Senate passed

SB 259 passed the Senate May 8 with 19 votes and two absent to update and modernize the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association board of directors' composition.

SB 260 passed the Senate May 8 with 19 votes and two absent to give the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association the authority to promulgate regulations by removing the requirements that the secretary of education propose DIAA-related regulations and the state board of education approve the proposed regulations. It also removes the requirement that DIAA and Department of Education collaborate to develop regulations. 

Awaiting governor signature

SB 276 passed the House May 7 by 35 votes with six absent to name the Newark Regional Transportation Center after U.S. Sen. Tom Carper. The bill unanimously passed the Senate April 17. 

HB 209 with HA 1 with SA 3 passed the House May 7 22-14 with five absent to prohibit rental companies, shared vehicle owners, and peer-to-peer car sharing programs from recovering damages and charging administrative fees relating to the loss of use of a rental vehicle or shared vehicle. The bill passed the Senate 12-8 with one absent April 23, but had returned to the House because of the Senate amendment. 

Bills in committee

House Administration Committee

SB 213, sponsored by Sen. Gerald Hocker, R-Ocean View, passed the Senate 19-1 with one absent April 25 to allow Millville to impose and collect a lodging tax. 

SB 214 passed the Senate 19-1 with one absent April 25 to allow Millsboro to impose and collect a lodging tax.

HB 384 would authorize the City of Newark to levy and collect a per student, per semester tax on colleges and universities that host in person classes which are located within the boundaries of Newark. This tax applies to all colleges and universities including any organizations that are considered subdivisions of the state of Delaware or are otherwise tax exempt, including but not limited to the University of Delaware. It also limits the available payment methods to restrict the use of credit cards for the payment of the tax.

HB 384 makes technical corrections to Delaware Code to reflect legislation that was enacted by the 152nd General Assembly in 2023, and makes basic technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. While technical in nature, the bill states these changes are beyond the authority of the code revisers to make and can only be done by the General Assembly through legislation. The bill also includes technical corrections identified outside of those provided by the code revisers. It requires a greater than majority vote for passage to err on the side of caution because some of the sections of the Delaware Code being revised may require a super-majority vote under the Delaware Constitution. 

HB 390 names the hill east of Mill Creek as “Lieutenant McMichael’s Hill of Eminence.” This was the site of the action during the Revolutionary War that was the most impactful combat event that occurred on Delaware soil. 

House Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce Committee

HB 383 would prohibit discrimination against 340B drug distribution by manufacturers, repackagers, third-party logistics providers and wholesalers. Violations are deemed an unlawful practice enforceable by the consumer protection unit of the Department of Justice.

SB 249 passed the Senate 19-1 with one absent April 25 to amend law relating to captive insurance to provide the commissioner with additional flexibility to approve those types of financial institutions that would be authorized to hold required capital and surplus of captive insurance companies. 

SB 267 passed the Senate May 7 by 19 with two absent to clarify various aspects of the state’s unclaimed property laws.

SB 268 passed the Senate May 7 by 19 with two absent to update the Uniform Transfer on Death Security Registration Act. 

House Health & Human Development Committee

SB 261 passed the Senate May 7 by 19 with two absent to amend Delaware Code provisions which govern the Delaware Health Facilities Authority. 

House Natural Resources & Energy Committee

SB 264 passed the Senate May 7 by 19 with two absent to remove the sunset provision relating to the electrical and natural gas utility distribution system improvement charge.

House Sunset Committee

HB 386 revises 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. 

Senate Agriculture Committee

SB 273 would 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.

Senate Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology

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. 

HS 1 for HB 302 passed the House May 7 by 24-3 with eight not voting and six absent to require all group, blanket and individual health insurance policies cover prostate screening for men at high risk for prostate cancer who are over the age of 40. Men at high risk for prostate cancer means African American men or those with a family history of prostate cancer.

House Bill 333 with HA 1 passed the House May 7 with 34 votes and seven absent to create the Delaware Artificial Intelligence Commission tasked with making recommendations to the General Assembly and Department of Technology and Information. 

Senate Corrections and Public Safety Committee

HB 287 passed the House May 7 with 35 votes and six absent to require that an owner be reimbursed up to $1,500 annually for veterinary care expenses paid by the owner for the care of a law enforcement canine retired from a police department of a political subdivision of the state.

Senate Education Committee

SB 292 would 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.

Senate Elections & Government Affairs

SB 287 would clarify duties and powers of the auditor of accounts.

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

SB 294 would remove assigned salary schedules established for child care licensing specialists and child care licensing supervisors, who are employed through the Department of Education. By removing this language, the Department of Education will be able to provide equitable compensation to early childhood personnel within the Office of Child Care Licensing.

SB 295 would allow child care centers to require service letters from previous employers who may have concerns about the employee providing care to children, or to ask previous employers whether the employee was ever warned, reprimanded, suspended, or discharged for any violations found in the Department of Education's Regulations for Early Care and Education and School-Age Centers, and for the Office of Child Care Licensing to report any suspected failure of an employer to adhere to the requirements of a service letter to the Department of Labor for review and possible civil penalties.

SJR 7 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. The OCCL must provide a report regarding the adoption of an electronic record and filing system by Jan. 31, 2025 with a plan to implement the system by June 1, 2026.

Senate Environment, Energy & Transportation Committee

SB 289 would 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 290 would institute a state nontidal wetlands program and leave intact the current state tidal wetlands program. According to the bill, the state nontidal wetlands program will be more efficient and responsive than the federal program, and cover gaps in federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act and mitigate the uncertainty surrounding the limits to federal jurisdiction. 

Senate Executive Committee

SB 11 is 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. 

SB 12 protects 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.

Senate Finance Committee

SB 17 revises the Victims’ Bill of Rights and the Victims’ Compensation Assistance Program based on the recommendations in the February Victims’ Bill of Rights Committee final report. 

HS 2 for HB 350 would create the Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board, which will be responsible for review and approval of annual hospital budgets beginning with budgets for calendar year 2026. Hospital budgets established under this process are required to adhere as closely to the spending benchmark as is reasonable given the hospital’s financial position and associated economic factors, promote efficient and economic operations of the hospital, and maintain the hospital’s ability to meet its financial obligations. As a temporary measure until the Board begins operations, hospitals are required to charge no more than 250% of Medicare costs to any payer for hospital services in calendar year 2025. The bill adds a performance improvement plan process as an interim step prior to requiring a hospital to submit a proposed budget for approval or modification by the board. With this change, the board will only accept and review budget information in its first year of operation in 2025. In 2026, it may direct hospitals to submit a performance improvement plan. It exempts hospitals that are exclusively rehabilitative hospitals. It exempts hospitals who derive 45% or more of their revenue or whose patient population has 5% or less Medicare patients from the 2025 reference pricing provision. It extends the interim reference pricing period to include 2026 and prohibits balance billing in reference pricing period.

HB 140 with HA 1 passed the House 21-16 with four absent April 18 to permit 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 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. 

Senate Housing and Land Use

SB 293 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.

Senate Judiciary Committee

SB 282 would repeal the Senior Trust Fund Fee, the Interstate Compact Fee and the Substance Abuse, Rehabilitation, Treatment, Education and Prevention Fund Fee imposed on criminal defendants, and eliminate any outstanding balances owed on these fees.

SB 283 would repeal the DELJIS Fund fee imposed on criminal defendants. The act would become effective upon the specific appropriation of General Fund monies to replace DELJIS’s full spending authority of the repealed fee.

SB 284 would discharge balances owed by individuals ordered to pay a probation supervision fee under state law.

SB 285 would eliminate the requirement that Justice of the Peace court constables reside within the State of Delaware. The residency requirement was established when constables were independent officers, and had their own bonding requirements and penalties for failure to do the business of the court. Constables are now employees of the Justice of the Peace court and the residency requirement is no longer needed. 

HB 353 with HA 1 passed the House May 7 35-6 to provide civil and criminal remedies for the wrongful disclosure of deep fakes that depict individuals in the nude or engaging in sexual conduct. It further provides that when an adult creates a visual depiction of a minor that is nude or engaging in sexual conduct, the adult would be subject to a felony prosecution, rather than a misdemeanor prosecution.

SB 291 would remove the registration of trade names for sole proprietorships, partnerships, and associations in the Superior Court prothonotaries and places registration of such trade names with the Division of Revenue. The filing of certificates will be recorded electronically and the fee for such filing is $25.