| HB 140 w/ HA 1 | Vetoed | Baumbach | This Act permits a terminally ill individual who is an adult resident of Delaware to request and self-administer medication to end the individual's life in a humane and dignified manner if both the individual's attending physician or attending advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) and a consulting physician or consulting APRN agree on the individual's diagnosis and prognosis and believe the individual has decision-making capacity, is making an informed decision, and is acting voluntarily.
This Act uses terms and definitions that are consistent with other Delaware laws in Title 16, specifically Chapter 25 (regarding advance health-care directives) and Chapter 25A (regarding Delaware Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment).
This Act provides the following procedural safeguards:
1. No one may request medication to end life on behalf of another individual.
2. An individual cannot qualify for medication to end life under this chapter solely because of the individual's age or disability. A mental illness or mental health condition is not a qualifying condition under this Act and a mental illness or mental health condition may be the reason that an individual does not have decision-making capacity and is thus, ineligible for medication to end their life in a humane and dignified manner.
3. Both the individual's attending physician or attending APRN and a consulting physician or consulting APRN must confirm that the individual has a terminal illness and a prognosis of 6 months or less to live, has decision-making capacity, is making an informed decision, and is acting voluntarily.
4. The individual's attending physician or attending APRN must also provide specific disclosures to the individual to ensure that the individual is making an informed decision, including the presentation of all end of life options which include comfort care, palliative care, hospice care, and pain control.
5. The individual must be evaluated by a psychiatrist or a psychologist if either the attending or consulting physicians or APRNs are concerned that the individual lacks decision-making capacity.
6. The individual must complete a witnessed form requesting medication to end life and there are limitations on who can witness the signing of the form.
7. The attending physician or attending APRN must offer the individual the opportunity to rescind the request for medication to end life before writing a prescription for the medication.
8. Two waiting periods must pass before the attending physician or attending APRN may prescribe the medication to end life.
9. The attending physician or attending APRN must provide the qualified patient with instructions about the proper safe-keeping and disposal of unused medication to end life in a humane and dignified manner under applicable state or federal guidelines. The United States Food and Drug Administration guidelines include using a medication collection site or a medication disposal pouch, that deactivates and renders drugs ineffective.
10. An insurer or health-care provider may not deny or alter health-care benefits otherwise available to an individual based upon the availability of medication to end life or otherwise coerce or require a request for medication to end life as a condition of receiving care.
11. A health-care institution may prohibit a physician or APRN from prescribing medication under this Act on the health-care institution's premises and a physician or APRN may to refuse to prescribe medication under this Act.
12. A request or prescription for or the dispensing of medication under this Act does not constitute elder abuse, suicide, assisted-suicide, homicide, or euthanasia.
13. People acting in good faith and in accordance with generally accepted health-care standards under this Act have immunity, but those acting with negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct do not have criminal or civil immunity.
14. The Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) must develop rules and regulations to collect information regarding compliance with this Act and require health-care providers to file a report when medication to end life in a humane and dignified manner is prescribed or dispensed. DHSS may review samples of records maintained under this Act.
The information DHSS collects must include the information necessary to assess a physician's or APRN's compliance with their responsibilities under this Act and DHSS has explicit authority to share information with the Division of Professional Regulation if DHSS suspects that a health-care provider failed to comply with the requirements under this Act.
15. DHSS must complete an annual statistical report of information collected under this Act, similar to public reports available in other states such as New Jersey where this end of life option is available. This report has the following purposes:
• To assist the DHSS in its oversight responsibilities for this Act.
• To assist the public in learning how well this new law is operating.
16. The Department of State may also promulgate regulations or develop forms and protocols necessary under this Act.
17. Allows the Office of Controlled Substances to provide reports of data in the prescription monitoring program to DHSS to assess compliance with this Act.
This Act takes effect when final regulations required under this Act have been promulgated or July 1, 2024, whichever occurs earlier.
This Act is known as "The Ron Silverio/Heather Block End of Life Options Law" in memory of Ron Silverio and Heather Block, who were passionate advocates that passed away without this option becoming available to them. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO END OF LIFE OPTIONS. |
| HB 204 w/ HA 1 + SA 1 | Signed | K. Johnson | This bill grants authority to the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) to adopt regulations related to the operation of temporary staffing agencies that staff temporary nurses and other staff positions in long-term care facilities in the State and assigns oversight within DHSS to the Division of Health Care Quality. The bill requires temporary staffing agencies to (1) register annually with the Division of Health Care Quality; (2) validate the qualifications of all provided staff provided; (3) maintain records of all provided staff’s credentials, job requirements, and required immunizations; and (4) provide all such records upon request to DHSS and to the long-term care facility where the employee is placed. The bill also requires temporary staffing agencies to report annually to DHSS regarding various factors, including its employee placements, costs charged to long-term care facilities, and wages paid to temporary staff.
This bill is intended to replace HB199. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 16 AND 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO TEMPORARY STAFFING AGENCIES SERVING LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES. |
| SB 202 | Signed | Huxtable | For claims for line of duty death benefits for covered persons, which include police officers, firefighters, auxiliary and volunteer ambulance and rescue company members, paramedics, and others, submitted on July 1, 2023, and thereafter, this Act increases the benefits for the beneficiary or beneficiaries from $200,000 to $375,000, payable in annual installments, with the maximum amount paid in any 1 calendar year being $50,000. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LINE OF DUTY DEATH BENEFITS. |
| HB 298 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Dorsey Walker | This Act is a result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee’s (“JLOSC”) review of Adult Protective Services. This Act creates the Vulnerable Adult Populations Commission (“Commission”), whose purpose is to improve the response to and reduce the incidents of vulnerable adult abuse, neglect, or exploitation in this State. The Commission will be comprised of several members from key state agencies, legislators, and the private sector.
The Commission’s duties include:
(1) Studying Delaware court services and procedures, law enforcement procedures and protocols, and criminal justice data collection and analysis, as they relate to vulnerable adult abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
(2) Effectuate coordination among Delaware agencies, departments, and courts to benefit victims of vulnerable adult abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
(3) Promote effective prevention, intervention, and service provision based on research and data.
(4) Recommend standards to state agencies and departments regarding programs and services that serve perpetrators or victims of vulnerable adult abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
(5) Review and provide feedback on legislation relating to vulnerable adult abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
(6) Submit an annual, written report to the Governor, General Assembly, Delaware Supreme Court, and the Director and Librarian of the Division of Research. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE VULNERABLE ADULT POPULATIONS COMMISSION. |
| HB 329 w/ HA 4 | Signed | Hilovsky | This Act addresses the growing concern over the safety of emergency responders. It increases the penalties for persons who violate this section, which requires drivers to yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle making use of audible or visual signals, or a police vehicle using an audible signal only. The fines are increased and after two penalties, a person who violates this section will be subject to a 90-day suspension of their driver’s license. This change in fines and loss of driving privileges increases the penalty to make this a serious offense. This Act also clarifies that a driver who is unable to safely yield the right of way must slow to at least 20 miles per hour less than the posted speed limit.
There have been numerous accidents causing personal injury and even death by inattentive drivers. Hopefully, this will help improve awareness and safety and avoid putting our Police, Fire, Ambulance, Paramedics, Fire Police, DelDOT employees, tow truck operators , utility crews and the distressed citizen broken down on our highways in jeopardy. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO OPERATION OF VEHICLES ON APPROACH OF AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLES. |
| SB 262 w/ SA 2 | Signed | Pettyjohn | This Act permits trucks having 5 or more axles that are hauling farm produce grown in this State and traveling from the farm on which the farm produce is grown to a location at which the farm produce is to be processed or stored, or from a location at which the farm produce is processed or stored to an export facility within this State, to weigh up to 90,000 pounds or combined manufacturer’s gross combined weight rating (GCWR), whichever is less, before a penalty is assessed for exceeding weight restrictions.
A truck hauling farm produce is granted this increased weight limit if the truck complies with several conditions aimed at ensuring public safety. Surrounding states have similar increased weight limits for hauling farm produce.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE SIZE AND WEIGHT OF VEHICLES AND LOADS. |
| SS 1 for SB 221 w/ SA 2 | Signed | Wilson | This Act provides that the next of kin of a deceased police officer, member of a fire department, or member of the Delaware National Guard is entitled to a Delaware state flag if the deceased person served in at least 1 qualifying entity for at least 10 years and died in the line of duty or while an active member.
This Act is a substitute for and differs from Senate Bill No. 221 in the following ways:
- Applies to Delaware state flags only.
- Removes language that referenced draping a flag over a casket at the deceased person's funeral service.
- Removes auxiliary members of a volunteer fire department or a member of service organization providing volunteer ambulance services from list of individuals who qualify for a flag.
- Uses the broader term "law-enforcement officer" and clarifies the definition.
- Clarifies that a firefighter may be either paid or volunteer to qualify for a flag.
- Names the following entities as responsible for providing flags: the Delaware Volunteer Firefighters Association for firefighters, the Department of Safety and Homeland Security for police officers, and the Delaware National Guard for their members. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE PROVISION OF A FLAG TO NEXT OF KIN. |
| HB 382 | Signed | Heffernan | This Act requires that public school students receive a vision screening, including a test for color blindness, in kindergarten. Students must also receive vision screenings at appropriate intervals in grades 1 through 12, to be determined by the DOE. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO VISION SCREENING. |
| SB 78 | Signed | Lockman | This Act exempts from school property taxes real estate owned by Todmorden Foundation and used for the purposes of affordable housing.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SCHOOL PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS. |
| HB 403 w/ HA 3 | Signed | Schwartzkopf | This Act transfers the sections pertaining to assessment functions and the New Castle County Board of Assessment Review from the subchapter governing the functions of the Department of Land Use to the subchapter governing the functions of the Department of Administration and updates reference to the Department of Land Use to the Office of Finance in Chapter 83 of Title 9. It changes the New Castle County Board of Assessment Review from 8 members appointed by New Castle County Council and 1 member appointed by the County Executive, with the advice and consent of County Council, to 8 regular members and 3 alternate members appointed by New Castle County Council and 1 regular member appointed by the County Executive, with the advice and consent of County Council.
It changes the Sussex County Board of Assessment Review from 5 members to 5 regular members and 3 alternate members. It permits Sussex County Council to provide for the term, residency requirement, compensation, and procedure for filling vacancies. It authorizes the appointment of a representative called a “referee” or a panel of 3 members of the Board to hear assessment appeals. It increases the time period in which the appeal process may take place from one month to three months.
In all counties, it removes the requirement that a board of assessment or Department or Office of Finance to show the names of the owners, last owners, or reputed owners, the value of the property, and the amount of each owner’s assessment in their written assessments.
In all counties, it clarifies that all property subject to assessment shall be assessed at its fair market value as of the date of the most recent reassessment base year in the county in which the property is located.
It removes the requirement in Sussex County that the written assessment must state whether unimproved land is timberland, swamp, or marsh, and the number of acres.
It provides the Board of Assessment Review for New Castle County the ability to determine the schedule and manner of hearings necessary to handle its higher volume of appeals in a timely manner and increases the time for the Board to provide appealing parties notice of the hearing from 5 to 10 days. Further, it changes the date that the Board of Assessment for Sussex County or its representatives must hear appeals and make additions, alterations, or corrections to assessments from February 15 through March 1 to March 1 through May 31 of each year or until all appeals have been heard and acted upon during a year of reassessment.
It removes the requirement that the Board or representatives must sit in their offices during each secular day to hear such appeals.
It provides that duplicate assessments may be in the form of a widely accepted electronic file format.
It clarifies that when a board of assessment, Department or Office of Finance makes a supplemental assessment that does not alter, amend, or make a new one, it is treated like a general or annual assessment and the notice provisions required of an altered, amended, or new assessment do not apply.
In all counties, it provides that any notices required to be given under Title 9, Chapter 83 may be sent by e-mail when the property owner has provided an electronic mail address for notice purposes.
In all counties, it provides that each board of assessment or Department or Office of Finance shall publish notices of the place, and the website if made available electronically, where the annual and supplemental assessment roll may be inspected together with a notice of the time and place of the sittings to hear appeals. It changes the publication requirements for such notices in the case of Kent and Sussex Counties to one time in at least 2 newspapers and in the case of New Castle County to the newspaper with the highest general circulation.
It clarifies the method for determining taxation value, frequency of assessments, and assessment rate for mobile homes by providing that Ad Valorem assessments for mobile homes shall be developed in the same manner as real property and be predicated on their market value and taxed at the same rate as real property throughout the county and school district in which the mobile home is located and in the name of the owner. In instances where the land is leased, the land upon which the mobile home is located shall be separately assessed and shall not include the value of the mobile home located thereon. It removes the provision that mobile homes be subject to a tax based on their value as rated in a nationally recognized appraisal guide and that a recognized guide be used to determine the assessed value on mobile homes. It removes the provision that for model homes not appearing in a guide, the board of assessors must contact a reputable mobile home dealer to determine value.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ASSESSMENT FUNCTIONS IN ALL COUNTY GOVERNMENTS. |
| SB 311 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Sokola | This bill creates new subsections in Section 507(c) of Title 14 of the Delaware Code to define the licensure and certification requirements more clearly within Chapter 5 of Title 14 and provides the ability for charter schools to hire the administrators that they deem beneficial to the success of the school’s education program and the needs of students and staff. To that end, the bill defines “Instructional Administrator” and “Non-instructional Administrator” at a charter school. The bill clarifies that all Instructional Administrators at charter schools must be licensed and certified as administrators while Non-instructional Administrators do not. The bill also exempts the charter school administrator who reports directly to the Charter Board of Directors from the licensure and certification requirement and allows a charter school to request permission from the charter authorizer to hire an additional unlicensed and uncertified administrator.
Section 2 requires that the Professional Standards Board work with the Delaware Charter Schools Network and the Department of Education to provide for any regulatory changes necessary to implement the legislation.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EDUCATION. |
| HB 416 | Signed | Dukes | This Act raises the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of a low-speed vehicle from less than 2,500 pounds to 3,000 pounds or less. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LOW-SPEED VEHICLES. |
| SB 320 | Signed | Huxtable | This Act creates a new license category of speech/language pathology assistant that is licensed and regulated by the Board of Speech/Language Pathologists, Audiologists, and Hearing Aid Dispensers. This addition is needed to address the shortage of speech/language pathology services in the State, particularly in public schools. The speech/language pathology assistant must practice under the supervision of a licensed speech/language pathologist. The parameters of that supervision will be specified in rules and regulations. A speech/language pathology assistant will be able to support and supplement the services provided by the supervising speech/language pathologist subject to the limits of the permissible scope of practice. This Act specifies that to qualify for licensure, the speech/language pathology assistant must hold certification issued by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). The requirements for that certification include education, clinical experience, and successful completion of an examination. The applicant must also meet this State’s requirements as set forth in this Act. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE BOARD OF SPEECH/LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS, AUDIOLOGISTS, AND HEARING AID DISPENSERS. |
| HB 432 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Minor-Brown | This Act updates provisions of the code covering the Delaware Institute of Medical Education Research (DIMER), which creates partnerships with out-of-state medical schools as an alternative to creating a state sponsored medical school. Specifically, this Act does the following:
(1) Updates the name of the Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University to “Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University”;
(2) Adds the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine as a DIMER medical school;
(3) Alters and updates the composition of the DIMER Board and provides that all members will be appointed by the Governor;
(4) Clarifies that a vacant Board position is not counted for quorum purposes;
(5) Requires the Board Chair to be elected from the members of the Board, rather than appointed by the Chair of the Delaware Health Care Commission;
(6) Requires the Board to select candidates for the Chair and Vice Chair from a nominating committee determined by the Board; and
(7) Provides that the Board Chair and Vice Chair shall serve no more than 3 consecutive terms. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL EDUCATION AND RESEARCH. |
| HS 1 for HB 383 w/ HA 1, HA 2 + SA 1 | Signed | Harris | This substitute for House Bill 383 does the following:
Like House Bill 383, Section 1 of this Act prohibits discrimination against 340B drug distribution by manufacturers, third-party logistics providers, and wholesale distributors. Violations are deemed an unlawful practice enforceable by the Consumer Protection Unit of the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice has authority to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this Act. This Section differs from House Bill 383 by removing repackagers from the list of entities prohibited from engaging in 340B drug discrimination, authorizing the Board of Pharmacy to promulgate regulations and take disciplinary action against both licensees and holders of permits issued by the Board, and requiring covered entities, manufacturers, third-party-logistics providers, and wholesale distributors to publish annual reports on their websites and provide copies of the reports to the Board of Pharmacy, Speaker of the House, Senate President Pro Tempore, Office of the Governor, and members of the House and Senate Health Committees and Joint Finance Committee.
Section 2 of this Act prohibits discrimination by pharmacy benefits managers against 340B covered entities. Violations are deemed unfair practices in the insurance business. Contracts purporting to include provisions in violation of this Act are deemed void and unenforceable. This Section differs from House Bill 383 by making technical changes to correct internal references and changing references to “health carriers” to reference “purchasers” instead.
Section 3 of this Act contains severability language in the event that any provision or the application of the Act to a person or circumstance is deemed to be invalid.
Section 4 of this Act contains non-preemption language to ensure that the Act can be read and interpreted to not conflict with other State or federal law. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 18 AND 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST 340B DRUGS AND COVERED ENTITIES BY MANUFACTURERS AND PHARMACY BENEFITS MANAGERS. |
| HB 411 w/ HA 1 | Signed | D. Short | This bill seeks to amend sections of Chapter 66 concerning the members of Delaware Volunteer Fire Departments. This bill will hold current members to the same standards as applicants with relation to criminal activity. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS FOR VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS. |
| HS 1 for HB 389 | Signed | Bush | This Substitute for House Bill No. 389, like House Bill No. 389, provides for an annual raffle license that will allow a licensee to hold up to 20 raffle events each year, requires the licensee to notify the Board at least 7 days prior to a raffle event, and requires a report to the Board after a raffle is conducted.
This Substitute differs from House Bill No. 389 as follows:
-It corrects the vote requirement. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 11 of Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to impose or levy a tax or license fee.
-It changes the annual raffle license fee from $100 to $300.
-It adds a requirement that the report to the Board following the conclusion of a raffle must include all of the information required in a report after a game under section 1521 of Title 28.
-It clarifies that the number of days in which a report after a game must be filed with the Board is increased from 30 to 60 if the game in question is a raffle event conducted by the holder of an annual raffle license.
-It makes technical changes to conform with the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
-It specifies that the Act takes effect 6 months after its enactment into law. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 28 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CHARITABLE GAMING. |
