| SB 54 | Committee | Hoffner | This Act is from the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee, to remove the provision that a committee member who participates virtually in a committee meeting is not counted toward quorum. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE JOINT LEGISLATIVE AND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. |
| SB 55 | Committee | Richardson | This Act prohibits gender transition surgery for children due to the potential for an irrevocable procedure occurring when there is a significant probability that children will come to identify with their biological gender.
This Act prohibits the use of public funds and insurance coverage for gender transition surgery for children.
This Act provides for enforcement of the Act as follows:
(1) By providing for compensatory damages, injunctive relief, declaratory relief, or any other appropriate relief.
(2) By making a referral for or provision of gender transition procedures to a child unprofessional conduct for which a physician or healthcare professional making the referral for or provision of gender transition procedures to a child is subject to discipline by the appropriate licensing entity or disciplinary review board with jurisdiction over the physician or healthcare professional in this State. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO GENDER TRANSITION PROCEDURES. |
| SB 56 | Committee | Hoffner | This Act updates the procedures governing the transfer of a manufactured home located in a manufactured home community in order to provide a clearer process and reduce ambiguities that allowed some community owners to prevent the transfer of a lease or a home as well as prevent family members from inheriting the investment made by a deceased family member in a home. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 25 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MANUFACTURED HOME TITLE TRANSFERS. |
| SJR 2 | Committee | Pinkney | This resolution requires the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance to present a report to the Delaware General Assembly, by January 1, 2026, for the provision of insurance coverage for Community Health Worker services by Medicaid providers, which must include a draft State plan amendment or waiver, as appropriate, to the Governor and all members of the General Assembly, with copies to the Director and the Librarian of the Division of Research of Legislative Council, and the Delaware Public Archives. | REQUIRING THE DIVISION OF MEDICAID AND MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TO PRESENT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY WITH A REPORT AND PLAN TO PROVIDE INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER SERVICES. |
| SS 2 for SB 41 | Committee | Buckson | This Act is a substitute for Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 41.
This Act differs from SS 1 for SB 41 in that it removes the ban on the manufacture, sale, delivery, distribution, holding with the intent to sell, and offering for sale in Delaware of food that contains Red dye 40 (CAS no. 25956-17-6).
Like SB 41 and SS 1 for SB 41, this Act bans the manufacture, sale, delivery, distribution, holding with the intent to sell, and offering for sale in Delaware of food that contains Red dye 3 (CAS no. 16423-68-0). For purposes of this chapter and section, food includes drink, ice, confectionary, and condiments. Red dye 3 is a color additive made from petroleum that gives foods a bright cherry-red color. Red dye 3, also labeled Red 3 or FD&C Red No. 3, is a synthetic additive used to color food and drink that has been linked to behavioral concerns in children and cancer. Red dye 3 is in thousands of foods, including those marketed to children. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Branded Foods Database at FoodData Central identified 9,201 U.S. food products that contain Red dye 3, including hundreds of products made by the country’s biggest food companies. However, Red dye 3 does not need to be in our food supply. Companies could replace Red dye 3 with natural colors from foods like beets, red cabbage, or black currants, or could simply leave it out entirely. Red dye 3 is added to food only to make it look more appealing.
After the release of SB 41, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revoked the authorization to use Red dye 3 in food and ingested drugs under the Delaney Clause of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The Delaney Clause prohibits FDA authorization of a food or color additive if it has been found to induce cancer in humans or animals. This Act establishes a State prohibition against Red dye 3 in food products to ensure it will remain banned in the State of Delaware.
The civil penalty provision for violation of this Act remains the same as in SB 41 and SS 1 for SB 41; any person that violates this Act is subject to a civil penalty as follows:
(1) For a first occurrence, not to exceed $5,000, in addition to costs.
(2) For a subsequent occurrence, not to exceed $10,000, in addition to costs.
Each day on which a violation of this Act occurs constitutes a separate occurrence.
This Act retains the same effective date as SS 1 for SB 41. This Act takes effect on January 15, 2027, to align with the date by which Red dye 3 must be removed from foods under federal law. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PURE FOOD AND DRUGS. |
| SB 58 | Committee | Hoffner | This Act provides a remedy for convicted persons relating to changes in forensic scientific or technical information. Specifically, a convicted person may apply to the Superior Court for relief if certain forensic scientific information was not available to be offered by the convicted person prior to the conviction or if it undermines forensic scientific evidence that was presented at trial. The court may grant relief if (1) the convicted person files an application asserting that the relevant forensic evidence is currently available and was not ascertainable through the exercise of reasonable diligence by the convicted person before or during trial or before the date of entry of a plea, and (2) the court determines that, had the evidence been presented at a trial, there is a reasonable likelihood that the result at trial would have been different or that the convicted person would not have been convicted.
Once a petition for relief is filed, the Superior Court shall set a hearing on the petition, not later than 90 days after the petition was filed, and notify the petitioner and the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice may file a response to the petition within 30 days after its filing. After the hearing, if the court determines that the petitioner has failed to make a prima facie showing that the petitioner is entitled to relief, the court will dismiss the petition in a written opinion. However, if the court determines that the petitioner has made a prima facie showing that the petitioner is entitled to relief, the court shall grant the petitioner discovery on matters relating to the forensic evidence used to obtain the conviction or sentence at issue and hold another hearing to determine whether there is a reasonable likelihood that, had the new evidence been presented at a trial, the convicted person would not have been convicted. If so, the court shall vacate the petitioner's conviction and grant the petitioner's motion for a new trial.
For purposes of the Act, "convicted person" means a person who has received a verdict of guilty by the trier of fact, entered a plea of guilty or a plea of nolo contendere that was accepted by the court, or received a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO POSTCONVICTION REMEDY. |
| SB 57 | Committee | Hoffner | This Act updates Title 11 of the Delaware Code concerning postconviction remedies relating to DNA testing and DNA evidence.
Specifically, the Act removes the limitations currently in the Delaware Code (1) that a person convicted of a crime must seek DNA testing within 3 years after the conviction is final and (2) that a person convicted of a crime may not seek DNA testing or a new trial based on DNA evidence if direct appellate review is available.
In addition, the Act requires the court to grant a motion for the performance of DNA testing if certain criteria are satisfied. The Act also permits persons who entered a guilty plea, in addition to persons convicted of a crime, to seek DNA testing, and allows for DNA testing where evidence was previously subjected to testing but additional testing of that evidence provides a reasonable likelihood of results that are more probative.
The Act changes the standard applicable to a motion for a new trial based on DNA evidence. Instead of requiring a showing by clear and convincing evidence that no reasonable trier of fact would have convicted the person, under the Act, a reasonable probability that no reasonable trier of fact would have convicted the person must be established.
Finally, the Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO POSTCONVICTION REMEDY. |
