Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall

This Act updates and modernizes the Delaware Self-Service Storage Facilities Act. The Act clarifies that self-storage rental agreements may be delivered and accepted electronically. The bill borrows language from the Delaware Residential Landlord Tenant Act regarding the legal effect of unsigned rental agreements. The bill addresses vehicle storage at a self-service storage facility and clarifies the disposition of property following the termination or nonrenewal of the rental agreement by either the occupant or owner. Finally, the Act updates the requirements to allow advertisements be placed on websites that regularly advertise property for auction or sale, making Delaware law consistent with most jurisdictions, including Maryland and the District of Columbia.

This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 156. Like Senate Bill No. 156, this Substitute prohibits the reporting of medical debt to consumer reporting agencies and prohibits any medical debt from being included on a consumer report. Since 2023, at least 9 other states have passed laws that prohibit or restrict the reporting of medical debt on credit reports, including California, New Jersy, and Virginia. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 156 in that it (1) adds language to the purpose section of the statute making it clear that the intent of the chapter is for medical debt not to be used in credit, employment, or housing decisions; (2) removes the proposed definition of medical debt information and instead adds a definition of medical debt; and (3) removes the proposed prohibition language on using a credit report containing medical debt information from being used when making decisions regarding someone’s credit, employment, or housing.

This Act exempts from state child care licensing requirements a military family child care provider that serves only children eligible for Department of Defense subsidized care that is either located on a military base or federal property, certified as a family child care provider by a branch of the U.S. Department of Defense or the U.S. Coast Guard, or both.

The Delaware National Guard provides financial assistance to eligible service members for certain postsecondary education tuition and fees. Under the current education benefits program, the Delaware National Guard reimburses service members for tuition and fees the service members have already paid. But young service members often cannot take advantage of this program because they cannot afford to pay upfront for tuition and fees. This also hurts Delaware National Guard recruiting efforts because potential service members may choose to join National Guard programs in other states that do not require service members to pay upfront for tuition and fees. Keeping the Delaware National Guard fully staffed is essential to responding to state emergencies. Lack of staff also leads the Department of Defense to shift positions from the Delaware National Guard to other states that can recruit at higher levels than Delaware. This results in reduced mission capability in Delaware and less federal funding coming to Delaware.  This Act amends the existing code relating to Delaware National Guard education benefits by switching from a system that reimburses service members to a system that pays certain tuition and fees, on behalf of a service member, directly to a Delaware postsecondary institution. This change allows more service members to use education benefits, which will improve Delaware National Guard recruiting and retention, and enhance the professional education qualifications of its members. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual and clarifies that the tuition assistance provided for Delaware private postsecondary institutions is based on the average tuition for state-supported postsecondary institutions. This Act is effective immediately and is implemented on July 1, 2026, to allow updates to rules, regulations, and forms for the Delaware National Guard tuition assistance program.

This Act is intended to supplement protections under federal law for members of the military, their families, and veterans by adding “military status” as a protected class for purposes of the State’s public accommodations, housing, insurance, education, and employment laws. Technical corrections are also made to existing statutory language to conform with the requirements of the Legislative Drafting Manual. This House Substitute No. 1 adds language to clarify that distinctions or differential treatment based on military status that are allowed by State law or regulation, federal law or regulation, or government contract, are not unfair or discriminatory practices. It also updates existing statutory language that was changed by 84 Del. Laws c 429.

This Joint Resolution designates August 31, 2025, as "International Overdose Awareness Day" in the State of Delaware and requires that in observance, the State flag be flown at half-staff at State facilities. By recognizing International Overdose Awareness Day, this Joint Resolution affirms the importance of overdose awareness, remembers those who have died from overdose, and acknowledges the grief suffered from losing a loved one to overdose.

Excess skin and subcutaneous tissue can create a risk of rashes or infections, make walking and movement difficult, and make everyday chores difficult. An example of treatment that removes excess skin and subcutaneous tissue is a panniculectomy. A panniculectomy is an operative procedure that contours, or changes the shape and form, of the abdomen by removing significant excess skin and subcutaneous tissue. Removal of excess skin and subcutaneous tissue can improve a patient’s health and quality of life. This Act requires individual health insurance plans delivered under Chapter 33 of Title 18 and group and blanket health insurance plans delivered under Chapter 35 of Title 18 to cover medically necessary removal of excess skin and subcutaneous tissue, including panniculectomies. This Act also requires the State employee health insurance plan and State Medicaid plans to cover medically necessary removal of excess skin and subcutaneous tissue, including panniculectomies. Medically necessary means as defined in § 3371(8) for individual health insurance plans and as defined in § 3581(8) for group and blanket health insurance plans, State employee health insurance plans, and State Medicaid plans. This Act applies to all policies, contracts, or certicates issued, renewed, modified, alterered, amended, or resissued after December 31, 2026.

This Act bans the sale of Tianeptine in the State by identifying it as a Schedule I controlled substance. Tianeptine, also known as “gas station heroin,” is an antidepressant drug that is not approved by the FDA and is being sold as a dietary supplement in gas stations and other shops. This Act requires approval by a two-thirds vote because the statutory change will result in the expansion of an existing misdemeanor.

This Act updates the terminology used to describe or citations used to reference those who make financial or health-care decisions on behalf of a principal or individual, including when that principal or individual lacks capacity. This Act takes effect on September 30, 2025, to coincide with when the Delaware Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act of 2023 (DUHCDA 2023) takes effect. Section 1 of this Act amends § 3982 of Title 12 by: (1) Removing the phrase “durable power of attorney for health-care decisions” and instead citing to the definition of “advance health-care directive” under DUHCDA 2023. A durable power of attorney for health-care decisions, or other similar variations on that phrase, are synonyms for a power of attorney for health care. A power of attorney for health care is included in the definition of advance health-care directive under DUHCDA 2023. For shorthand, elsewhere in this Synopsis this change will be referred to as “citing to the DUHCDA 2023 to remove synonyms.” (2) Changing "surrogate" to "default surrogate" to align with the new definitions of "surrogate" and "default surrogate" under DUHCDA 2023. For shorthand, elsewhere in this Synopsis this change will be referred to as “aligning the term ‘surrogate’ with the DUHCDA 2023”. (3) Added reference to an agent under a durable power of attorney to § 3983(4)a. since it is in § 3983(4)b. and those paragraphs should mirror each other, as paragraph (4)a. handles a situation when there is no decision maker willing or able to serve and paragraph (4)b. addresses a situation where a decision maker is determined unsuitable. Section 2 of this Act amends § 3983 of Title 12 by aligning the term ‘surrogate’ with the DUHCDA 2023. Section 3 of this Act amends § 1121 of Title 16 by: (1) Completing the list of internal citations. (2) Repealing § 1121(b)(40) because § 1122 defines the decision makers to whom third-party decision making passes when an individual lacks capacity to make decisions. Additionally, § 1121 is where resident rights are listed, not the rights of third parties. Section 4 of this Act revises § 1122 of Title 16 by: (1) Revising the description of legal standards for when decision making authority passes to a third party under the processes listed, including deleting that a standard is when a resident is "unable to communicate with others" and adding a reference to federal law since a representative payee under § 205(j) of the Social Security Act is included in the list. (2) Citing to the DUHCDA 2023 to remove synonyms. (3) Aligning the term ‘surrogate’ with the DUHCDA 2023. Section 5 of this Act amends § 1145 of Title 16 by: (1) Citing to the DUHCDA 2023 to remove synonyms. (2) Aligning the term ‘surrogate’ with the DUHCDA 2023. Section 6 of this Act amends § 2503A of Title 16 by: (1) Citing to the DUHCDA 2023 to remove synonyms. (2) Aligning the term ‘surrogate’ with the DUHCDA 2023. Section 7 of this Act amends § 5530 of Title 16 by: (1) Citing to the DUHCDA 2023 to remove synonyms. (2) Repealing subsection (e) because it refers to a list of individuals that was removed by SB 309 (GA 152) in favor of citing directly to DUHCDA 2023. Section 8 of this Act amends § 5531 of Title 16 by citing to the DUHCDA 2023 to remove synonyms. Section 9 of this Act amends § 2718 of Title 21 by: (1) Correcting the word “advanced” to “advance” in “advance care directive”. (2) Listing the advance planning documents referenced in the citation to § 9706(h) of Title 16. Section 9706(h) allows the promulgation of regulations related to EMS provider compliance with identified advance planning documents. It is not the section that establishes or defines the advance planning documents. Section 10 of this Act amends § 3912 of Title 31 by changing the term “power of attorney” to “agent” because an agent is the actor whereas the power of attorney is the document or grant of authority to act as agent. Section 11 of this Act is an effective date. This Act takes effect on September 30, 2025. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act creates a breastfeeding and lactation program within the DOC to provide lactation support to women in DOC custody. Among other things, it permits women to collect breast milk for later retrieval and delivery to an infant or toddler by an approved person. It also requires the DOC to provide nutrition information and a meal plan specific to pregnant, post-partum, or lactating women, based on national best practices. This Act further requires that DOC publish an annual report regarding the number of participants in the program and the nature of services provided.