Rep. Val Longhurst

This Act requires that individual, group, and State employee insurance plans cap the amount an individual must pay for insulin prescriptions at $100 a month and must include at least 1 formulation of insulin on the lowest tier of the drug formulary developed and maintained by the carrier.

This Act provides for voting by mail for the 2020 primary and general elections and special elections held under the provisions of Chapter 73 of Title 15 due to the emergency caused by COVID-19, a highly contagious virus. Voting by mail is an alternative to, and not a replacement for, in-person voting, which remains an available option to those electors not voting by absentee or mail ballot. This Act establishes procedures for voting by mail which mirror the procedures for absentee voting. The Act makes clear that, like in absentee voting, no ballots can be tabulated until Election Day. The authority to implement voting by mail stems from the Delaware Constitution. Article XVII of the Delaware Constitution mandates that in order to insure continuity of State and local governmental operations in periods of an emergency resulting from disease, the General Assembly shall have the power and immediate duty to adopt measures that may be necessary and proper for insuring the continuity of governmental operations including nonconformity with the requirements of the Constitution when in the judgment of the General Assembly to do so would be impracticable. With this Act, the General Assembly finds that due to the highly contagious nature of COVID-19, and the need to protect Delaware voters and polling workers from the virus, voting by mail is necessary and proper for insuring the continuity of governmental operations, and conformity with the constraints of Article V, § 4A would be impracticable.

Since the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, with Delaware ratifying it in 1901, at least 15 states have added a provision to their state constitution that prohibits the denial or abridgement of equal rights under the law based on race, color, or national origin. In 2019, Delaware amended the state constitution to prohibit the denial or abridgement of equal rights under the law based on sex, but no such prohibition exists as to race, color, or national origin. This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment to add race, color, and national origin to the Article I, § 21 of the Delaware Constitution to explicitly declare that protection against discrimination based on race, color, and national origin is one of Delaware's fundamental rights. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because Article XVI, § 1 of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly when the General Assembly amends the Delaware Constitution.

This Act mandates that the Department of Health and Human Services, in conjunction with the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to establish Maximum Contaminant Levels for specific contaminants found in drinking water in this state. Such contaminants include PFOA and PFOS, which are man-made chemicals that have been used in industries in this state. These chemicals were found to be associated with increased risks of chronic diseases. The Environmental Protection Agency, thus far, has not established a maximum contaminant levels, but only health advisories. The establishment of maximum contaminant levels is essential in order to protect the health and safety of all Delawareans from dangerous contaminants in drinking water.

This Act clarifies that an employer is liable to an employee for liquidated damages if the employer does not make wages available during the next payday after an employee quits, resigns, is discharged, suspended, or laid off. The only difference between Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 212 and Senate Bill No. 212 is this revised Synopsis. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual and revises the section heading to accurately describe the content of the section.

This bill creates the Public Employee Sexual Violence Act which allows public employees who have suffered sexual violence in the workplace the ability to file an action against the perpetrator and the employee even if the applicable statute of limitations has run. This Act defines sexual violence and provides when a public employee who suffered sexual violence by a supervisor may file suit against an employer. This Act will allow a public employee who was a victim of sexual violence 1 year from the effective date to file claims in Superior Court.

This Concurrent Resolution accepts and approves the May 14, 2020, actions of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate (“President Pro Tempore”) and the Speaker of the House of Representatives (“Speaker”), declares an emergency under § 5, Article II and § 1, Article XVII of the Delaware Constitution, and adopts rules of procedure for conducting virtual meetings of the General Assembly and its legislative committees during an emergency. Specifically, this Concurrent Resolution: (1) Authorizes the Senate or House of Representatives or a legislative committee to convene and conduct a virtual meeting if the President Pro Tempore and the Speaker issue a public notice that the Senate or House of Representatives or a legislative committee is authorized to convene and conduct a virtual meeting due to an emergency. (2) Provides protections to ensure the integrity of the legislative process and public access and transparency for meetings held virtually. (3) Requires legislation considered at a virtual meeting be first be placed on an agenda, consent agenda, or consent calendar by the President Pro Tempore under Senate Rules or the Speaker under House Rules. (4) Notwithstanding § 1711 of Title 29 of the Delaware Code, makes clear that the method of convening the General Assembly and the limitations on the length of legislative session are as provided under the Delaware Constitution and the rules of the Senate or House of Representatives adopted under § 9, Article II of the Delaware Constitution.

A placard must be prominently displayed at all entrances of massage and bodywork establishments that have failed to obtain a valid license or have a license that is suspended, revoked, or expired. This bill provides that no placard can be removed unless the establishment is validly licensed and the removal of the placard is approved by the Division of Professional Regulation. This bill makes the unlawful removal of the placard a Class A misdemeanor, punishable of up to 1 year in jail and up to a $2300 fine.

This Joint Resolution directs the Secretary of the Department of Transportation to report to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Controller General, Governor, and Director of the Office of Management and Budget by December 7, 2020, on the amount of funds needed to adequately repair and maintain subdivision streets.

This Act allows any qualified voter evidencing a desire to vote by mail in writing to the State Elections Commission to vote by mail in primary, general, and special federal elections. The State Elections Commission shall administer the program, creating rules and regulations that allow processing and scanning of mail ballots ahead of Election Day without tabulation until Election Day, dropping off mail ballots at any polling place on Election Day and dropping off mail ballots in a secure drop box of each county Department of Elections office before and leading up to Election Day.