Delaware Bills

This Act amends the Delaware Antitrust Act (“DAA”) (Chapter 21, Title 6 of the Code) 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. This will align Delaware with at least 36 other states which currently allow for a cause of action for damages for indirect purchasers. Often, end users who make purchases in Delaware, primarily Delaware residents and businesses, are excluded from making claims against multimillion dollar settlement funds set up to compensate indirect purchasers for transactions made in other states that do authorize lawsuits for damages for indirect purchasers. To avoid complicated proof issues related to the pass through of any overcharge through the chain of distribution of a product or service, the Act creates a presumption that any overcharge paid by the first purchaser as a result of a violation of the DAA is passed through to the end user. Also, to simplify issues of proof, the Act provides a plaintiff may elect 25% of the consideration paid for the goods or services in connection with the transaction affected by an illegal restraint of trade as an alternative liquidated damage amount to actual harm. To allow Delaware consumers and businesses to fully take advantage of the remedies provided by this Act, the Act creates a private right of action. Delaware is one of only 2 states that do not provide for a private right of action under their state antitrust law of general applicability. Currently, only the Attorney General has a right to bring actions under the DAA and the Attorney General does not have the resources to review or participate in every national antitrust action. This will ensure Delaware indirect purchasers receive the benefits of private enforcement of the DAA. Section 2 of the Act creates a Delaware state law equivalent to Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the federal antitrust statute, which establishes three offenses commonly termed “monopolization,” “attempted monopolization,” and “conspiracy to monopolize.” Delaware is only 1 of 9 states that does not have a state law equivalent to Section 2 of the Sherman Act and its addition to the DAA is needed to ensure the remedies under the DAA including a right of recovery for indirect purchasers are available to the Attorney General and to Delaware consumers and businesses. Section 3 of the Act modifies the confidentiality restrictions of materials produced to the Attorney General pursuant to an investigative demand. It would allow for the materials to be shared with the Attorney General’s agents such as consultants, experts, electronic discovery platform vendors and economists which would be necessary for the Attorney General to decide on whether the law has been violated and how best to remedy the violation. The Act would also allow the Attorney General to share materials produced pursuant to an investigative demand with federal or state law enforcement officers that agree to keep the information confidential and use it only for official law enforcement purposes. Likewise, the Act requires the Attorney General to keep materials provided by other law enforcement officers received under similar process confidential. These provisions will make it easier for the Attorney General to work together with other federal and state law enforcers in enforcing state and federal antitrust laws. Section 4 of the Act provides an alternative calculation for civil penalties for violations of the Delaware Antitrust Act. Under certain facts and circumstances, the current maximum penalty for a violation of the DAA may be lower than the amount of the gain a violator may obtain by violating the DAA making any penalty a cost of doing business and an insufficient deterrent to violate the law. The alternative calculation provides for an assessment of a civil penalty of up to twice the gross gain or loss associated with the violation. This is like the alternative method for calculating federal criminal fines for the same conduct. Section 4 also authorizes a Court to award investigative costs, expert witness fees, and attorneys’ fees to the Attorney General when the Attorney General successfully brings a law enforcement action to enforce the DAA. Currently, a Court may only award attorney’s fees and expert costs to the Attorney General when the Attorney General brings an action on behalf of a public body or natural persons. Section 5 of the Act creates a right for indirect purchasers who have been harmed by violations of the DAA to sue for damages. It creates a presumption that overcharges paid by the first purchaser as a result of such violations are passed to the end user, and allows a plaintiff to seek liquidated damages in the amount of 25% of the consideration paid, as an alternative to seeking damages for actual harm incurred. Section 6 of the Act clarifies that the Court of Chancery has exclusive jurisdiction of all state court actions or proceedings under the DAA. The Act also makes several clarifications throughout the DAA to recognize it is often federal courts exercising supplemental jurisdiction deciding claims arising under the DAA.

This Act changes the requirements for continuing education for doctors related to Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias to require that doctors must only complete 2 hours of this continuing education once. Doctors who do not have direct patient interactions with adult populations over the age of 25 or do not currently practice within the State of Delaware are exempt from this requirement.

This Act is a result of the Delaware Interscholastic Association ("DIAA") Task Force. Based on the findings of the task force, this Act updates and modernizes the DIAA Board of Directors' composition. This Act also makes technical corrections that conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act amends Delaware’s laws regarding release of persons accused of crimes (Chapter 21 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code) as required in conjunction with the enactment of an amendment to § 12 of Article I of the Delaware Constitution permitting preventive detention, as proposed by Senate Bill No. 11 of the 152nd General Assembly. This Act 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. This Act also protects defendants’ rights by doing the following: (1) Requiring the Attorney General to establish by proof positive or presumption great that the defendant committed the detention-eligible offense and by clear and convincing evidence that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably assure the defendant’s appearance at court proceedings, reasonably assure the protection of the community, victims, witnesses, or any other person, and reasonably maintain the integrity of the judicial process, such that the defendant will not obstruct or attempt to obstruct justice. (2) Ensuring detention-eligible defendants are represented by counsel at the initial detention and subsequent hearings. (3) Requiring courts to hold a full preventive detention hearing within 10 days of the defendant’s arrest where defendants have the right to testify, to present evidence, and to cross-examine witnesses against them. (4) Requiring expedited review of the detention order by Superior Court. (5) Providing speedy trial protections for any defendant who is detained before adjudication due to preventive detention. This Act also does the following: (1) Improves procedural fairness by permitting courts to make transparent decisions about who to detain and who to release pretrial. (2) Strengthens the strong presumption of pretrial release under least restrictive conditions for those defendants who can safely be released in the community. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because this Act is enabling legislation to an amendment to the Constitution which, when enacted, amends § 12 of Article I of the Delaware Constitution to require an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to create the list of detention-eligible offenses created by § 2116(b)(1) of Title 11 contained in this Act. Finally, this Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

House Bill No. 168 creates a short-term rental lodging tax at the rate of 8% of the rent upon every occupancy of a short-term rental within the State. For purposes of collecting the lodging tax on short-term rentals, HB 168 creates an occupational license for a short-term rental listing service. It also authorizes New Castle and Sussex Counties to impose a lodging tax of no more than 3 percent on short-term rentals. House Substitute 2 to House Bill No. 168 is primarily different from House Bill No. 168 in that it decreases the tax rate on short-term rentals and uses different terms and definitions to identify the individuals responsible for collecting short-term rental taxes. Specifically, House Substitute 2 to House Bill No. 168 makes the following changes: (1) Requires accommodations intermediaries to obtain an occupational license and pay an annual licensing fee of $25.00; (2) Ensures that accommodations intermediaries are responsible for the collection and remittance of taxes under this Act and clarifies responsibilities for the collection and remittance of the tax; (3) Defines an accommodations intermediary; (4) Decreases the short-term rental tax rate from 8% to 4.5%; (5) Establishes the short-term rental tax in a new chapter within Title 30; (6) Clarifies that short-term rental taxes will be distributed as follows: 62.5% to the State General Fund; 12.5% to the Beach Preservation Fund of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control; 12.5% to be designated in the proportion in which collected, to the duly established convention and visitors bureau in each county; and 12.5% to the Delaware Tourism Office; (7) Adds the Georgetown, Millsboro, Milton, Milford, and Western Sussex Chambers of Commerce to those organizations that determine the Sussex County Convention & Visitors Bureau; and (8) Updates effective dates for licensing, tax levy, and related obligations.

This Act implements a recommendation from the December 31, 2023, Report of the Retiree Healthcare Benefits Advisory Subcommittee. Under this Act, the state group health insurance program must include a pensioner coordination of benefits policy for eligible pensioners who were first employed by the State on or after January 1, 2015, and are eligible for health care coverage through their employer that is not through a plan under Chapter 52 of Title 29. The new pensioner coordination of benefits policy begins July 1, 2027, and must be comparable to the exiting coordination of benefits policy for the spouse of a state group health insurance program participant who is eligible for health care coverage through the spouse's own employer. This Act also codifies the existing spousal coordination of benefits policies for the state group health insurance program. The existing spousal coordination of benefits policies and the pensioner coordination of benefits policy created under this Act apply to all participants in the state group health insurance program, which includes regular officers or employees, eligible pensioners, and individuals eligible under § 5208 and § 5209 of Title 29. In addition, this Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act increases the amount of the annual appropriation to prefund future State employee retiree health insurance as recommended by the Retiree Healthcare Benefits Advisory Subcommittee of the State Employee Benefits Committee. Like other required contributions to the Other Post-Employment Benefits Fund (OPEB) Fund, this appropriation must be included in the review of and plan for proposed expenditures that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget submits to the Governor and in the Governor's Budget Appropriation Bill. This Act also revises existing law to allow the current practice of making the annual payment to the OPEB Fund of 1% of the operating budget appropriations for the prior fiscal year in a Supplementary Appropriation Bill and makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

The governance of this State relies on the qualifications and performance of the members of the Governor’s cabinet. The General Assembly finds that the confirmation process is an important step to ensure the qualifications and performance of the Governor’s cabinet. This Act implements the process of aligning the end of the term of each of the members of the Governor’s cabinet with the end of the Governor’s term by designating the principal officer of each executive department who is subject to the amendments to § 10 of Article III of the Delaware Constitution proposed by Senate Bill No. 15. The General Assembly’s intent in making this change is to require each member of the Governor’s cabinet to be reconfirmed by the Senate at the beginning of each term of a Governor. This Act also makes the following consistent: (1) The method of determining the annual salary of members of the Governor’s cabinet, by providing that the General Assembly is to set the salary in the annual appropriations act, thereby conforming the Delaware Code to current practice. (2) The preference for members of the Governor’s cabinet being residents of this State on appointment, by removing from the Delaware Code the preference for residency for the Secretary of the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, the Secretary of the Department of Finance, the Secretary of the Department of Transportation, the Secretary of Labor, the Housing Director of the Delaware State Housing Authority, and the Secretary of the Department of State. Residency requirements for members of the Governor’s cabinet are being removed from the Delaware Code by this Act and replaced with a notation that residency requirements are as provided in the Delaware Constitution. Residency requirements for members of the Governor’s cabinet will now be consistent, requiring the members to be residents of this State within at most 1 year after appointment and to remain residents of this State or be deemed resigned from office. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Because the next General Assembly must concur in the proposed amendment to the Delaware Constitution, this Act does not take effect until the passage of the second leg of the constitutional amendment in the 153rd General Assembly.

This Act implements a recommendation from the December 31, 2023, Report of the Retiree Healthcare Benefits Advisory Subcommittee. Under this Act, the amount of the premium for a health-care insurance plan that this State will pay on behalf of eligible pensioners who were first employed as a regular officer or employee on or after January 1, 2025, and who are not subject to mandatory retirement, is changed as follows: 1. For eligible pensioners employed by the State for at least 15 years but less than 20 years at the time of retirement, 50% of the of the premium. 2. For eligible pensioners employed by the State for at least 20 years but less than 25 years at the time of retirement, 75% of the of the premium. 3. For eligible pensioners employed by the State for 25 or more years at the time of retirement, 100% of the of the premium. All other revisions to current law under this Act are technical changes to improve clarity and conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. These technical changes include the addition of new defined terms and the reorganization of existing law. In § 5201 of Title 29, this Act makes the following technical changes: 1. Revises the definitions of “eligible pensioner”, “plan”, and “regular officer or employee” to remove inconsistent language and align with each other and current law. 2. To avoid repeating phrases in § 5202 of Title 29, clarifies that only for purposes of the amount of the premium paid by the State for health-care insurance plans, the term “eligible pensioner” includes the eligible pensioner’s eligible spouse and dependents and defines the following terms: • “First employed” means the date when the eligible pensioner began work as a regular officer or employee. • “Mandatory retirement” means mandatory retirement for members of the State Police under § 8361 of Title 11. • “Maximum state share" means the amount of the premium that the State pays for a plan before the proration ratio is applied. • “Premium” means the total premium or subscription charge for a health-care insurance plan provided under Chapter 52 of Title 29. In § 5202 of Title 29, this Act makes technical changes to clarify current law regarding the amount of the premium for a health-care insurance plan that this State will pay on behalf of a regular officer or employee or an eligible pensioner by doing the following: 1. Creates the following terms: • “Proration ratio”, which means the percentage applied to the maximum state share. For eligible pensioners, the “proration ratio” is based on when the eligible pensioner was first employed and the number of years the eligible pensioner had been employed as a regular officer or employee at the time of retirement. • “Prorated state share”, which means the dollar amount that the State pays for a plan on behalf of a regular officer or employee or an eligible pensioner. The “prorated state share” is the product of multiplying the proration ratio with the maximum state share. 2. Revises subsection (a) to use the new terms defined under this Act. 3. Transfers the current provisions in paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) that provide the maximum state share for eligible pensioners to subsection (a), so they are with the maximum state share for regular officers and employees. 4. Revises subsection (b) so that the proration ratio and how it is used to determine the prorated state share is explained in paragraph (b)(1) and the proration ratios are provided in paragraphs (b)(2) and (b)(3). • Paragraph (b)(2) lists all groups for whom the proration ratio is 100% because there are no deductions to the maximum state share. • Paragraph (b)(3) provides the proration ratios for eligible pensioners based on the date the eligible pensioner was first employed and years of employment as a regular officer or employee. These ratios clarify that for eligible pensioners who worked for less than the minimum number of years for the 50% proration ratio, the State does not pay anything towards the maximum state share.

Delaware law prohibits discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics in employment and professional activities. This Act would add "housing status" as a protected characteristic.

Delaware law prohibits discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics in housing and property transactions. This Act would add "housing status" as a protected characteristic.

This Act acknowledges the importance of diversity and inclusivity in education by requiring the Department of Education to update content standards and regulations using a non-exhaustive list of racial, ethnic, and cultural groups.