The denial by private and public health benefit administrators of adequate coverage for substance abuse treatment has been identified as a major source of failed treatment efforts by persons addicted to controlled substances. These denials have also been identified as a cause of the shortage of adequate treatment facilities in Delaware. This Act seeks to ensure that persons with private and public insurance coverage have the ability to insist that they receive the substance abuse coverage to which they are entitled by law and by their insurance plans. It does so by (1) allowing the Department of Justice to provide legal assistance where appropriate to persons seeking benefits from the state’s Medicaid program, traditional health plans, or from employer-funded health benefit plans (which are exempt from state regulation), (2) requiring the state’s Medicaid program and private insurance carriers to provide notice to persons who are denied substance abuse treatment of the possibility of legal assistance in challenging those claim denials, and (3) permitting the Department of Justice to use funds in its Consumer Protection Fund to offset the cost of providing medical and legal expertise to DOJ and the Department of Insurance for the purpose of assisting persons with controlled substance addictions who are seeking treatment. This Act contains a sunset provision so that the General Assembly can assess the impact of its provisions on private and public health care costs and effective treatment of substance abuse before making its provisions permanent.
Sponsored bills
This Act creates the Delaware African and Caribbean Affairs Commission.
This bill imposes a filing fee on write-in candidates of $1,000.00 for federal office and $100.00 for statewide or local office and changes the deadline for write-in candidates to file their declaration and filing fee from September 30 to September 1.
Section 1 of this Act provides that the statute of limitations period for a substantial underpayment of a license fee or gross receipts tax will commence at the end of the period for which the license is issued, in order to parallel the normal limitations period for the assessment of an underpayment of this type of tax. Section 2 of this Act provides that notice of a judgment must have been provided to the taxpayer not later than the date of the notice given prior to the revocation of a professional license resulting from non-payment of taxes. Section 3 of this Act conforms Delaware’s deadlines for filing certain information returns to those established in the Internal Revenue Code. In an effort to combat identity theft and taxpayer fraud, federal filing dates were recently changed. For example, starting in 2017 the federal deadline for an employer to file aggregated W-2 data with the IRS will be January 31, which is the same date on which W-2s are distributed to individual taxpayers. Prior to this change, the IRS did not receive W-2 data until March 1 meaning that there has been a one-month window in which it could not readily confirm the authenticity of W-2s filed with taxpayers’ returns. Like other states and the IRS, Delaware has had to devote considerable resources to combating fraud and identity theft. By conforming to the new federal standard, Delaware will have data on hand that will help identify and isolate fraudulent filings. As the State’s employers will already be required to comply with the new federal deadlines, conforming Delaware’s filing dates will result in no additional administrative burden. Sections 4 and 5 of this Act adjust Delaware’s deadlines for filing income tax returns for pass-through entities (partnerships and S corporations) and corporations to be consistent with the new deadlines set forth in the Internal Revenue Code. For tax years beginning after December 31, 2015, the federal deadline for pass-through entities taxed as partnerships and as S corporations to file returns will be March 15 or the 15th day of the third month following the end of the pass-through entity’s fiscal year, while the federal deadline for a C corporation to file an income tax return will be April 15, or the 15th day of the fourth month after the end of the C corporation’s fiscal year. As the State’s business entities will already be required to comply with the new federal deadlines, conforming Delaware’s filing dates will result in no additional administrative burden. Finally, this Act deletes a provision of the Code that was effective only for tax returns due in 1958 and 1959.
This resolution continues to raise awareness that the month of May is Melanoma and Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month in Delaware and celebrates new research predicting lower melanoma rates.
Recognizing that a criminal charge can have lasting collateral consequences for a juvenile on employment and education opportunities, this bill raises the age in which a juvenile’s information, such as their name and mug shot, may be released by the state. The bill also seeks to address issues related to the release of such information on publicly-maintained social media pages. This bill seeks to balance both the rights of juveniles and the public’s right to know by saying that the names and photos of juveniles who have been charged and/or found delinquent of Class A misdemeanors, and Title 11 felonies, may only be released when the offending juvenile is 16 or older. This legislation also adds clarifying language to prevent the inadvertent release of sensitive information online that could have lasting impacts on a juvenile long after they have been charged, and in some cases, acquitted, of a crime.
This Concurrent Resolution establishes a task force to study the issue of the local extinction of species in Delaware and recommend solutions to reverse the present course. The task force is required to deliver its report no later than December 1, 2017.
This Act improves the enforcement mechanisms related to Delaware’s campaign finance disclosure laws in four ways. First, this Act amends § 8040, Title 15 to require that the Superior Court may not grant a certificate of election to a successful candidate for office until the candidate has paid all fines assessed by the Commissioner of Elections (“Commissioner”) for the candidate’s wilful failure to file a required campaign finance report. And, this Act specifically requires the Commissioner to provide the Superior Court with the information necessary for the Court to perform its function. Second, this Act further amends § 8040, Title 15 to prohibit an individual from being a candidate in a future election until all previous campaign finance reports are filed and all previously assessed fines assessed by the Commissioner are paid. Third, this Act clarifies the timeframe in which the Commissioner must notify a candidate that a report is incomplete or tardy and decreases the time in which a candidate may appeal the Commissioner’s decision to issue a fine for a tardy or incomplete report. Fourth, this Act amends § 8044, Title 15 to require the Commissioner to publish, on the Department of Elections website, the name of any candidate who has (1) wilfully neglected to file a campaign finance report, (2) been assessed a fine by the Commissioner for wilfully neglecting to file a campaign finance report, or (3) been reported to the Office of the Attorney General by the Commissioner.
This bill authorizes the use of “prize-linked” savings accounts in the State of Delaware. These accounts have been used in a number of countries and several U.S. states to promote savings, especially among persons with low-income and first-time savers. A deposit into the program makes the entrant eligible for a prize. The principal in the account remains untouched. The first large-scale program of this nature in the U.S. was launched in Michigan about 6 years ago, and the program has subsequently expanded to Nebraska, North Carolina and Washington. At the end of 2014, federal legislation was passed allowing federally charted banks and credit unions to offer this type of savings account in any state that does not prohibit it. This bill explicitly authorizes such programs in Delaware and clarifies that such programs do not constitute prohibited gambling or lottery practices.
This Act creates the Complete Your Degree Grant Program. Under this program, state funds may be provided to help eligible students who have completed at least 30 credit hours return to school and complete an associate degree.