Delaware Bills

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 12, 2020

HB 304: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CIGAR LOUNGES UNDER THE CLEAN INDOOR AIR ACT.

This Act amends the Clean Indoor Air Act to allow cigar lounges. No one under the age of 21 years may enter a cigar lounge and a cigar lounge may not share indoor common space with other businesses unless there is a separate ventilation system that does not allow smoke from the cigar lounge to enter the nonsmoking spaces. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 12, 2020

HB 309: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE REDISTRICTING OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

The constitutional requirement to create new legislative districts following the U.S. Census was intended to ensure equal representation at all levels of government. However, Delaware’s current process of redistricting is deeply flawed. It allows the majority party in each legislative chamber to gerrymander state legislative maps in a self-serving attempt to preserve and expand partisan political power. All other considerations have become secondary in this process. This defect is common to many states and some have tried to address the issue by creating election commissions charged with redrawing legislative lines. The challenge in such a system is ensuring that these commissions can conduct their function in a balanced, objective, and non-partisan fashion. This bill proposes a new method that avoids this significant hurdle by leveraging partisan self-interest to create a protocol that results in an equitable outcome. This fresh approach to reapportionment is described in a paper by 3 Carnegie Mellon University professors entitled: “A Partisan Districting Protocol with Provably Nonpartisan Outcomes.” It utilizes a system analogous to a proven, prudent method for instructing 2 children to fairly divide a piece of cake between themselves. The first child cuts the cake, while the second has the option of selecting which piece he or she wishes to consume. In the protocol outlined in this bill, the two competing parties are the partisan caucuses of each General Assembly chamber. The first caucus will initially draw all the legislative districts, observing established legal redistricting standards. The second caucus will have the ability to “freeze” a set number of the districts, locking their boundaries into place. They will then be able to redraw the remaining districts as they wish, delivering the new maps back to the first caucus. This group will then also engage in the freeze and redraw process, with the cycles continuing until all the districts have been defined. With both sides getting equal “bites of the apple,” each has a practical ability to affect the outcome and a reason to work together to achieve a mutually acceptable conclusion. The bill also includes safeguards to ensure public notification and participation in the process, as well as a contingency to allow the judicial branch to draw the new legislative maps should the General Assembly be unable to achieve the task. This legislation assumes calling the General Assembly into special session to approve the finalized maps, providing enough time for the process to be conducted in a deliberative manner.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 12, 2020

HB 298: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE COMMON INTEREST COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL.

This Act revises the appointment process for members of the Common Interest Community Advisory Council who are from the Real Property Section of the Delaware State Bar Association. Under this Act, these members are appointed by a government official to comply with the requirements of the Delaware Constitution. This Act applies only to members who are appointed after the effective date of this Act, and does not invalidate any appointments made before the effective date of this Act. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 12, 2020

HB 294: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PEDESTRIAN SOLICITATION.

Most commonly, persons accused of subsection (a) of this section – panhandling – are homeless. Transferring such matters to the Court of Common Pleas allows persons so accused increased access to social services not available to them at the Justice of the Peace Court.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 12, 2020

HB 251: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE MINIMUM WAGE FOR EMPLOYEES THAT RECEIVE TIPS OR GRATUITIES.

This bill clarifies that the definition of employees who receive gratuities also includes employees that receive tips, that these employees earn more than 50% of their income from tips or gratuities. This bill clarifies that employers may continue to pay a tipped minimum wage to primary direct service employees under this bill. Employers cannot direct employees to engage in tip pooling in Delaware—tip pooling arrangements must be controlled by the employees themselves. It also clarifies that tips automatically added to a bill or added to credit card charges are to be treated like tips or gratuity and must be paid by the employer directly to the employee at the next pay period as opposed to being held by the employer waiting to receive payment from the credit card company and that the employer may not deduct service fees from the employees tips or gratuities.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 12, 2020

HB 316: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PERSONAL INCOME TAX CREDITS.

This Act creates a $250 tax credit applicable to individual personal income taxes for certain lower income, working poor, individuals. In the case of spouses filing a joint return, the tax credit is $500. If spouses file their Delaware taxes separately, each spouse with the required income will be entitled to a $250 tax credit. Section 2 of this Act makes the change effective for the tax year in which the Secretary of Finance provides the Registrar of Regulations with notice that the personal income tax release of the Integrated Revenue Administration System is implemented. This delay in effective date is necessary to ensure that tax law changes can be properly and efficiently implemented in the Division of Revenue's modernized Integrated Revenue Administration System, which is currently under development.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 12, 2020

HB 306: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR.

This Act establishes a Behavioral Health Professional of the year award program throughout the State. Through this legislation, the state will formally honor and recognize the work behavioral health professionals, such as, school counselors, social workers, licensed clinical social workers, school psychologists, and school nurses.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 12, 2020

HB 287: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PHARMACEUTICAL PURCHASING.

This Act implements recommendations of the Interagency Pharmaceuticals Purchasing Study Group created by House Concurrent Resolution No. 35. First, this Act creates the Interagency Pharmaceutical Purchasing Collaborative (“Collaborative”) to leverage the total volume of State pharmaceutical purchases to negotiate lower prices. The Collaborative must conduct a data analysis of current pharmaceutical purchasing prices paid by State agencies to create a data analytic profile. After building the data analytic profile, the Collaborative must build a market database by assessing the value, as determined by cost and patient outcome, of individual drugs and calculating the volume of individual drug purchases by all State agencies. The Collaborative must use the market database to identify opportunities to leverage the total volume of State pharmaceutical purchases to negotiate lower prices which may include a group purchasing agreement or a consortium with other states. Second, this Act requires that State agency contracts to purchase pharmaceuticals must contain specific transparency provisions. These transparency provisions will allow the State to monitor and control the cost of pharmaceutical purchases. Finally, this Act clearly provides that information received or generated by the Collaborative or under contract transparency provisions is not public information under the Freedom of Information Act. However, the Collaborative must provide an annual report that summarizes the Collaborative's work. House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 287 differs from House Bill No. 287 as follows: 1. In § 6317A(e)(2)a. of Title 29, requires the Interagency Pharmaceutical Purchasing Collaborative to assess the value of individual drugs using evidence-based cost and patient outcomes instead of by the simple cost and patient outcomes. 2. Changes “pharmacy benefit manager” to “wholesaler” in § 6937(a)(1) of Title 29, because the acquisition cost is negotiated between a wholesaler and manufacturer not between a pharmacy benefit manager and manufacturer. 3. Requires the Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services to provide and purchase the data analytics required under § 6317A(e)(1) of Title 29 by March 31, 2021.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 12, 2020

HB 308: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ELECTRIC BICYCLES.

This bill defines and regulates electric bicycles. Section 1 adds electric bicycles to the definitions contained in Title 21. Section 2 includes electric bicycle operators and passengers as vulnerable users when on a highway, crosswalk, road shoulder or sidewalk and prescribes rights and responsibilities attendant to the operation of electric bicycles. Section 3 adds electric bicycles to the definition of vehicle.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 12, 2020

HB 307: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 18, 29, AND 31 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH.

This bill amends Chapter 33, Title 18 of the Delaware Code by adding a new § 3370D to require coverage of an annual behavioral health well check. This bill also amends Chapter 35, Title 18 of the Delaware Code by adding a new § 3571X to require coverage of an annual behavioral health well check. This bill also amends Chapter 5, Title 31 of the Delaware Code by adding a new § 528 to require coverage of an annual behavioral health well check. This bill also amends Chapter 52, Title 29 of the Delaware Code by adding a new § 5212 to require coverage of an annual behavioral health well check.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 12, 2020

HB 302: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE GUN SHOP PROJECT.

In 2009, New Hampshire was the first state to develop a statewide “Gun Shop Project,” reaching out to gun shops regarding the role they can play in suicide prevention. In the years since, at least 21 other states have implemented similar campaigns. This Act establishes the Delaware Gun Shop Project. The Gun Shop Project’s primary purpose is to develop, create, and provide suicide prevention education materials and training, to be made available for licensed deadly weapons dealers and consumers in Delaware The Delaware Suicide Prevention Coalition will oversee the Gun Shop Project and include the Gun Shop Project’s annual report in the Coalition’s annual report. The Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, which staffs the Coalition, will staff the Gun Shop Project. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 12, 2020

HB 315: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PERSONAL INCOME TAX CREDITS.

This Act creates a tax credit applicable to personal income taxes in an amount equal to incurred motor vehicle document fees for certain lower income, working poor, individuals. This tax credit is designed to assist the working poor in obtaining a new or used motor vehicle. Section 2 of this Act makes the change effective for the tax year in which the Secretary of Finance provides the Registrar of Regulations with notice that the personal income tax release of the Integrated Revenue Administration System is implemented. This delay in effective date is necessary to ensure that tax law changes can be properly and efficiently implemented in the Division of Revenue's modernized Integrated Revenue Administration System, which is currently under development.

Bill results