| HB 271 | Signed | Heffernan | The Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families (DSCYF) is charged with providing transitional and independent living services for youth ages 14 to 21. The Division of Family Services (DFS) contracts for case management services for youth ages 16 to 21, with services designed to promote self-sufficiency and responsible living for young adults who are aging out of foster care. Participants receive life skills training and personal development, mentoring, tuition assistance, and support with transitional housing. Participants may also qualify to receive needs-based stipends through ASSIST (Achieving Self Sufficiency & Independence through Supported Transition) to help with living expenses. DFS recently changed the name of the Independent Living Program to the “Transitional and Independent Living Program” to better reflect the comprehensive nature of services offered to youth. This bill updates references to the program to include “transitional” and independent living services.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government provided additional funding to support young adults who were eligible for independent living services until age 27. The intent was to provide additional support for youth and mitigate the impact of the pandemic on their housing and employment status. DFS exercised this additional funding authority via a mandatory directive from the DFS Director. While the mandatory directive provision expanding services expired in October 2021, DFS decided it would continue providing independent living services for youth until age 23 because of the success observed on behalf of youth. This mandatory directive provision will expire in September 2022, and this bill will grant DFS the statutory authority to continue providing transitional and independent living services for youth until age 23. Expanding independent and transitional living services from age 21 to age 23 better aligns with case management requirements of housing assistance programs, will support youth with transitioning from post-secondary education programs into the workforce, and will help maintain a longer connection to youth required to complete federal reporting for DFS.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 13 AND 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO INDEPENDENT LIVING SERVICES FOR YOUNG ADULTS AGING OUT OF FOSTER CARE. |
| HB 274 | Signed | Osienski | This Act repeals the requirement that individuals seeking to change their name publish notice of the petition for change of name in a newspaper published in the county in which the proceeding is had at least once a week for 3 weeks before the petition is filed. This provision does not exist in 20 other states, including our neighbors in New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia, and serves to only add an additional financial barrier to those seeking to change their name. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CHANGE OF NAME. |
| SB 210 | Signed | Paradee | This Act responds to the promulgation of final federal regulations, 85 FR 74010, for state-sponsored savings programs under section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code, the Stephen Beck, Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014 (“ABLE”), through which contributions may be made to the account of an eligible individual with a disability to meet qualified disability expenses. The federal regulations, among other things, resolve questions related to who may establish and exercise signature authority over an ABLE account. The final regulations clarify that an eligible individual with legal capacity may delegate signature authority to any other person and provide a hierarchy of persons who may establish or exercise signature authority over an ABLE account for an individual without legal capacity. The final regulations also clarify that expenses incurred at a time when a designated beneficiary is neither disabled nor blind are not qualified disability expenses. The Act makes changes to Chapter 96A of Title 16 of the Delaware Code for the sole purpose of conforming the Code to these aspects of the final regulations. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE ACHIEVING A BETTER LIFE EXPERIENCE PROGRAM. |
| SB 218 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Lopez | This Act, known as the Living Donor Protection Act, prohibits discrimination based on an individual’s status as a living organ or tissue donor in the offering, issuance, cancellation, coverage, price, or other condition of an insurance policy, including a life, health, disability, or long-term care insurance policy.
At least 20 states have similar laws, including Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE LIVING DONOR PROTECTION ACT. |
| HB 296 | Signed | Mitchell | All three counties in Delaware have been plagued with thefts of catalytic converters, which contain precious metals having significant monetary value in the scrap metal industry. This Act adds catalytic converters to the list of items for which scrap metal processors shall create a record and provide information when acquired. Amending Section 24(b)(1) to specifically include catalytic converters as items that the industries regulated by Chapter 23 must report will enhance enforcement of this Chapter and assist law enforcement by providing a mechanism to follow-up on thefts of converters and to obtain solvability factors in the ever-growing trend associated with thefts of converters.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SCRAP METAL PROCESSORS. |
| SB 229 | Signed | Mantzavinos | This bill requires applicants for a Delaware resident producer license to either be a Delaware resident or to work for an entity that has a physical location in Delaware out of which the business of insurance is conducted. This bill prohibits the practice of out-of-state applicants using Delaware registered agents or postal boxes to establish residency in Delaware. These changes will help to reduce or eliminate the improper marketing of insurance plans by bad actors that seek to avoid regulatory oversight through these licensing practices. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO RESIDENT INSURANCE PRODUCER LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS. |
| SB 238 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Poore | This Act amends the Delaware City Charter to provide that the Mayor and Council may impose a 3% tax on gross rental income for any lot operating a park for recreational vehicles, load or truck campers, camping trailers, travel trailers, trailers, or motorhomes, located within the boundaries of the city.
The Act further amends the Delaware City Charter to provide that the Mayor and Council may impose a tax, of no more than 3%, on rents or lease payments from apartments and other leased premises that are not subject to City property taxes and that are located within the boundaries of the city.
| AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF DELAWARE CITY RELATING TO REVENUE. |
| HB 328 w/ HA 1 | Signed | K. Williams | This Act makes several adjustments to the law prohibiting drag racing and other speed contests. Many individuals lawfully gather to share their enthusiasm for vehicles and may do so while abiding the rules of the road and without otherwise endangering persons or property. However, others have taken their enthusiasm into dangerous directions that often results in damage to property, injury, or death. For example, Kirkwood Highway has experienced an uptick in large crowds engaged in dangerous driving behavior and as the result of a drag racing event at the Christiana Mall Fashion Center, there was a vehicular fatality. Whether by drag racing, trick or stunt riding, conducting burnouts in intersections, doing donuts in parking lots, or taking over roadways to showboat, these dangers are further amplified by the crowd size that follows and the attempted notoriety sought through social media posts.
The intent of the statute is to promote law-enforcement’s ability to enforce the statute, eliminate prior inadvertent loopholes in the current statute regarding geographic and vehicle type limitations, update the statute to reflect current dangerous driving trends and behavior, and ultimately serve as a deterrent for future unsafe behavior. The current statute incorporates potential penalties for the individual and their licensing status, but it does not address the actual vehicle, as the tool and mechanism that is central to the dangerous behavior. This Act enhances existing penalties and promotes public safety by restricting drivers charged with these dangerous driving behaviors access to their vehicles.
• First, while a first offense remains an unclassified misdemeanor, a subsequent offense becomes a Class A Misdemeanor. The minimum applicable fines are substituted for mandatory community service instead.
• Second, for the purpose of this statute, a subsequent offense is defined as one occurring within 5 years from a prior offense, rather than the default of 2 years set forth in 21 Del. C. § 713.
• Third, the statute expands the list of prohibited conduct to better encompass existing dangerous driving behavior, like tire burnouts in intersections that are not part of races and the dangers to persons or property they pose.
• Fourth, within the context of 21 Del. C. § 4101(a)(3), the statute more clearly defines the geographic enforceability of the statute on non-highway property, such as commercial parking lots, while still allowing commercial property or other owners to consent to the use of their property for these purposes.
• Fifth, the statute expands the types of vehicles that the provision addresses, to include ATV’s and OHV, which are excepted from the 21 Del. C. § 101 definition of vehicles, but which are also used to engage in this behavior. Non street-legal vehicles are often used to participate in the dangerous driving behavior.
• Sixth, recognizing that law-enforcement resources, crowd size, environmental factors, and other safety concerns do not always allow law-enforcement to prioritize on-scene engagement with single vehicles while the behavior in this statute is occurring, the Act expands law-enforcement’s ability to later investigate and arrest for violations of this statute. Under the current statute, violators, when contemplating commission of such offenses, might rely on the fact that law-enforcement safety and resource concerns might dictate that the violators cannot be apprehended on scene or that chasing them might be too dangerous to do. This Act expands the definition of “witnessed” by a law-enforcement officer, under 21 Del. C. § 701(a), to include after the fact review of video surveillance or any other video that captures the violation.
• Seventh, the Act allows for the vehicles used, as the mechanism by which the dangerous behavior is conducted, to be impounded, de-registered, otherwise immobilized, or even eligible for forfeiture proceedings under certain conditions. As the same time, the Act does not prohibit an innocent owner from applying for return of the vehicle from the Court, under certain conditions, if their vehicle is used in a violation of this statute. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 AND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DRAG RACING AND OTHER DANGEROUS OPERATIONS OF MOTORIZED VEHICLES. |
| HB 320 | Signed | Heffernan | In 2000, the United States Federal Drug Administration ("FDA") first approved the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy ("REMS") for Mifeprex; and approved the generic version of Mifeprex, Mifepristone, in 2019. A regimen approved by the FDA in 2016 for Mifeprex and Mifepristone includes the use of Misoprostol. Under the REMS approved by the FDA, healthcare providers who wish to prescribe Mifepristone, Misoprostol, or Mifeprex must complete a Prescriber Agreement before ordering and dispensing the medication. Physicians assistants and advanced practiced registered nurses (APRNs) are healthcare providers who are eligible to prescribe these medications under the REMS. This bill allows physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses to prescribe medication for the termination of pregnancy including Mifeprex, Mifepristone, and Misoprostol. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 RELATING TO PRESCRIBING MEDICATIONS FOR THE TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY. |
