This Act permits a terminally ill individual who is an adult resident of Delaware to request and self-administer medication to end the individual's life in a humane and dignified manner if both the individual's attending physician or attending advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) and a consulting physician or consulting APRN agree on the individual's diagnosis and prognosis and believe the individual has decision-making capacity, is making an informed decision, and is acting voluntarily. This Act uses terms and definitions that are consistent with other Delaware laws in Title 16, specifically Chapter 25 (regarding advance health-care directives) and Chapter 25A (regarding Delaware Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment). This Act provides the following procedural safeguards: 1. No one may request medication to end life on behalf of another individual. 2. An individual cannot qualify for medication to end life under this chapter solely because of the individual's age or disability. A mental illness or mental health condition is not a qualifying condition under this Act and a mental illness or mental health condition may be the reason that an individual does not have decision-making capacity and is thus, ineligible for medication to end their life in a humane and dignified manner. 3. Both the individual's attending physician or attending APRN and a consulting physician or consulting APRN must confirm that the individual has a terminal illness and a prognosis of 6 months or less to live, has decision-making capacity, is making an informed decision, and is acting voluntarily. 4. The individual's attending physician or attending APRN must also provide specific disclosures to the individual to ensure that the individual is making an informed decision, including the presentation of all end of life options which include comfort care, palliative care, hospice care, and pain control. 5. The individual must be evaluated by a psychiatrist or a psychologist if either the attending or consulting physicians or APRNs are concerned that the individual lacks decision-making capacity. 6. The individual must complete a witnessed form requesting medication to end life and there are limitations on who can witness the signing of the form. 7. The attending physician or attending APRN must offer the individual the opportunity to rescind the request for medication to end life before writing a prescription for the medication. 8. Two waiting periods must pass before the attending physician or attending APRN may prescribe the medication to end life. 9. The attending physician or attending APRN must provide the qualified patient with instructions about the proper safe-keeping and disposal of unused medication to end life in a humane and dignified manner under applicable state or federal guidelines. The United States Food and Drug Administration guidelines include using a medication collection site or a medication disposal pouch, that deactivates and renders drugs ineffective. 10. An insurer or health-care provider may not deny or alter health-care benefits otherwise available to an individual based upon the availability of medication to end life or otherwise coerce or require a request for medication to end life as a condition of receiving care. 11. A health-care institution may prohibit a physician or APRN from prescribing medication under this Act on the health-care institution's premises and a physician or APRN may to refuse to prescribe medication under this Act. 12. A request or prescription for or the dispensing of medication under this Act does not constitute elder abuse, suicide, assisted-suicide, homicide, or euthanasia. 13. People acting in good faith and in accordance with generally accepted health-care standards under this Act have immunity, but those acting with negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct do not have criminal or civil immunity. 14. The Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) must develop rules and regulations to collect information regarding compliance with this Act and require health-care providers to file a report when medication to end life in a humane and dignified manner is prescribed or dispensed. DHSS may review samples of records maintained under this Act. The information DHSS collects must include the information necessary to assess a physician's or APRN's compliance with their responsibilities under this Act and DHSS has explicit authority to share information with the Division of Professional Regulation if DHSS suspects that a health-care provider failed to comply with the requirements under this Act. 15. DHSS must complete an annual statistical report of information collected under this Act, similar to public reports available in other states such as New Jersey where this end of life option is available. This report has the following purposes: • To assist the DHSS in its oversight responsibilities for this Act. • To assist the public in learning how well this new law is operating. 16. The Department of State may also promulgate regulations or develop forms and protocols necessary under this Act. 17. Allows the Office of Controlled Substances to provide reports of data in the prescription monitoring program to DHSS to assess compliance with this Act. This Act takes effect when final regulations required under this Act have been promulgated or July 1, 2024, whichever occurs earlier. This Act is known as "The Ron Silverio/Heather Block End of Life Options Law" in memory of Ron Silverio and Heather Block, who were passionate advocates that passed away without this option becoming available to them.
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This Act provides that the next of kin of a deceased police officer, member of a fire department, or member of the Delaware National Guard is entitled to a Delaware state flag if the deceased person served in at least 1 qualifying entity for at least 10 years and died in the line of duty or while an active member. This Act is a substitute for and differs from Senate Bill No. 221 in the following ways: - Applies to Delaware state flags only. - Removes language that referenced draping a flag over a casket at the deceased person's funeral service. - Removes auxiliary members of a volunteer fire department or a member of service organization providing volunteer ambulance services from list of individuals who qualify for a flag. - Uses the broader term "law-enforcement officer" and clarifies the definition. - Clarifies that a firefighter may be either paid or volunteer to qualify for a flag. - Names the following entities as responsible for providing flags: the Delaware Volunteer Firefighters Association for firefighters, the Department of Safety and Homeland Security for police officers, and the Delaware National Guard for their members.
This Act requires that public school students receive a vision screening, including a test for color blindness, in kindergarten. Students must also receive vision screenings at appropriate intervals in grades 1 through 12, to be determined by the DOE.
This bill seeks to amend sections of Chapter 66 concerning the members of Delaware Volunteer Fire Departments. This bill will hold current members to the same standards as applicants with relation to criminal activity.
For claims for line of duty death benefits for covered persons, which include police officers, firefighters, auxiliary and volunteer ambulance and rescue company members, paramedics, and others, submitted on July 1, 2023, and thereafter, this Act increases the benefits for the beneficiary or beneficiaries from $200,000 to $375,000, payable in annual installments, with the maximum amount paid in any 1 calendar year being $50,000.
Section 1 amends Title 31 to require all health benefit plans delivered or issued for Medicaid to cover services related to the termination of pregnancy. Coverage provided under this section is not subject to any deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or any other cost-sharing requirement and must cover the full scope of services permissible under the law. It also moves the definition of “carrier” out of individual provisions and into the general definition section for the chapter. Section 2 adds a definition of “religious employer” to Title 18. Sections 3 and 4 amend Title 18 to require both individual and group health carriers to cover services related to the termination of pregnancy with identical cost-sharing prohibitions. Certain types of limited coverage plans are exempt from the requirement, and HDHP and catastrophic plans are exempt from the cost-sharing prohibitions if such requirements would cause them to lose their status and treatment under federal law. A religious employer may obtain an exclusion from the carrier if the requirements conflict with the organization’s bona fide religious beliefs and practices. Section 5 amends Title 29 to require coverage for services related to the termination of pregnancy under the state employee health plan. Coverage shall not be subject to any deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or any other cost-sharing requirement and shall apply to the full scope of services permissible under the law. The changes to Medicaid and the state employee health plan are effective January 1 of the year following enactment. The changes to insurance requirements for private group, blanket, and individual coverage are effective for policies issued, renewed, or altered after December 31, 2025. This substitute differs from the original bill as follows: (1) It makes several technical corrections; (2) It limits the permissible applications of referral, prior authorization, and in-network requirements to ensure full and timely access to covered services; (3) It requires federal funds to be used for Medicaid services wherever the use of federal funds is allowed and specifies State funds will otherwise be used for covered services; (4) It adds a definition of religious employer and requires a religious employer to cover services when the life or health of the covered individual is at risk; (5) It changes the effective and application dates of the coverage requirements; (6) It caps the benefit at $750 per year per covered individual for Medicaid; and for private insurance it allows the benefit to be limited to $750 per covered individual per year. The bill also makes a technical change by moving the definition of “carrier” out of individual sections of Chapter 5 of Title 29 and into the general definitions section for that chapter.
This Act requires that all passenger vehicles and light duty vehicles owned and operated by the State be zero emission vehicles by 2040 by requiring increasing volumes of zero emission vehicles every few years. The Office of Management and Budget shall be authorized to grant exemptions to these requirements. Law enforcement vehicles and vessels of State agency law-enforcement personnel; vehicles owned by the Department of Education, school districts, and charter schools; and designated take home vehicles shall be exempt from these requirements as well.
This Act requires the Director of the Sustainable Energy Utility to administer a program to provide financial assistance to Delaware residents for the cost of purchase and installation of electric vehicle supply equipment. For a low-income applicant (meaning up to 300% of the federal poverty level for household income), financial assistance covering up to 90% of the purchase and installation costs may be covered. For all other applicants the program may offer assistance to cover up to 50% of the costs.
This Joint Resolution designates August 31, 2024, 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.
This Act creates the Delaware Grocery Initiative. The Delaware Grocery Initiative is a healthy foods initiative that seeks to provide financial assistance to eligible food resources as designated by the bill. The Act defines food deserts and eligibility requirements for the initiative. The Act authorizes the Division of Small Business to implement the grant and financial support system. This substitute bill does the following: 1. Adds the following terms in the definition section of the Act: Council, food resource, Healthy Foods Retail Initiative, Program, and specialty grocer. 2. Modifies the definition of food desert. 3. Removes terms of grocery store, rural tract, and urban tract in lieu of the new definitions of food resource and food desert. 4. Designates the Division of Small Business, instead of the Office of State Planning, as theagency authorized to implement the Delaware Grocery Initiative and authorizes the Division of Small Business to adopt rules. 5. Replaces the grocery and food desert study with a food access strategy. 6. Subject to appropriation, creates a food access strategy to address food insecurity and requires submission of a report to the General Assembly and the Governor by June 1, 2025.