Rep. Mike Smith

This Act is intended to promote, maintain, and bolster the public’s confidence in the integrity of State government, particularly as it relates to the employment of former members of the General Assembly within State government. This Act achieves this goal by prohibiting a former member of the General Assembly from being appointed to or employed in a position in a State agency for 1 year after the former member’s final term of office if either of the following applies: (1) The position was created during the former member’s final term of office. (2) The compensation for the position was increased, other than by an appropriation by the General Assembly that applies to all similarly situated State employees, during the former member’s term of office and the former member did not hold the position during the former member’s term of office. Existing law provides that a former member who knowingly or wilfully violates this Act is guilty of a misdemeanor and may be punished by imprisonment of not more than 1 year and by a fine not to exceed $10,000.

This Act will increase payments of child support arrears or retroactive support from payments for settlements and awards from negligence, personal injury, and workers compensation cases by requiring that all insurers share information with an insurance claim data collection organization. The Division of Child Support Services ("Division") uses an insurance claim data collection organization to match individuals who are in arrears on child support or who owe retroactive child support with individuals with insurance claims based upon negligence, personal injury, or workers' compensation cases. The data collection organization performs a data match of the claimants provided by insurers and child support obligors provided by the Division. The data collection organization provides reports of matches to the Division so that the Division can issue a lien against the insurance claim to collect the child support arrears or retroactive support. Currently, some insurers voluntarily submit claim information to the insurance claim data collection organization and in 2018, $424,977 in unpaid child support was collected through this process. This Act requires that all insurers submit claim information to the insurance claim data collection organization and is expected to collect an additional $150,000 - $200,000 in unpaid child support. This Act also allows written notice of a lien or action to perfect the lien to be sent by electronically or by first class mail to conform to industry practices. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This House Resolution requests the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council (“DVCC”) to examine the expansion of domestic violence, teen dating violence, and sexual violence advocacy and legal services to minors. The DVCC may study the issue with assistance from various organizations outlined in the Resolution to provide recommendations to the General Assembly by May 31, 2020.

This Concurrent Resolution designates May 2019 as “ALS Awareness Month” in Delaware.

This act states that advocates for victims of domestic violence, domestic abuse, sexual assault, abuse by a caregiver, human trafficking, or stalking may not disclose any communication made by a victim to the advocate without express written consent of the victim.

This bill establishes a 2 year residential drinking water purification system pilot grant program to be administered through the Department of Health and Social Services with funding from the Non-Federal Administrative Allowance of the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.

This Act creates a Prescription Opioid Impact Fund (“Fund”) through a prescription opioid impact fee (“Fee”) that is paid by pharmaceutical manufacturer. The anticipated revenue from the Fee is $2.8 million in 2020, $2.7 million in 2021, and $2.5 million in 2022.: 1. The fee is based on the total of the Morphine Milligram Equivalent (“MME”) in each manufacturer’s products dispensed in Delaware, based upon data already reported to the Prescription Monitoring Program (“PMP”). The PMP data contains the mandatory reports by pharmacists of every prescription opioid dispensed in the State. The PMP data does not include prescription opioids administered in hospitals, provided directly to patients by hospice, or dispensed by veterinarians. 2. The fee is assessed on manufacturers who exceed a threshold of 100,000 MMEs dispensed each quarter. 3. The Fee is calculated at a rate of either 1 penny per MME for a name brand prescription opioid dispensed and reported in the PMP or ¼ of a penny per MME for a prescription opioid that is a generic. The Act also provides that Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services, after receiving recommendations from the Behavioral Health Consortium, the Addiction Action Committee, and the Overdose System of Care Committee, will award grants and contracts from the money in the Fund for the following activities: 1. Opioid addiction prevention. 2. Opioid addiction services, including the following: 3. Inpatient and outpatient treatment programs and facilities, including short-term and long-term residential treatment programs and sober living facilities. 4. Treating substance use disorder for the under-insured and uninsured. 5. Emergency assistance relating to prescription opioids, including purchasing Naloxone. 6. Administrative costs of implementing the Fee and Fund, up to 15% of the amount in the Fund. Finally, this Act expires in 5 years, unless terminated sooner or extended by the General Assembly, so that the Fee is only continued if it is effective and is not creating negative unintended consequences.

This concurrent resolution establishes a Task Force to investigate the cost of special education to include recommending strategies to improve cost efficiencies and outcomes for special education.

This resolution congratulates the class 2018-2019 Eagle Scouts for having attained the highest rank one can earn in the Boy Scouts of America.

To address concerns regarding the actual and perceived fairness of lottery admissions to choice, charter, and vo-tech schools, this Act requires that a third party approved by the Department of Education and the State Board of Education conduct the lottery. The Department of Education currently has a contract with Data Service Center to perform the choice lottery for all schools and districts in Delaware. There is no cost to the districts or charters.