 3. Removes the section making this Act effective immediately because legislation is always effective immediately, unless otherwise provided, so that section is unnecessary. Senate Substitute No. 2 for Senate Bill No. 78 differs from Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 78 and Senate Bill No. 78 as follows: 1. Changes the permanent disqualification of an individual convicted of a felony offense against public administration to a 10-year disqualification like other felonies. 2. Requires a candidate for election to a school board to have requested the background checks by the deadline to file notice of candidacy but provides the State Bureau of Identification and the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families with 15 days to provide the results of the background checks. 3. Revises § 309 to Title 31 so that background check reports required under this Act are provided to the proper entities and makes additional revisions to § 309 to Title 31 for internal consistency within the statute and for consistency with other provisions of this Act.	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 AND TITLE 31 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERS OF SCHOOL BOARDS AND THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
HB 158	Committee	Yearick	This Act creates a $500 tax credit applicable to individual personal income taxes for certain lower income, working poor, individuals. In the case of spouses filing a joint return, the tax credit is $1,000. If spouses file their Delaware taxes separately, each spouse with the required income will be entitled to a $500 tax credit. Additionally, for certain qualifying lower income, working poor, individuals the current personal tax credit allowed under § 1110 of Title 30 of the Delaware Code of $110 is being increased to $500. This personal credit is refundable.	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PERSONAL INCOME TAX CREDITS.
SJR 3	Committee	Lopez	This Joint Resolution suspends the requirement that student athletes participating in non-high risk sports outdoors wear masks while actively engaged in practice or game play while on the field for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year. This establishes parity between the Governor's face covering restrictions for youth and amateur sports and the face covering restrictions for interscholastic sports. Finally, this Joint Resolution requires that an authenticated copy of the resolution be forwarded, upon the resolution going into effect, to the Executive Director of the DIAA, who shall be responsible for its dissemination to all DIAA Member Schools.	SUSPENDING THE REQUIREMENT THAT STUDENT ATHLETES WEAR FACE COVERINGS WHILE PARTICIPATING IN NON-HIGH-RISK INTERSCHOLASTIC SPORTS OUTDOORS IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH PARITY IN FACE COVERING REQUIREMENTS FOR YOUTH AND AMATEUR SPORTS AND FOR INTERSCHOLASTIC SPORTS.
SA 1 to SB 95	Stricken	Pinkney	Under current law, a student who has been convicted of any felony cannot qualify for the Inspire Scholarship. This amendment changes that qualification by limiting the prohibition to students who have been convicted of a violent felony as defined in Title 11 of the Delaware Code, Section 4201.
SB 119	Committee	Gay	This Act is a result of the 2019 report of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee’s task force under Senate Resolution No. 9 of the 150th General Assembly, which recommended requiring dental insurers to report to the Delaware Health Care Claims Database (“Database”). When the Database was created in 2016, providers of dental insurance were exempted from the mandatory reporting requirements. Dental care, however, remains an important indicator of overall health, and claims information related to dental care will help the Database continue to provide value to the State and researchers to help advance the Triple Aim Plus One, the State's goal of better health, improved health care quality and patient experience, lower growth in per capita health care costs, and an enhanced provider experience. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE HEALTH INFORMATION NETWORK AND HEALTH INSURERS.
SB 121	Committee	Gay	This Act is the result of the 2019 report of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee’s task force under Senate Resolution No. 9 of the 150th General Assembly. This Act addresses a gap in care coordination efforts for individuals in the custody of the Department of Correction (“Department”), by ensuring that appropriate health data regarding the care provided to those individuals and the cost of the care is provided to the Delaware Health Information Network ("DHIN") for inclusion in DHIN's clinical health data repository and the Delaware Health Care Claims Database, respectively. The data will be accessed or used only consistent with DHIN's governing statute, Chapter 103 of Title 16. Under this Act, the Department or a third-party entity that provides medical care to an individual in the Department’s custody or care as of the date this Act is enacted must enroll in DHIN under § 8916(1) of Title 29 no later than 30 days after the date of enactment, and must enter into an agreement with DHIN under § 8916(2) of Title 29 no later than 90 days after the date of enactment. A third-party entity that begins providing medical care to an individual in the Department’s custody or care after the date this Act is enacted must enroll in DHIN under § 8916(1) of Title 29 no later than 30 days after beginning to provide the medical care, and must enter into an agreement with DHIN under § 8916(2) of Title 29 no later than 90 days after beginning to provide the medical care. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 AND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE HEALTH INFORMATION NETWORK AND THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION.
SB 118	Committee	Gay	This Act is the result of the 2019 report of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's task force under Senate Resolution No. 9 of the 150th General Assembly. which recommended requiring long-term care facilities to enroll in and provide summaries of care to the Delaware Health Information Network ("DHIN"). To improve quality and coordination of care across the State, this Act requires long-term care facilities to enroll in DHIN and provide summaries of care to DHIN. Under this Act, long-term care facilities that provide services in Delaware as of the date this Act is enacted must enroll in DHIN under § 1119D(a) of Title 16 no later than 30 days after the date of enactment, and must enter into an agreement with DHIN under § 1119D(b) of Title 16 no later than 90 days after the date of enactment. Long-term care facilities that begin providing services in Delaware after the date this Act is enacted must enroll in DHIN under § 1119D(a) of Title 16 no later than 30 days after beginning to provide the services, and must enter into an agreement with DHIN under § 1119D(b) of Title 16 no later than 90 days after beginning to provide the services.	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES AND SERVICES AND THE DELAWARE HEALTH INFORMATION NETWORK.
HA 1 to HB 160	Passed	Bentz	This is a technical amendment that corrects the inadvertent omission of some strike through and underlining.

Legislation Passed By Senate

Bill	Current Status	Sponsor	Synopsis	Title
HB 34	Signed	D. Short	This bill removes the option of allowing notification to the public of candidates for Mayor and City Council by posting the names of such candidates in at least five (5) public places in the City rather than having this information published in a newspaper of local and/or general circulation; incorporates City Council's decision to move the Delaware Department of Elections' voter registration system, effective for the 2022 municipal elections; incorporates the City Council's decision to continue utilizing the "Book of Registered Voters" only for non-resident property owners; conforms the titles of the City's election officials to the titles used in Chapter 75 of Title 15 of the Delaware Code entitled "Municipal Elections"; corrects the month during which the elected officials are sworn in and the Vice Mayor elected; and removes the reference to a specific meeting during which appointments of non-elected City officials and staff are made.	AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF SEAFORD RELATING TO ELECTIONS, REGISTRATION OF VOTERS, APPOINTMENTS OF NON-ELECTED OFFICIALS, AND MONTH ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE SWORN IN.
HB 68	Signed	Michael Smith	The National League of Families POW/MIA flag is a “symbol of our Nation's concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoners, missing, or unaccounted for in all U.S. wars” 36. U.S.C. § 902. In 1989, the United States required the National League of Families POW/MIA flag be flown on Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, National POW/MIA Recognition Day, and Veterans Day. In 1991, Delaware enacted Senate Bill No. 87, Chapter 88 of Volume 68 of the Laws of Delaware, which required certain state buildings to fly the POW/MIA flag each day. Senate Bill No. 87 was not drafted as an amendment to the Delaware Code and so was not included in the Delaware Code. This Act codifies Senate Bill No. 87 into § 408 of Title 29 to conform § 408 with existing Delaware and federal law in recognition of this State's commitment to our Veterans. 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 AND VOLUME 68, CHAPTER 88 OF THE LAWS OF DELAWARE, RELATING TO BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS
HCR 19	Passed	K. Johnson	This House Concurrent Resolution recognizes the month of April 2021, as “National Fair Housing Month” in the State of Delaware.	RECOGNIZING THE MONTH OF APRIL 2021, AS THE ANNUAL “NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING MONTH” IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE.
SB 95	Signed	Paradee	This bill will provide Delaware students with strong academic credentials and a demonstrated commitment to volunteer public service to receive scholarship monies sufficient to cover the full cost of tuition at Delaware State University. The intent of this bill is to increase the number of students in Delaware who not only attend the University but who successfully complete degree programs.	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE INSPIRE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.
SB 12 w/ SA 1	Signed	Poore	The purpose of this act is to open up The Delaware Student Excellence Equals Degree Act (SEED Act) to adult Delaware residents, who are not recent high school graduates. Currently, about 56% of Delawareans age 25-64 lack a post-secondary degree. This expansion of the SEED grant program will encourage adult learners to return to school to enhance their knowledge and skills and increase their job opportunities. Adult individuals with a high school diploma or less education were significantly impacted by Covid-19-related job loss. This legislation can help to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on those adults. Tennessee has instituted a similar program called the Tennessee Reconnect Act.	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EDUCATION AND THE DELAWARE STUDENT EXCELLENCE EQUALS DEGREE ACT.
SB 105	Signed	Pinkney	This Act allows pharmacists to administer or dispense contraceptives under a standing order from the Division of Public Health. At least 11 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands allow pharmacists to dispense contraceptives without a prescription from another health-care practitioner. This practice is supported by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 AND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PHARMACISTS DISPENSING AND ADMINISTERING CONTRACEPTIVES.
SB 109 w/ SA 1	Signed	S. McBride	This Act requires that home health-care services for Medicaid long-term care services and support providers be reimbursed for services by Medicaid-contracted organizations at a rate equal to or more than the rate set by the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance for equivalent services. This rate floor system is currently used for reimbursement rates for home health-care nursing services paid for by Medicaid-contracted organizations. 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 MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT RATES FOR HOME HEALTH-CARE SERVICES.
SB 112 w/ SA 1	Signed	Brown	This Act expands eligibility for mandatory expungement of adult and juvenile cases by doing all of the following: 1. Aligns eligibility for juvenile expungement so that all cases eligible for adult expungement are eligible for juvenile expungement. 2. Allows all cases terminated in favor of the accused and cases for underage possession or consumption of alcohol under § 904(e) or (f) of Title 4, possession of marijuana under § 4764 of Title 16, or possession of drug paraphernalia under § 4771 of Title 16 to be expunged, regardless of prior or subsequent adjudications or convictions. 3. Repeals § 4764(j) of Title 16 because this Act makes cases for marijuana possession eligible for mandatory expungement under § 1017 of Title 10 and § 4374 of Title 11. 4. If a person has no prior or subsequent convictions, makes a case for drug possession under § 4756 of Title 16 eligible for mandatory expungement 5 years after conviction. Juvenile adjudications of delinquency for drug possession under § 4756 of Title 16 are already eligible for mandatory expungement so no corresponding change is necessary to § 1017 of Title 10. 5. If a person has no prior or subsequent convictions, makes additional felony convictions eligible for mandatory expungement 10 years after conviction. Juvenile adjudications of delinquency for these felonies are already eligible for mandatory expungement so no corresponding change is necessary to § 1017 of Title 10. 6. Applies existing exceptions for eligibility for mandatory expungement because of the status of the victim to the offenses that become eligible under this Act. 7. Makes corresponding changes to other expungement sections in Title 10. This Act adds a misdemeanor conviction for official misconduct to the offenses that are ineligible for mandatory expungement under § 4373(b) of Title 11. This Act does not make any offenses that are currently ineligible for mandatory expungement under § 4373(b) of Title 11 eligible for mandatory expungement. This Act takes effect on January 1, 2022. Section 10 of this Act aligns this Act with the changes to § 4373 of Title 11 if Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 38 is also enacted into law in 2021. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10, TITLE 11, AND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EXPUNGEMENT.
SA 1 to SB 109	Passed	S. McBride	This Amendment corrects the names for the services covered by this Act.
SA 1 to SB 12	Passed	Poore	This amendment returns the language in the bill to the language as it exists in the current Section 3406A(d) of Title 14 by limiting the eligibility of students for SEED grant moneys to their junior year while they pursue a bachelor’s degree.
SA 1 to SB 112	Passed	Brown	This Amendment clarifies that the 10 year period before a felony conviction is eligible for mandatory expungement is from the date of conviction or the date of release from incarceration, whichever is later. This is the same manner that the time period is determined for convictions that may be eligible for discretionary expungement under § 4374 of Title 11. This Amendment also removes burglary and felony theft from the offenses that are eligible for mandatory expungement.

Legislation Passed By House of Representatives

No Legislation Passed By House

Senate Committee Assignments

Committee
Education
Environment & Energy
Legislative Oversight & Sunset

House Committee Assignments

Committee
Judiciary
Revenue & Finance

Senate Committee Report

Committee
Finance

House Committee Report

Committee
Administration
Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce
Judiciary

Senate Defeated Legislation

No Senate Defeated Legislation

House Defeated Legislation

No House Defeated Legislation

Nominations Enacted upon by the Senate

Nominee	Status	Commission/Board	Reappointment
Green-Street, Reneta	Confirmed	Judge of Superior Court	New
Mayer, Katharine	Confirmed	Judge of Court of Common Pleas	New
Will, Lori	Confirmed	Vice Chancellor of the Court of Chancery	New