Rep. Ed Osienski

The use of genetic information in disqualifying coverage for non-health insurance products, such as disability insurance and long term care insurance, is a gap in the protection provided by the federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. As a result, patients who seek genetic counseling to determine whether they may be at risk for certain diseases, such as genetic testing for the BRCA gene to determine predisposition for breast and prostate cancers, are cautioned that a positive result could result in the person being denied insurance. The potential denial of insurance has a chilling effect on patients seeking genetic testing, blocking them from being proactive by putting in place a preventative care plan that would reduce the likelihood of them getting the specific disease in the future. This Act follows the lead of other states and prohibits discrimination based upon genetic characteristics and information in the issuance or renewal of disability and long term care insurance. This Act also provides a notice requirement if an insurer requires a genetic test. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act changes the program for distributing payments to county seats with tax-exempt properties owned by the State. Section 8318 of Title 29 directs compensatory payments for exempt properties owned by the State to the county seats, Wilmington, Dover, and Georgetown. This Act authorizes these compensatory payments to any municipality with a population over 25,000 and more than 20% tax exempt property owned by the State. This Act also adjusts the formula under which distributions to municipalities are made. This Act improves the formulas to enable the elimination of specific dollar earmarks and to treat all higher education institutions in the State equally. The Act increases the compensatory payments under this section to each of the 3 county seats, and adds Newark to the program at a much lower payment than the payment provided to the county seats. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

The language set forth in this statute would remove barriers for inmates who are students with disabilities and who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) under state and federal law, when being considered for parole or a sentence modification. Requiring an inmate with an IEP to complete a GED or State of Delaware High School Diploma is counter-productive to the treatment and programming of this segment of the prison population and prohibits them from seeking the same benefits of parole or sentence modification afforded to those inmates who do not have an IEP. This amendment to the law allows an inmate the opportunity to earn a State of Delaware Diploma of Alternate Achievement Standards upon successful completion of the inmate's IEP.

This Act amends the Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019 Bond and Capital Improvements Acts to (1) authorize the Department of Transportation to use Community Transportation Funds for one-time reimbursements for various projects; (2) allow the transfer of funds between capital projects for the Appoquinimink School District; (3) authorize a transfer of funds from the Office of Management and Budget for other listed projects; (4) revise the fund amount for the Garashes L Project and expand the use of funds for road projects at the Wilmington Riverfront Sports Project; (5) authorize funding from the Delaware Strategic Fund when interest earnings are not available for the New Castle County and Middletown Chamber of Commerce’s business incubators; (6) authorize the Delaware National Guard to use appropriated funds for the 198th Readiness Center Facilities and Georgetown Readiness Center; and (7) authorize the conveyance of property between the Appoquinimink School District and the Town of Middletown.

This Concurrent Resolution requests the Delaware Department of Transportation and Delaware State Police examine the issue of slower traffic in the left hand lane and jointly report to the General Assembly by May 1, 2019, their recommendations, if any, for action to address this issue.

This bill removes the training minimum wage, which takes effect 90 days after enactment, and youth minimum wage, which takes effect January 1, 2020.

This Act creates the Delaware Federal Employees Civil Relief Act which provides the temporary suspension of judicial and administrative proceedings and transactions in Delaware that may adversely affect the civil rights of Federal workers during a shutdown. This Act only applies to Federal workers who reside in Delaware. The Act permits a Federal worker who is furloughed or required to work without pay during a shutdown to apply to a court or administrative agency for a temporary stay, postponement or suspension of any payment of rent, mortgage, tax, fine, penalty, insurance premium, or other civil obligation or liability. A court or administrative agency may grant such relief if it finds that the ability of the Federal worker to pay such obligation has been materially affected by the shutdown. The length of stay may be for the period of the shutdown and 90 days thereafter. This Act also prohibits landlords from evicting a federal worker from premises that are occupied or intended to be occupied primarily as a residence. This Act also prohibits the lapse, termination or forfeiture of the health, life, disability, or motor vehicle insurance policy of a Federal worker without a court order. This Act also places limits on the interest rate that can be imposed on a Federal worker during a shutdown. Finally, this Act empowers the Attorney General to enforce the provisions of the Act and permits a court to impose a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for violations of the Act.

This Act authorizes the Office of Management and Budget to partner with financial institutions and non-profit providers to establish a temporary loan program for furloughed and unpaid Federal employees as a result of the shutdown caused by a lapse in appropriations.

This is the final leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution to provide equal rights on the basis of sex. There is no Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution. While Congress passed the Amendment in 1972, it was not ratified by the requisite number of states by the 1982 deadline. Delaware, however, was one of the first states to ratify the Amendment. About half of the states across the country have passed Equal Rights Amendments to their state constitutions in order to provide protection against discrimination based on sex. Without an Equal Rights amendment, women's rights and protections are limited. This Amendment is necessary to correct a constitutional shortcoming, reduce sex-based disparities and to codify our State's value of equality. Section 1 makes clear the General Assembly's intent in proposing this Amendment to the Delaware Constitution.

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes January 9, 2019, as Law Enforcement Appreciation Day in Delaware.