Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall

This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 319 and makes all of the following changes: 1. Changes the definition of “hormone replacement therapy” to clarify that hormone replacement therapy must be approved by the United States Food and Drug and Administration. 2. Removes pellet medication from the definition of “hormone replacement therapy” because it is not currently approved by the United States Food and Drug and Administration for treating menopause or perimenopause. 3. Makes technical corrections. Like Senate Bill No. 319, this substitute requires individual health insurance plans, group and blanket health insurance plans, the state employee health plan, and state Medicaid insurance to cover medically necessary diagnostic services and treatment for menopause, perimenopause, and symptoms of menopause or perimenopause, including all of the following: 1. Consultation and diagnostic testing. 2. Hormonal therapies, including hormone replacement therapy and bioidentical hormone treatments, that are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. 3. Non-hormonal treatments, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, neurokinin B antagonists, and other medications to manage menopause symptoms. 4. All drugs, devices, and combination products approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of menopause and perimenopause symptoms. 5. Therapy to treat menopause induced by a hysterectomy. 6. Behavioral health care services. 7. Pelvic floor physical therapy. 8. Bone health treatments due to hormonal changes related to menopause and perimenopause, including screenings and medications. 9. Preventative services for early detection and treatment of health conditions related to menopause and perimenopause, including osteoporosis and cancer. 10. Counseling and education regarding menopause management. Additionally, an insurer or carrier must provide clear and accessible information about covered diagnostic services and treatment for menopause, perimenopause, and menopause and perimenopause symptoms to each covered individual or Medicaid recipient. Menopause and perimenopause diagnostic and treatment benefits or assistance must be provided to the same extent as benefits or assistance for other medical conditions, but coverage for medically necessary hormone replacement therapy provided under this Act may not be any of the following, except as otherwise provided by federal Medicaid law: 1. Denied or limited, if the use of the hormone replacement therapy is supported by national clinical guidelines, national standards of care, or peer-reviewed medical literature for the treatment of menopause, perimenopause, or menopause and perimenopause symptoms. 2. Subject to prior authorization or step therapy requirements. The Act provides a religious exemption for group and blanket health policies. If the coverage requirement conflicts with a religious employer’s bona fide religious beliefs or practices, the religious employer may request a coverage exclusion for the coverage required under Section 2 of this Act and an insurer shall grant the exclusion. A religious employer who is granted an exclusion must give its employees reasonable and timely notice of the exclusion. This Act applies to all policies, contracts, or certificates that are issued, renewed, modified, altered, amended, or reissued after December 31, 2027.

This Act allows rental car companies and peer-to-peer car sharing programs to recover loss of use damages from any rental car drivers, shared vehicle drivers, or the negligent party’s insurer caused by any renter or an authorized driver’s negligent, intentional, willful, or criminal acts resulting in a loss of the vehicle’s use.

This Act permits the State to bury or cremate an unclaimed body or remains of an indigent individual without requiring written consent of the next of kin or other legally responsible party. This statutory change will reduce costs, conserve cemetery space, and reduce environmental impacts by limiting formaldehyde exposure in the soil.

This Substitute for House Bill No. 368 is similar to the original bill in that it sets limits around the actions of law-enforcement agencies and officers, including the Department of Correction. Primarily, the bill prohibits detaining or extending the detention of any person based solely upon an immigration detainer or civil immigration warrant, with exceptions for a person who has been convicted of a violent felony, is a convicted sex offender, has 3 or more convictions for driving under the influence, or is a perpetrator of domestic violence. It also prohibits other law-enforcement actions relating to cooperation or enforcement of civil immigration law, requires certain reports from law-enforcement agencies, and grants the Attorney General investigative and enforcement power. This Substitute Bill is different from House Bill No. 368 in that it clarifies that law-enforcement may make limited inquiries regarding country of citizenship for purposes of complying with consular agreements, clarifies that initiating contact with federal immigration authorities is allowed only in limited circumstances set forth in this chapter, and makes technical corrections to ensure consistent terms are used throughout the chapter.

This Act requires tattoo parlors to post signs raising awareness about human trafficking. This Act also requires the Department of Health and Social Services to encourage tattoo parlors and body piercing establishments to have individuals working for them complete training on recognizing, responding, and reporting signs of human trafficking, as well as referring clients to resources for victims of human trafficking. The Department must provide or make available to tattoo parlors and body piercing establishments a list of nonprofit organizations that provide this training, which must be available at no cost to any person who works at a tattoo parlor or body piercing establishment. This Act takes effect 1 year after its enactment into law.

This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 212. Like Senate Bill No. 212, this Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment to establish the right to hunt, fish, and trap wildlife in Delaware. Twenty-four other states have preserved the right to hunt, fish, and trap wildlife. This Act is modeled after the constitutional provisions of Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Vermont. This Act specifically acknowledges Delaware’s valued, natural heritage of hunting, fishing, and trapping, and declares hunting, fishing, and trapping as the preferred methods of managing and controlling wildlife in this State. This Act declares that it may not be applied to do any of the following: (1) Limit the application of a law relating to trespass or property rights. (2) Affect rights to divert, appropriate, or use water, or to establish a minimum amount of water in any water body. (3) Lead to a diminution or abrogation of a public or private right or of the State’s power to regulate commercial activities. (4) Prevent the suspension or revocation, under a law enacted by the General Assembly, of an individual’s hunting, fishing, or trapping license. (5) Alter a burden of proof requirement otherwise established by law for a challenge to a law or regulation pertaining to hunting, fishing, or trapping the wildlife of this State. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 212 by doing the following: (1) Removing language related to the use of "traditional methods" of hunting, fishing, or trapping. (2) Providing clarity that after passage of this Act the General Assembly, and any state agency or local government authorized by the General Assembly, may continue to establish hunting, fishing, or trapping requirements based on the best available science and wildlife management practices, including requirements for humane methods of take or requirements for licenses or permits, bag limits, or other practices for managing wildlife. 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 Act directs the Division of Consumer Protection to establish a Home Improvement Dispute Resolution process through which a person who purchases home improvement services or materials from a contractor can initiate a dispute resolution process with the assistance of the Division. To be eligible for the dispute resolution process, the buyer must first send the contractor a written request to resolve the dispute and allow the contractor 20 days to respond. If the dispute is not resolved or the contractor fails to respond, the buyer may submit an application to the Division for assistance. Upon receiving notice from the Division that the buyer has initiated the dispute resolution process, a contractor must participate in good faith in the process. If the contractor fails to respond to the notice or fails to participate in good faith, it is deemed a violation of the Consumer Fraud Act and a notice will also be sent to the Department of Labor. A contractor who fails to participate in good faith in the dispute resolution process may also have their certificate of registration denied, suspended, or revoked. This Act also establishes that a buyer who initiates a civil action for damages incurred as a result of a violation of the Consumer Fraud Act related to a home improvement contract may be awarded actual damages, court costs, and reasonable attorneys fees. A buyer who initiates a civil action may also obtain up to treble damages if the buyer completed the steps to be eligible for the dispute resolution process, if the buyer made an offer of settlement at least 10 days prior to filing the civil suit and the contractor rejected the offer, if the offer was for less than the buyer is ultimately awarded by the court, and if the court holds that the contractor’s violation was wilful. This Act takes effect immediately and is to be implemented 6 months from the date of enactment.

This Act restricts State and local law-enforcement from cooperating with federal agencies conducting civil immigration enforcement activities at child-serving entities, institutions of higher education, places of worship, or health-care facilities except in exigent circumstances. This Act is a substitute for and differs from House Bill No. 94 and House Substitute 1 for House Bill No. 94 by simply prohibiting direct participation by law-enforcement in civil enforcement proceedings unless an exigent circumstance exists, rather than requiring the permission of the Attorney General. If law-enforcement does participate in such an activity because of an exigent circumstance, a report must be submitted to the Police Officer Standards and Training Commission and the Department of Safety and Homeland Security within 48 hours. These reports are to be aggregated in a biannual report and delivered to the General Assembly.

Maddy summaryHB 150 prohibits civil arrests from occurring inside Delaware courthouses without a judicial warrant. This directly affects courthouse staff, law enforcement, and individuals entering courthouses, as it requires a court-issued warrant for any civil arrest (like those for unpaid debts or civil contempt) within courthouse grounds. The key provision amends Delaware law to mandate this warrant requirement, replacing the previous practice that allowed such arrests without court oversight in these locations.

In this Simple Senate Resolution, the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility (DESEU) is requested to engage in a study and analysis of the safety and utility of portable solar generation devices more commonly known as “Balcony Solar” and “Plug-in Solar”. In conducting the study, the DESEU is requested to collaborate with the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the public electric utilities in Delaware. The Resolution requests that the DESEU issue a report on the study to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Director and Librarian of the Division of Legislative Services on or before January 26, 2027.