Rep. Jeff Spiegelman

Currently the US FDA is reviewing a New Drug Application (NDA) of a pharmaceutical product containing cannabidiol (CBD) to treat patients with rare pediatric seizure disorders. If approved, this drug will be required to be prescribed and dispensed like other FDA approved products. However, to make sure that this product and future FDA approved marijuana containing products are available to patients as soon as possible, a change in Delaware law is required. This bill would exempt federally lawful FDA approved marijuana containing products from Schedule I of the state’s Controlled Substances Act until they are rescheduled under Delaware law. This would allow patient access to new therapies without an administrative delay, and allow FDA approved marijuana containing medicines to be prescribed, dispensed and regulated like other FDA approved pharmaceutical products. Illegal possession or sale of these drugs would be prosecuted as any other violation of the Controlled Substance Act.

This bill authorizes the creation of a Delaware Voluntary Property Assessed Clean Energy (D-PACE) program to establish a clean energy financing program for the installation of energy efficiency technologies and clean energy systems for qualifying commercial real properties statewide. PACE programs are authorized in more than 30 states nationwide. The financing will be secured by and payable from a voluntary assessment imposed on the property benefited by the qualifying energy improvement. The bill calls upon the Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) to administer the program and establish a statewide financing program to aid counties in expanding clean energy projects in their jurisdictions. Projects under D-PACE can be financed through the SEU or other participating financial institutions.

This bill adds glaucoma, chronic debilitating migraines, pediatric autism spectrum disorder, pediatric sensory processing disorder to the list of debilitating medical conditions which may qualify a person, upon certification by a physician, to be eligible for the use of medical marijuana in accordance with the terms of the Delaware Medical Marijuana Act.

This bill allows first-time home buyers to pay their portion of the realty transfer tax at the rate that was in effect prior to the increase that took effect on August 1, 2017. The credit is calculated as 0.5% of the first $400,000 in home value, with a maximum allowable credit of $2,000. This legislation is retroactive for any first-time home buyer who entered into a transaction for the transfer of real estate on or after August 1, 2017. The seller in any transaction with a first-time buyer will still pay the current tax rate. The bill also removes a provision that applied to contracts entered into prior to 1971, since such provision is no longer relevant. For ease of application, the new definition of "first-time home buyer" is cross-referenced in the already existing Code provision directing the counties to exempt such buyers from any county-imposed realty transfer tax. This reduction in the tax rate for first-time home buyers will be effective for transactions entered into on or after the effective date of this Act.

This Act empowers each county to create regulations for the maintenance of for-profit cemeteries and to impose penalties upon those who do not abide by the maintenance regulations.

This Act establishes that a contract between a pharmacy benefits manager and a pharmacy may not prohibit a pharmacy or pharmacist from doing any of the following: (1) Providing an insured with information regarding the retail price of a prescription drug or the amount of the cost share for which the insured is responsible for a prescription drug. (2) Discussing with an insured information regarding the retail price of a prescription drug or the amount of the cost share for which the insured is responsible for a prescription drug. (3) If a more affordable, therapeutically equivalent prescription drug is available, selling the more affordable, therapeutically equivalent prescription drug to the insured. In some cases, contracts between pharmacy benefits managers and pharmacies have provisions that prohibit pharmacies or pharmacist from informing consumers that they have options related to a prescription drug they want to buy and that the prescription drug could be purchased at a lower cost if the consumer paid out of pocket rather than through their health insurance plan. These provisions are often known as “gag clauses.” At least 7 states have enacted laws prohibiting these “gag clauses.”

This bill updates requirements for handguns used for deer hunting by adding a range and limit to allowable handgun calibers to accommodate changing handgun availability while maintaining public safety and handgun hunting efficacy. This bill also allows for pistol caliber rifle hunting for deer. This bill also makes a technical adjustment to clarify that a handgun or a pistol caliber rifle can be used for deer hunting during any shotgun deer season.

This bill provides technical changes and also creates the Committee on Employment and Social Services consolidating the work conducted by the Welfare Employment Committee and Social Service Advisory Council created by Executive Order Six-Eight signed by then Governor Michael N. Castle.

This Act fulfills recommendations made by the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee by doing the following: (1) Establishing 2 new, nonvoting members to serve on the State Board of Education ("Board"). The new members are a former Delaware Teacher of the Year and a Delaware 11th or 12th grade student. (2) Defining the duties of the Board’s Executive Director. (3) Clarifying that the Executive Director is selected by the Board; is an employee of the Department of Education, subject to all of the Department’s employment policies and procedures; but serves at the pleasure of the Board. (4) Requiring the Board to rotate its meetings among the 3 counties of this State in such a way to facilitate parents’, teachers’, and other community members’ attendance. (5) Establishing the circumstances under which a Board member may be removed, using language standard to boards and commissions in this State. (6) Requiring the Board to permit public comment on each agenda item prior to voting on the item and in proximity to the time at which the Board discusses the item. An exception is provided if, under Delaware law or Department or Board rules, the item has a formal comment period or a process for making a record in an administrative matter that has closed before the Board’s discussion of the agenda item. Examples of matters that qualify for the exception include charter school applications or formal reviews, amendments to Department of Education and Professional Standards Board regulations, and student appeals. The intent of the exception is to exclude Board actions that are quasi-judicial in nature and therefore not appropriate to open to public comment. This Act also corrects 2 internal references and makes other technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Bill eliminates the prohibition against the mere possession of a body-gripping trap with a jaw spread in excess of 5 inches, while maintaining the prohibition against actually using one in Delaware. This modification is necessary because many licensed Delaware trappers legally trap in other states where such traps are legal and it also allows trap collectors to possess the larger traps while maintaining the prohibition against their actual use.