Rep. David Bentz

This bill updates the statute governing the Delaware Division of Libraries, revising terminology to reflect the varied roles of Delaware libraries in the 21st Century. The bill also codifies existing responsibilities of the Division of Libraries related to coordination of state library technology.

This bill eliminates the sunset provision on the “at-store” recycling program for plastic bags. The program established in 2009 included a sunset provision until 2014. In 2014, the General Assembly extended that sunset provision to 2017. This bill eliminates the sunset provision permanently to encourage the continued routine for consumers to recycle plastic bags through “at-store” programs. The bill will also require all stores subject to the requirements of this section to register by June 30, 2018, and provide information to DNREC regarding compliance on a form to be provided by DNREC.

This Bill adds 3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclohexyl]-N-methylbenzamide (U-47700) to Schedule I of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. U-47700, also known as “Pink,” is a synthetic opioid recently encountered by law enforcement and public health officials and is being abused for its opioid properties. It is available over the Internet and is marketed as a “research chemical.” The safety risks to users are significant and the public health risks include large numbers of drug treatment admissions, emergency room visits and fatal overdoses. On November 14, 2016, the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency temporarily placed U-47700 in Schedule I for a two-year period, finding that this synthetic opioid has a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States and lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision. By Emergency Order dated December 15, 2016, the Secretary of State temporarily placed U-47700 in Schedule I. This Order is effective for 120 days. The permanent addition of U-47700 to Schedule I is required in the interest of public protection.

This Act requires that health insurance offered in this State provide coverage for fertility care services, including in vitro fertilization ("IVF") procedures for persons, who along with their partner, suffer from a disease or condition that results in the inability to procreate or to carry a pregnancy to viability. Like all other diseases, infertility should be covered by insurance. According to the National Infertility Association, RESOLVE, infertility affects 1 in 8 couples and 1 in 4 cannot afford treatment. Everyone deserves the right to procreate. Right now, many Delaware families diagnosed with infertility fall into a “coverage gap” and pay out-of-pocket for fertility care services. Only certain employers provide any fertility care coverage in Delaware and many of these plans provide very limited coverage. Families generally must pay high co-pays or adhere to service restrictions and lifetime dollar caps that strictly limit their treatment options, and thus make it unaffordable for many of them to proceed without risking their financial security or without achieving a successful pregnancy. For example, 1 IVF cycle can cost between $15,000 and $25,000 and, on average, it takes 2 to 3 cycles to achieve pregnancy. Additionally, highly inflated managed care pharmacy prices for IVF medications, where families with coverage can pay as much as 100% more for medications compared to prices charged to self-pay families, often contribute to 25-50% or more of total IVF costs, which can quickly drain lifetime caps and severely limit overall IVF care options. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 15 states currently have laws requiring insurance coverage for infertility diagnosis or treatment, including 2 states that border Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. This puts the State at a significant competitive disadvantage, as many reproductive age residents intentionally change employers and leave Delaware to gain more attractive fertility care benefits. It is also well-documented that individuals who self-pay for IVF procedures, or have limited benefits, often demand that 2 or more embryos be transferred to their uterus. This is a dangerous and costly approach for heavily burdened health care resources, and can be completely avoided, with greater access to covered fertility care services. This Act require insurers to cover fertility care services based on the latest IVF technologies to increase pregnancy success rates for singleton births at the lowest possible costs. This will greatly reduce the risk of multiple births and greatly reduce hospital and health care costs, thus saving employers money. Several recent studies have found that the cost of perinatal and neonatal care for twins is about $100,000, whereas singleton pregnancies cost about $13,000. Triplet pregnancies can cost $400,000 or more. For every 100 pregnancies from IVF that are singletons (but could have been twins), about $8.7 million dollars is saved, on top of reduced pain and suffering for parents and premature babies. This Act would significantly reduce this high financial and societal burden, with the promotion of IVF technologies that exclusively use single-embryo transfers. This Act could increase the number of persons treated for infertility, but also increase the number of babies born in Delaware by 2-300 per year, thus increasing the state’s birth rate by 1-2% and providing a boost to the local economy, while also decreasing health care costs.

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes June 2017 as LGBTQ Pride Month in the State of Delaware.

This Concurrent Resolution signifies the Delaware Center for Health Innovation and the Department of Health and Social Services' submission of the joint report pertaining to Community Health Workers.

This Act removes the prohibition against receipt of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (“TANF” also referred to by the name Aid for Families with Dependent Children or “AFDC”) funds by persons convicted of a drug felony, so long as that person is otherwise eligible or TANF assistance. Even though federal laws such as PRWORA passed during the War on Drugs frequently prohibited access to public assistance for persons with drug felonies, these laws also gave states flexibility in determining eligibility for food aid and cash assistance for families with children when applicants had a criminal conviction. The majority of states have limited the federal bans in whole or in part. In 2011, Delaware opted out of restrictions on food aid, but it has not opted out of or limited federal restrictions on TANF—the cash assistance program that is the principal form of assistance available to most families in poverty to pay for things like electricity bills or school supplies. Under existing law, individuals convicted of any state or federal drug felony, including possession of marijuana (which can be a felony under federal law), are ineligible for TANF for life. Although the children of a parent convicted of a drug crime can still receive assistance, the family’s overall award is significantly reduced, and in practice this affects the well-being of families and children.

This bill lowers the current tax rate by .05% for each bracket. The bill creates a new tax bracket at $125,000 with a rate of 7.05% and an additional bracket at $250,000 with a rate of 7.80%. The bill also provides a tiered reduction of the otherwise available itemized deduction based upon the individual's taxable income.

This Senate Concurrent Resolution creates a Health Care Spending Task Force be created to produce comprehensive solutions for reducing the cost growth trend in the State’s health care spending while promoting and preserving access to high quality, affordable healthcare for all Delawareans.

This resolution directs the Delaware Emergency Medical Services Oversight Council and the Office of Emergency Medical Services to establish statewide metrics for emergency room wait times, with such information being publicly reported on a regular basis and available to emergency responders.