Rep. Melanie Ross Levin

Maddy summaryHB 226 provides a one-time funding of $37,632,955 to the Office of Management and Budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026. This supplemental appropriation covers specific, one-time budgeted expenses that were not included in the original budget allocation. The funds are intended to address immediate financial needs within the state's budget process for that fiscal year.

This Act provides supplementary appropriations to certain Grants-in-Aid recipients for Fiscal Year 2026. Section 1 – Government Units and Senior Centers $ 37,093,119 Section 2 – One-Times and Community Agencies $ 47,093,493 Section 3 – Fire Companies and Public Service Ambulance Companies $ 13,258,013 Section 4 – Veterans Organizations $ 839,000 GRAND TOTAL $ 98,283,625

This Act requires the permitting of an electric substation as an allowed conditional use in a heavy industrial zone under certain conditions set forth in the Act, including that the electrical substation is being constructed to support the operation of a proposed renewable energy generation project of 250 MW or greater. This Act is being given retroactive effect such that, if a county has previously denied an application for an electrical substation that would meet the requirements of this Act, then the application shall be deemed granted provided that the electrical substation meets the requirements of this Act.

The Board of Pharmacy (“Board”) has worked for several years to amend Chapter 25, Title 24 of the Delaware Code to update the statute governing pharmacy licensure and practice in this State. The result of these efforts is this Act, which modernizes Chapter 25 to include a licensure system similar to those already in place in many other states, reflects current practices and standards, and clarifies the law. The Board’s priority in amending Chapter 25 was to ensure competence and accountability of individuals, pharmacies, and other establishments regulated by the Board. This Act expands and updates the definitions section to include terms related to current practice, such as “compounding” and “outsourcing facilities.” Board membership terms are increased: Board members will be eligible to serve for a maximum of three consecutive, three-year terms. The Board officers are identified as president and vice president. Several sections are added to the Board’s powers and duties, including the authority to promulgate a Code of Ethics. This Act amends the qualifications for licensure as a pharmacist to set forth clearly objective criteria. With respect to licensure as a pharmacist by reciprocity, the “good standing” requirement is clarified, and a criminal background check requirement is added. The requirements for license renewal, reinstatement, and reactivation are amended to provide that, after a certain time period has expired, a licensee will be required to undergo a criminal background check and the licensee’s disciplinary history will be reviewed. This Act revises the potential Grounds for Discipline of pharmacists to include violation of the Code of Ethics. Available sanctions are broadened to include permanent revocation and potential administrative penalties not to exceed $10,000 for the first violation with further penalties optional for subsequent violations. These changes will serve as a deterrent for licensee conduct posing a risk to the public health, safety, and welfare. This Act strikes the provision for “Counseling of Pharmacists” to align statutory language with actual practice. Disciplinary matters are public and are addressed by the entire Board. The requirements for prescription labeling, pharmacy closing, and prescription departments will be addressed in rules and regulations to allow for necessary revisions as practice standards evolve. This Act also revises the requirements for pharmacies and non-resident pharmacies in the interest of objectivity and consistency. Grounds for discipline and available sanctions are expanded. In particular, the Board will have the discretion to impose an administrative penalty not to exceed $250,000 for each violation with further penalties available for ongoing violations. Further, with respect to non-resident pharmacies, the Board will also have the authority to impose administrative penalties, up to $10,000 per day, for the infraction of delivering drugs into Delaware without a license issued by the Board. This Act adds a new section for licensure requirements for manufacturers, wholesale distributors, outsourcing facilities, medical gas distributors, and retail non-pharmacies. Key personnel will be required to undergo criminal background checks. Possible administrative penalties are revised significantly, from $50 per day, to a maximum of $250,000 for each violation with further penalties available for ongoing violations. The option of this sanction will serve as a deterrent for wrongful conduct by establishments that are often delivering drugs from out-of-state into Delaware. This Act also makes revisions to ensure that statutory provisions are consistent with other Title 24 professional licensing board practice acts. Technical corrections serve to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act takes effect 1 year after enactment.

The Department of Education (“Department”) currently administers the High Needs Educator Student Loan Repayment Program, the Speech-Language Pathologist Student Loan Repayment Program, and the Mental Health Services Student Loan Repayment Program. Annually, these programs help roughly 600 public school employees, including educators, speech-language pathologists, school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers, through a single application process, by making loan payments directly to student loan lenders. But paying the lenders directly has caused 2 persistent issues: 1. Because the payments are considered taxable income, award recipients have the tax withheld from their paychecks, even though the payments go directly to the lenders. This lowers the award recipients’ take-home pay and can create confusion and hardship. 2. The process involves sending out 600 or more individual checks each year. And many checks are returned or delayed due to changes in lender information or system mismatches. To avoid these issues, the Department recommends combining the 3 different student loan repayment programs into a single program and changing the award process from a system that repays lenders directly to a system that pays stipends to public school employees through the State central payroll operation. These changes would streamline a system that already uses a single application and would do all of the following: 1. Avoid surprise tax impacts and imputed income issues. 2. Reduce administrative burden and failed payments. 3. Provide more timely and transparent support to award recipients. The suggested changes are easy to implement, budget-neutral, and could allow public school employees who previously declined awards due to the tax consequences to benefit from the financial support. This Act makes the changes recommended by the Department by doing all of the following: 1. Eliminates the separate Speech-Language Pathologist Student Loan Repayment Program, Mental Health Services Student Loan Repayment Program, and High Needs Educator Student Loan Repayment Program, and combines them into a single program under § 4163 of Title 14. 2. Shifts payment of awards from paying the lenders directly to paying the award recipients a stipend through the State central payroll operation. 3. Streamlines the process for determining financial need by allowing the Department to focus on collecting the income and loan information that is necessary to fairly allocate program funds. 4. Changes the title of § 4163 of Title 14 from the High Needs Educator Student Loan Repayment Program to the “Public School Employee Support Program for High Need Areas” because the 3 programs are now combined into a single program and the program is no longer a direct student loan repayment program. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act allows the Auditor of Accounts to issue subpoenas directly, removing a requirement that the Auditor first file a praecipe with the Superior Court prothonotary. It also allows the Auditor to effect service of such a subpoena, and to apply for a court order if a recipient fails to respond to a subpoena. Failure to comply with such a court order may be punished as contempt of court. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment to prohibit the imposition of the death penalty. Amending the Delaware Constitution requires not only the passing of the changes in this Act, but also passage of the same changes after the next general election by the next General Assembly. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the Delaware Constitution. This Substitute for House Bill No. 35 makes technical corrections and omits the changes to § 12 of Article I to avoid confusion as there is a different currently pending amendment to that section.

This Act amends Chapter 44 of Volume 85 of the Laws of Delaware, formerly Senate Bill No. 159, as amended by Senate Amendment No. 1 and House Amendment No. 1, of the 153rd General Assembly, to delay the effective date of Chapter 44 of Volume 85 of the Laws of Delaware until January 31, 2026, and to repeal the sunset clause in Section of Chapter 44 of Volume 85 of the Laws of Delaware. This Act is retroactive to the enactment of Chapter 44 of Volume 85 of the Laws of Delaware. This Act does not affect or limit the retroactive effect of Section 2 of Chapter 44 of Volume 85 of the Laws of Delaware.

Maddy summaryThis Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR 103) designates November 2025 as "Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month" in Delaware. It is a non-binding resolution expressing the state legislature's recognition of autoimmune diseases and their impact on residents. The resolution does not create new laws, allocate funding, or impose requirements; it solely aims to raise public awareness during that month. It directly affects Delaware residents by highlighting autoimmune health issues through official state recognition.

Maddy summaryThis concurrent resolution designates June 2025 as Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Month in Delaware. It formally recognizes the condition and aims to increase public awareness about Myasthenia Gravis within the state. The resolution has no binding legal effect or policy changes.