Signed into law

HS1 for HB 162 with HA3 passed the Senate by a 37-2 vote with one absent to authorize the process of natural organic reduction to be used in Delaware to accelerate the decomposition of human remains to soil. This process uses large vessels to hold human remains together with straw, wood chips or other natural materials for about 30 days. The human remains and organic materials, mixed together with warm air, are periodically turned and the process eventually results in reduction of the human remains to a soil material that can then be provided to the deceased individual's family. Natural organic reduction is considered a more eco-friendly cremation alternative, forgoing the usage of formaldehyde and the release of carbon dioxide and mercury into the atmosphere, according to the bill. The substitute bill defines “final remains” and “last remains.” The bill  passed the House Jan. 23 by a 37-2 vote with 1 not voting and 1 absent.

SB 159 removes membership with the Blood Bank of Delaware as a recognized benefit by the State due to changes in policies in how hospitals and insurance companies bill for blood replacement and blood replacement procedures.

SB 205 was signed by Gov. John Carney May 24 after passing the House May 23 by 39 votes with two absent to restructure table games licensing fee reduction currently received by lottery agents to allow capital investments greater than the minimum amounts required under the law to count toward the allowable license fee reductions. The bill unanimously passed the Senate Jan. 18.

HB 285 was signed May 28 to amend the Medical Marijuana Act by removing the requirement that a patient have a debilitating medical condition to qualify for a registry identification card, instead allowing health-care providers to make the determination of whether a patient has a diagnosed medical condition for which the patient would receive therapeutic or palliative benefit from the use of medical marijuana. The bill passed the Senate 16-5 March 28, and passed the House Jan. 25 by a 26-10 vote with one not voting and four absent.

Senate passed

SB273 passed the Senate May 23 by 14-5 with two absent to legalize the sale and distribution of raw milk and products derived from raw milk by dairy producers directly to consumers for human consumption. Allowing raw milk and products derived from raw milk to be sold in Delaware will respond to that demand while also providing new economic opportunities for Delaware dairy producers.

SS1 for SB 13 unanimously passed the Senate May 23 to create the Hospital Quality Assessment, which places a 3.58% assessment on Delaware hospitals’ net patient revenues. With the exception of 10% that may be used to support existing Medicaid obligations, 53.5% of net funds generated by the Hospital Quality Assessment must be used to increase the inpatient and outpatient payments to hospitals, and 46.5% must be deposited into the Hospital Quality and Health Equity Fund, to be used to develop or enhance funding for Medicaid initiatives, unlocking federal matching dollars.

SB 265 with SA1 and SA2 passed the Senate May 23 by a 15-6 to authorize the DNREC State Energy Office and the Delaware Public Service Commission to work in consultation with the Delaware Renewable Energy Task Force to solicit proposals from one or multiple developers willing to build a system of offshore wind turbine electric generation facilities, transmission lines and interconnection facilities. The State Energy Office is directed to procure between 800 and 1,200 megawatts of electricity to Delaware’s public utilities. Delaware’s municipal electric companies, rural electric cooperatives, and third-party providers will be able to purchase electricity generated from offshore wind if they choose. Delaware also could initiate its own project or partner with another state. The Public Service Commission would approve a final solicitation document.

SS1 for SB 293 passed the Senate May 23 by a 14-5 vote with two absent to would revise both the Delaware Fair Housing Act and Residential Landlord-Tenant Code to repeal the exemption to discrimination based on source of income that allows a landlord to discriminate against tenants who participate in government-sponsored rental assistance programs because this exemption contributes to a lack of affordable housing in this state.

SS1 for SB 307 passed the Senate May 23 by a 14-6 vote with one absent to clarify the meaning of custom fabrication. 

SS3 for SB 169 unanimously passed the Senate May 23 to create a process for compensating individuals who have been wrongfully convicted in the state. To obtain compensation, a petitioner must show they were pardoned, or, after the conviction was overturned, the charges were dismissed or the petitioner was acquitted on retrial; or the petitioner entered an Alford plea after the conviction was overturned and that the petitioner was innocent of the crimes for which the petitioner was convicted. The prosecuting agency can prevent compensation by showing that petitioners were accomplices to the crimes at issue, or that petitioners intentionally “took the fall” for the true perpetrators. Successful petitioners are awarded damages based on the amount of time they served sentences of incarceration, parole, or registration on the sex offender registry solely as a result of the wrongful convictions, as well as reimbursement of fines, fees, and costs related to the wrongful conviction. The act also provides an emergency stipend and post-release services for individuals who are released from incarceration and who receive pardons or whose convictions are overturned, vacated, or reversed.

SS1 for SB 228 unanimously passed the Senate May 23 to change the definition of "copycat weapon" so that small caliber rimfire pistols which are primarily or solely used in competitive target shooting are not made unlawful to purchase, own, possess, or transfer. 

SB 289 with SA1 unanimously passed the Senate May 23 to authorize counties and municipalities to go above the threshold adopted by the DEO. This Act also amends Title 29, Chapter 80 of the Delaware Code by charging the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council and the Sustainable Energy Utility to collaborate to design programs to promote and support the development and construction of energy efficient housing, including programs to alleviate the potential increased upfront costs caused by the adoption of local stretch codes.

SB 275 with SA1 unanimously passed the Senate May 23 to combat aggressive driving and dangerous speed differentials on targeted roadways. For a first occurrence, a civil penalty of not less than $25 nor more than $75; for a subsequent occurrence, a civil penalty of not less than $57.50 nor more than $95.

SB 286 passed the Senate May 23 by 18-3 to create the Delaware Hispanic Commission.

SB 287 passed the Senate May 23 by 18-3 to clarify duties and powers of the Auditor of Accounts.

SB 292 passed the Senate May 23 by 18-3 to update the statute on disclosure of pupil records to ensure compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, so that educational records of students, and personally identifiable information contained therein, may only be disclosed or redisclosed in accordance with FERPA and its implementing regulations.

SS1 for SB 304 passed the Senate May 23 by 18-3 to make changes to nonacademic training requirements for school district and charter school personnel to help ensure that mandatory trainings are relevant to student needs and based on best practices. 

Awaiting governor signature

SB 183 passed the House May 23 by 39 votes and two absent to allow qualified military judges who are retired from the Delaware National Guard. The bill unanimously passed the Senate Jan. 11.

SB 207 passed the House May 23 by 39 votes with two absent and unanimously passed the Senate Jan. 25 to eliminate the sunset provision for the drug xylazine.

SB 209 passed the House May 23 by 39 votes with two absent and unanimously passed the Senate March 20 to add adult sibling of a decedent to the definition of next of kin to allow the Medical Examiner to release the personal property of a decedent to an adult sibling of a decedent, when there is no other next of kin. It will also allow the Medical Examiner to provide a copy of a post mortem examination report to an adult sibling, upon written request, when there is no other next of kin.

SB 210 passed the House May 23 by 39 votes with two absent to establish the chief information officer of the Department of Technology and Information or their designee as a member of the Enhanced 911 Emergency Reporting System Service Board by virtue of their position. The bill awaits action in the Senate Executive Committee.

SB 223 passed the House May 23 by 39 votes with two absent and unanimously passed the Senate March 26 to regulate mobile-integrated healthcare and community paramedicine by authorizing the Division of Public Health to handle applications and set standards. 

HB 281 with HA3 and SA1 passed the Senate May 23 with 39 votes and two absent and unanimously passed the Senate May 22 to allow a plan under Medicare part C, a Medicare Advantage Plan, as an option for eligible pensioners who are first hired on or after January 1, 2025, if the plan is selected and adopted by the State Employee Benefits Committee as a regulation under the Administrative Procedures Act. It unanimously passed the House March 12, but returns with the Senate amendment.

HB 282 with HA1, HA2 and SA1 passed the House May 23 with 39 votes and two absent and unanimously passed the Senate May 22 to address procedural requirements for the State Employee Benefits Committee. It earlier passed the House March 12, but returns with the Senate amendment.

Bills in committee

House Administration Committee

SJR 6 passed the Senate May 22 with 19 votes and two absent to direct health care professional licensure boards to review their existing professional licensure application language to revise or remove all intrusive and stigmatizing language around mental health care and treatment and replace it with language that meets the threshold requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

SS1 for SB11 unanimously passed the Senate May 22 as the first leg of a constitutional amendment to modernize the bail provisions within the Delaware Constitution and clarify the power of the General Assembly to enumerate certain felony offenses for which, or circumstances under which, pretrial release on bail may not be allowed. The bill moves toward completing a pretrial release-detention continuum requiring specific evidence-based detention decisions that seek to maximize public safety while minimizing pretrial detention for those for whom detention is not required. Specifically, the act would retain the express declaration of a general right to have bail set in a criminal case, and provide that the crimes for which bail may be withheld are capital murder, where the evidentiary proof is positive or presumption of the accusation great, and other specifically identified felony offenses determined by and under procedures prescribed by law where the evidentiary proof is positive or presumption of the accusation great. 

HB 414 amend Frankford charter

HB 418 amends Laurel charter

House Appropriations Committee

HB 292 would require the Department of Elections to review every political committee’s contribution and expense report and to note the report, on the Department’s website, as either “Submitted but Not Reviewed” or “Reviewed and Final”. If the Department discovers any violations of this chapter, it must work with the candidate to rectify the violations. Once the violations are corrected and the candidate submits an amended report the report’s status shall be updated on the Department’s website and clearly marked as “Reviewed and Final”. This Act will apply to all contribution and expense reports submitted after February 1, 2025.

HB 399 would create a state-level Department of Veterans’ Affairs, headed by a cabinet-level Secretary appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Department will take over most of the duties currently handled by the Commission on Veterans’ Affairs and its staff. The Commission will continue in its current form, but under the Department of Veterans’ Affairs rather than the Department of State, and it will continue to advise on the duties of the Department and make recommendations regarding the welfare of veterans in the State. The Department will assume the assets and liabilities of the Commission and current staff of the Commission will become staff of the Department. 

HB 394 has to do with the Delaware Health Resources Advisory Board.

SS1 for SB 82 would require state programs to provide annual reports to the General Assembly about compliance with federal and State law and regulation that require meaningful access to services for individuals with limited English proficiency and effective communication for individuals with disabilities. The bill unanimously passed the Senate June 2023.

HB 360 with HA1 would add Eid ul-Fitr to a one day state holiday.

HB 365 would establish the framework and requirements for a competitive mobile sports wagering market in Delaware under the authority of the Lottery Director. 

House Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce Committee

SS1 for SB 151 unanimously passed the Senate May 22 to require that all long-term care facilities that advertise, market, or otherwise promote that the facility provides dementia care services must complete a written notice on a form prepared by the Department of Health and Social Services.

SB 296 passed the Senate May 22 by 19 votes with two absent to amend the Delaware Antitrust Act to provide indirect purchasers who have been harmed by violations of the Delaware Antitrust Act the ability to sue for damages. Indirect purchasers of a product or service in the chain of distribution are often the ones who bear the burden of any overcharges from antitrust violations such as price-fixing. Direct purchasers and others in the chain of distribution of the affected product or service often have the ability to pass the overcharge through the chain of distribution to end users. 

HB 425 would move the Office of Medical Marijuana, which is currently under the Department of Health and Social Services, to the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner within the Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Under this act, the marijuana commissioner, not DHSS, will be responsible for administering the Delaware Medical Marijuana Act, which includes registration and certification of safety compliance facilities and compassion centers; issuing registry identification cards; registering qualifying patients and designated caregivers; and updating rules and regulations under the Delaware Medical Marijuana Act.

House Education Committee

SB 279 unanimously passed the Senate May 21 to add that ballistic resistant film may be used in addition to ballistic resistant glass for a safety feature of a new school or major renovation.

SB 297 unanimously passed the Senate May 21 to acknowledge the importance of diversity and inclusivity in education by requiring the Department of Education to update content standards and regulations using a nonexhaustive list of racial, ethnic, and cultural groups.

House Health & Human Development Committee

SS2 for SB 150 with SA1 unanimously passed the Senate May 22 to define dementia care services and activity services, and requires that all long-term care facilities that offer dementia care services have sufficient staff to meet the needs of each resident, including a sufficient number of dedicated activity staff. This act also requires that the staff who work with residents receiving dementia care services complete dementia care services training and identifies certain requirements for such training.

HB 419 would require the Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families to provide new luggage to children in foster care to use for the transportation of their personal belongings when entering custody, moving from one placement to another, or exiting custody, and makes clear that disposable bags and trash bags may not be used for these purposes. It requires the Department to establish and maintain an inventory of new luggage for this purpose. The Department must annually provide a report containing a current accounting of supply inventory and inventory management procedures.

House Judiciary Committee

SB12 with SA1 unanimously passed the Senate May 22 to protect both defendants’ due process rights and public safety by establishing the list of circumstances for which defendants may be detained pretrial without the opportunity for release and providing adequate due process protections for detention-eligible defendants. This act protects public safety by permitting courts to detain a defendant who is charged with an enumerated felony offense where no condition or combination of conditions of bail will reasonably assure a defendant’s appearance in court or the safety of a witness, a victim, or the community.

House Labor Committee

SB 295 unanimously passed the Senate May 22 to strengthen the current practice of obtaining service letters for employment in child care facilities to protect children from workers who have engaged in prior acts that are prohibited by the Office of Child Care Licensing. 

House Natural Resources & Energy Committee

HB 422 would require an environmental justice impact report in order to get a permit for a new facility, expansion, or renovation in an overburdened community. This includes commercial, municipal, and industrial businesses.

House Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee

HB 407 establishes an application process, policies, procedures, operational instructions, and requirements for licensed transporters to obtain and use transporter license plates when transporting vehicles. 

SB 206 with SA1 unanimously passed the Senate May 16 to allow use of green lights on municipal owned-and-operated snow removal equipment and vehicles during winter weather operations.

HB 409 would define a unique vehicle as one not manufactured to meet all Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards in effect for the model year in which it was manufactured or which does not meet the requirements of the Division of Natural Resources and Environmental Control emissions inspection program.

HB 416 would raise the gross vehicle weight rating of a low-speed vehicle from less than 2,500 pounds to 3,000 pounds or less.

HB 417 would remove statute of limitations to allow survivors of child sexual abuse that occurred in Delaware to file suit against their abusers in the Superior Court at any time. This is intended to apply retroactively.

House Sunset Committee

SB 277 unanimously passed the Senate May 16 to require the Board of Massage and Bodywork not issue initial certifications to practice as a certified massage technician for applications received after December 31, 2024.

Senate Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology

HB 317 passed the House with 38 votes and three absent May 21 to create a requirement for all sellers of third-party gift cards to display a notice of potential scams involving gift cards.

HS1 for HB 272 with HA1 and HA3, sponsored by Rep. Hilovsky, would not prohibit persons or business entities from receiving compensation for advice to Veterans that is unrelated to veteran claims or services available to veterans from the V.A. or its accredited agencies.

HB 371 passed the House May 16 with 39 votes and two absent to change how the Insurance Commissioner and the State Treasurer provide for distributions from taxes collected by the Insurance Commissioner to be made to fire companies or departments in Delaware. The current method for reporting, calculating, and making distributions to fire companies or departments is complex to administer and can lead to incorrect payments. 

HB 378 passed the House May 16 with 37 votes and three absent to require health spas selling subscription services online to provide a prospective buyer of such a subscription the right to cancel the automatic renewal online.

Senate Education Committee

HB 382 passed the House May 23 with 38 votes and three absent to require 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.

SB 311 would provide 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. 

Senate Elections & Government Affairs

HB 254 with HA1 unanimously passed the House May 14 to amend the charter of the Town of Millville.

SB 288 allows Kent County Levy Court to impose a lodging tax not greater than 3% in Kent County.

SB 299 addresses notice and bidding requirements for state contracts to $5,000.

Senate Environment, Energy & Transportation Committee

HB 373 passed the House May 21 with 38 votes and three absent to allow the Office of Highway Safety to solicit and receive subscriptions, donations, and other funds from individuals or organizations for the purpose of implementing highway safety programs and projects that support the mission of reducing traffic fatalities and injuries in Delaware.

Senate Finance Committee

SJR7 would direct the Office of Child Care Licensing to adopt an electronic record and filing system that will modernize the State’s child care system. 

SB44 with SA1 would establish the Office of New Americans to help improve the lives and economic prosperity of new Americans who come to Delaware and of all Delawareans generally.

HS1 for HB 5 with HA1 unanimously passed the House May 16 to charge the Department of Health & Social Services to apply to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for a State Plan Amendment that would allow for reimbursement of medically necessary behavioral health services without IEP or IFSP documentation.

SB 78 would exempt from school property taxes real estate owned by Todmorden Foundation and used for the purposes of affordable housing. 

HB 274 passed the House May 7 by a 23-6 vote with seven not voting and five absent to require that all health insurance plans including Medicaid provide coverage, at no cost when prescribed to infants, of at least one early peanut allergen introduction dietary supplement and at least one early egg allergen introduction dietary supplement. 

HB 200 with HA1 passed the House with 39 votes and two absent May 9 to establish a mental health services unit for Delaware high schools. The unit is phased in over three years, beginning in FY2024, to arrive at a final ratio of 250 full-time equivalent students grades 9-12 for a full-time school counselor, school social worker, or licensed clinical social worker. Additionally, a unit ratio of 700 full time equivalent students for grades 9-12 for employment of a full-time school psychologist.

Senate Health & Social Services

HB 204 with HA1 passed the House with 39 votes and two absent to grant authority to the Department of Health and Social Services 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 assign oversight within DHSS to the Division of Health Care Quality. 

HS 2 for HB 110 passed the House May 23 by a 26-11 vote with four absent to require all health benefit plans delivered or issued for Medicaid to cover services related to the termination of pregnancy. Coverage provided under this section is not subject to any deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or any other cost-sharing requirement and may not impose restrictions on services inconsistent with state law.

Senate Housing and Land Use

HB 363 passed the House May 14 with a 34-2 with two absent to require a landlord who provides a dwelling place to a person as part of their employment compensation to provide them with a disclosure form advising them of the conditions and requirements for occupancy and vacancy of the premises once they are no longer employed by the landlord. The disclosure must inform the tenant employee that the landlord must offer the tenant, within 5 business days of termination by the employer, the opportunity to enter into a written rental agreement, if no rental agreement is in effect already. No offer for a rental agreement is necessary if the tenant employee is terminated for cause. The landlord may condition the rental agreement on the person financially qualifying as a tenant and meeting the landlord’s income, credit, or other financial requirements for renting the unit. This Act also lengthens the time period the landlord must wait before bringing a summary possession action against a formerly employed tenant from 15 days to 30 days unless the termination is for cause.

SB 310 would update 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.

HB 403 with HA3, sponsored by Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, and supported by Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes, passed the House May 23 with 37 votes and four absent to change 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; 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. 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 two newspapers

Senate Judiciary Committee

HB 374 passed the House 29-11 with one absent May 21 to provide the same legal protections afforded providers of contraceptive and abortion services to providers of fertility treatment.

SB 312 would protects the public’s right to engage in activities protected by the First Amendment without abusive, expensive legal retaliation. Specifically, the Act combats the problem of strategic lawsuits against public participation, also called “SLAPPs.” A SLAPP may come in the form of a defamation, invasion of privacy, nuisance, or other claim, but its real goal is to entangle the defendant of a SLAPP in expensive litigation and stifle the ability to engage in constitutionally protected activities.

SS1 for SB 224, sponsored by Sen. Brian Pettyjohn, R-Georgetown, removes private schools from the Safe School Zone law. 

SB 313 is a lengthy bill requiring ⅔ vote relating to general corporation law. It references several lawsuits including the recent Chancery Court case involving Elon Musk.

Senate Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee

HB 386 passed the House May 23 with 37 votes and four absent to revise the definition of “massage establishment” by repealing the exemption for all business establishments licensed under Delaware law. This exemption allows a massage practitioner to work in a licensed cosmetology shop that does not hold a massage establishment license. 

SB 314 would removes “supervision” from the scope of practice of a master’s social worker.