| SB 67 | Committee | Hoffner | This Act codifies that a criminal history report obtained by a home-care agency through the BCC’s criminal screening process is valid for 3 years from the date of the applicant’s fingerprinting.
The Act further requires the Department to promulgate regulations that require the Rap Back System to notify current and future employers of any subsequent criminal history of the applicant. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE BACKGROUND CHECK CENTER. |
| SA 1 to SB 40 | PWB | Walsh | Senate Bill No. 40 adds a new subsection (c) to § 7005 of Title 25. Under the new subsection (c), a pattern or practice of violations of the provisions of subchapters I through V of Chapter 70, or a pattern or practice by a landlord of a provision of a rental agreement shall be deemed an unlawful practice under § 2513 of Title 6 and a violation of subchapter II of Chapter 25 of Title 6 if certain facts are true, for example: (1) The violation was not the direct result of a condition caused by the want of due care by the tenant, a member of the family, or any other person on the premises with the tenant’s consent; and (2) The landlord had actual or constructive notice of the condition that caused the violation. This amendment removes the language that allows the landlord to be held accountable if the landlord had “constructive notice” of the violation, and preserves the language holding the landlord accountable if the landlord had "actual notice" of the violation. | |
| SB 69 | Committee | Buckson | This Act prohibits a school district or charter school from selling or serving breakfast, lunch, or competitive food on campus during the school day that contains the color additive Red dye 40 (CAS no. 25956-17-6). Competitive foods are sold through the school nutrition programs, and include items sold in vending machines on campus or served a la carte.
Red dye 40 (CAS no. 25956-17-6) is a synthetic food coloring derived from petroleum. It is found in food products such as cereal, beverages, gelatins, puddings, popsicles, chips, dairy products, and confections. Red dye 40 is used solely to enhance the appearance of food and does not provide any nutritional value.
Consumption of Red dye 40 has been associated with hyperactivity, aggression, and other neurobehavioral problems in some children. Red dye 40 may also be linked with migraines and learning difficulties. The European Union requires a warning label to be placed on food products with Red dye 40, stating that it “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children”.
California became the first state to pass a prohibition on the provision of and sale of foods in schools that contain Red dye 40. Presently, at least 6 other states have introduced legislation to prohibit Red dye 40 in schools.
This Act is effective immediately and is to be implemented beginning July 1, 2026. The Department of Education and local education agencies will use the period leading up to the implementation date as a planning and preparation year. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FOODS AND BEVERAGES IN SCHOOLS. |
| SA 1 to SB 60 | Stricken | Hansen | This amendment restricts a public utility from recovering from customers organizational or membership dues but only to the extent that the organization engages in lobbying or similar activities intended to influence the outcome of legislation, rules, ballot measures, or regulatory decisions. This amendment also caps an electric distribution company’s non-mandatory spending category, as defined in 26 Del. Admin. C. Ch. 3007, such that it shall not exceed 5% of its rate base approved by the Public Service Commission in its most recent distribution base rate case. | |
| HCR 15 | Passed | Bolden | This Concurrent Resolution designates March 8th, 2025, as International Women’s Day in Delaware. | DESIGNATING MARCH 8TH, 2025 AS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY IN DELAWARE. |
| SR 9 | Passed Senate | Sokola | This Resolution establishes the roll of members of the Senate of the 153rd General Assembly. | RELATING TO THE ROLL OF THE MEMBERS OF THE SENATE. |
| HB 75 | Committee | Dukes | A victim of child sexual abuse that occurred in this State who has been barred from filing suit against the victim’s abuser by virtue of the expiration of a former civil statute of limitations are permitted to file these claims in the Superior Court of this state at any time. This is intended to apply retroactively.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR CIVIL CLAIMS BASED ON SEXUAL ABUSE OF A MINOR. |
| HB 69 | Committee | K. Williams | This Act updates the DOE’s standards for selecting and and implementing statewide reading screeners and literacy intervention approaches. In summary, this Act does the following:
1. Clarifies factors that the Department must consider when selecting literacy intervention approaches that may be used by schools.
2. Authorizes school districts and charter schools to submit an alternative reading screener to the Department for approval.
3. Requires the Department to annually identify schools with a significant level of students below proficient on the State’s third grade reading assessment for 2 consecutive years.
4. Requires the Department to provide additional supports to schools identified as below proficient. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO READING COMPETENCY. |
| SA 1 to SS 1 for SB 5 | Defeated | Richardson | This Amendment modifies the language of the Act by imposing the requirement that an abortion provided to protect the mental health of the pregnant person must be medically indicted by the good-faith medical judgement of a treating attending health care professional and a Delaware licensed mental health professional. An abortion provided to protect the physical health or life of an individual must be supported by the good-faith medical judgement of a treating attending health care professional. | |
| SA 2 to SS 1 for SB 5 | Defeated | Richardson | This Amendment modifies the language of the Act by imposing the requirement that an abortion provided to protect the physical health of the pregnant person must be medically indicted by both the good-faith medical judgement of a treating attending health care professional and a Delaware licensed health care professional who concurs with the treating professional's medical judgement. Under this amendment, abortions provided for mental health reasons require only the support of a treating attending health care professional. | |
