| SB 74 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Hansen | This Act establishes requirements for the handling of treatment records for all of the following health-care providers under Title 24:
1. Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (certified nurse practitioners), Chapter 19.
2. Licensees under the Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Chapter 30: mental health professional counselors and associate counselors, chemical dependency professionals, marriage and family therapists, professional art therapists.
3. Psychologists, Chapter 35.
4. Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Chapter 39.
Under current law, a patient or client does not have a right or clear procedure by which to obtain a copy of their record when one of these practitioners closes a practice, dies, terminates a patient relationship, or is incapacitated. The requirements established under this Act are modeled on the patient record requirements and procedures for physicians and correspond with the changes that would be enacted under House Bill No. 105 (152nd). These requirements and procedures also apply when a patient or client requests copies of their records.
Under existing law, the governing boards established under these chapters have authority to promulgate regulations, if necessary, to address intersections between the requirements under this Act and professional codes of ethics.
Sections 5 through 8 of this Act make technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual and corrects the spelling of the word “health-care” to be consistent throughout these chapters. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO HEALTH RECORDS. |
| SB 91 | Signed | Gay | Delaware law on the application to an authorized judge for the intercept of wire communications was written prior to the creation of the statutory divisions of Family, Fraud and Consumer Protection, and Civil Rights and Public Trust, within the Delaware Department of Justice. This would allow for the divisions leading, for example, sensitive fraud, public corruption, white collar, civil rights and hate crimes investigations to apply to the Superior Court for wire intercepts, and further makes clear that such investigations fall within the purview of the electronic surveillance chapter. Human trafficking is already included in the statute, but its investigations and prosecutions now fall under the jurisdiction of the Family Division.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO WIRETAPPING AND ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE. |
| SB 98 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Poore | This Act allows Dental Clinicians possessing a DDS or DMDS to participate in the Health Care Provider Loan Repayment grant program. The Act also extends the time in which providers may apply for a Health Care Provider Loan Repayment grant from six months to two years following completion of their graduate education. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE HEALTH CARE COMMISSION HEALTH CARE PROVIDER LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM. |
| SB 120 | Signed | Buckson | This bill adds workforce and affordable housing programs to the current list of realty transfer tax eligible expenditures for New Castle, Kent, and Sussex Counties. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EXPENDITURE OF REAL ESTATE TRANSFER TAX PROCEEDS. |
| SS 2 for SB 72 | Signed | Poore | In 2017, the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), Public Law No. 115-97, suspended many itemized deductions from individual federal taxes until January 1, 2026, including the itemized deduction for costs to maintain membership in a labor organization. Senate Bill No. 72 created a tax credit for resident individuals equal to the annual cost, not to exceed $500, to the individual to maintain membership in a labor organization. Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 72 made the annual cost to a resident individual to maintain membership in a labor organization an itemized tax deduction, not to exceed $500. Senate Amendment No. 1 to SS 1 for SB 72 sunset this itemized deduction when the federal tax deduction for costs to maintain membership in a labor organization is restored.
Like SS 1 for SB 72, Senate Substitute No. 2 for Senate Bill No. 72 creates an itemized tax deduction for the annual cost to a resident individual to maintain membership in a labor organization. SS 2 for SB 72 differs from SS 1 for SB 72 as follows:
1. It does not allow an individual to take this deduction if the individual has taken a deduction on their federal income tax return for any cost to maintain membership in a labor organization.
2. It clarifies that this exemption does not include payments that are not deductible under federal law for amounts paid to or through a labor organization for employee benefits, pension contributions, other compensation, or that were used in connection with lobbying or political expenditures, or settlement or investigatory costs or assessments of a government entity.
3. Does not define “labor organization”, because under § 1101 of Title 30, it has the same meaning as when used in federal law in reference to federal income taxes.
If an individual deducts any cost to maintain membership in a labor organization from their federal income tax return, that deduction flows through to the state return. By limiting this deduction to individuals who have not taken a deduction on their federal income tax return for any cost to maintain membership in a labor organization, SS 2 for SB 72 does not need to sunset, because if federal law restores or creates a similar deduction in the future and an individual uses that deduction, the individual cannot claim the same deduction again on their state income tax return.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PERSONAL INCOME TAX. |
| SB 139 | Signed | Mantzavinos | This Act eliminates the need to file a lawsuit against a person, who has caused injury with the person's vehicle, when that person's liability insurer has offered the limits of liability coverage to the injured person and the injured person’s underinsured motorist insurer either consents to the settlement or fails to timely reply to the request for permission to settle. The goal of this Act is to have fewer lawsuits filed merely to obtain permission to accept liability insurers' offer to settle a claim. This Act is not intended to require any person to seek permission from an underinsured motorist insurer to resolve a bodily injury claim. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO UNDERINSURANCE MOTORIST COVERAGE. |
| SB 154 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Pettyjohn | This Act repeals the sunset of the Focus on Alternative Skills Training Program, which provides tuition for an eligible individual to attend an approved nondegree credit certificate program that provides industry-accepted skill training and certification. | AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 211, VOLUME 83 OF THE LAWS OF DELAWARE RELATING TO THE FOCUS ON ALTERNATIVE SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAM. |
| HA 1 to SB 98 | Passed | Minor-Brown | This Amendment makes changes to the definition of new primary care and dental provider. | |
| HA 1 to HB 188 | Passed | Chukwuocha | This amendment revises the composition of the Education Equity Council and adds some rules relating to terms. It also revises portions of the Act to allow for referral and use of legal services in appropriate contexts and adds additional reporting requirements related to such uses. It changes the RPF process to a 3-year rather than an annual process. And it makes a technical correction. | |
| HA 1 to HB 184 | Passed | Romer | This amendment clarifies that the employer has the option to request verification from the employee in order for the employee to receive accommodations. | |
