Rep. Ed Osienski

Maddy summaryHB 73 increases Delaware's maximum annual property tax credit for seniors from $500 to $1,000. This change directly benefits eligible Delaware seniors who pay property taxes by allowing them to receive up to $1,000 in tax relief each year. The bill amends specific sections of Delaware Code (Titles 14 and 29) to adjust the credit cap without altering eligibility requirements. This policy change provides greater financial relief for seniors with property tax burdens.

This Act prohibits payment card networks from establishing or charging transaction fees on tips on credit card transactions. Violations are punishable by a penalty of $1,000 per electronic transaction and the wrongful fees must be refunded.

This resolution recognizes the Easterseals/CAI Volleyball Challenge which occurred on March 7 at the University of Delaware Carpenter Sports Building, an event that raises funds for an organization providing services and support to Delawareans with disabilities and senior citizens and their families. This resolution also recognizes Ellice Biloon, the 2026 Volleyball Ambassador.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates March 2026 as Women's History Month in Delaware to honor the leadership and achievements of women throughout history. It is a ceremonial resolution that does not create new laws or change existing policies but serves to recognize women's contributions. The measure was passed by both the House and Senate with a voice vote in the House and a 21-0 vote in the Senate.

Maddy summarySCR 137 is a ceremonial Senate resolution recognizing and celebrating the Lunar New Year 2026, honoring the cultural significance of the holiday. It does not create new laws, alter policies, or affect any specific groups or individuals. The resolution serves purely to acknowledge the holiday's importance through official recognition. It was introduced and passed by the Senate on January 29, 2026.

This Act requires that a contract relating to a public works project executed after December 31, 2026, must include a project labor agreement with the Delaware Building and Construction Trades Council if the project is for a school district or charter school, unless there was only 1 bid for the craft under the contract. A project labor agreement is a type of collective bargaining agreement in the construction industry that is generally negotiated before construction begins. Project labor agreements are intended to provide a legally binding and enforceable contract primarily related to labor conditions and labor-management relations.

The Hospital Budget Review Act, House Substitute No. 2 to House Bill No. 350 (152nd General Assembly), enacted in 2024, ("HB 350") created the Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board (“Board”) in an effort to bring greater transparency and accountability to hospital spending in Delaware. HB 350 requires hospitals to submit their budgets to the Board annually, disclose financial and operational information, and comply with the State’s healthcare spending benchmark. HB 350 also authorizes the Board to prospectively approve or modify hospital budgets and imposes penalties for non-compliance. Shortly after HB 350’s enactment, ChristianaCare filed suit in the Court of Chancery, alleging principally that the prospective budget approval and modification authority granted to the Board violates the Delaware Constitution. The litigation raised broader constitutional and policy questions about the balance between State oversight of health care spending and the autonomy of private, nonprofit hospitals. On September 30, 2025, the State and ChristianaCare signed an agreement pausing ChristianaCare’s lawsuit and setting forth the framework for this Act that, if enacted, will fully resolve the case. Under the agreement, the State admitted no fault. This Act incorporates the each of the terms of that agreement. HB 350 has 4 main components. First, hospitals must present detailed budget information annually to the Board. Second, the Board must determine whether the hospital has complied with the State’s healthcare spending benchmark. Third, if the hospital misses the benchmark, it must submit a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) for approval by the Board. Fourth, if the hospital fails to submit an approved PIP or achieve its objectives, then the Board may prospectively approve or modify the hospital’s budget. This Act addresses constitutional concerns by eliminating the Board’s ability to approve or modify hospital budgets, while preserving the first 3 components of HB 350 with certain modifications and enhancements. First, under this Act, hospitals still must present detailed budget information to the Board each year. However, the Board will evaluate hospitals based on actual expenditure and revenue information for the most recent year, rather than prospectively approving future budgets. As with HB 350, hospitals must report financial information, including costs of operations, revenues, assets, liabilities, and expenditures, scope and volume of service information, and other information deemed relevant by the Board. This Act also requires hospitals to outline changes in year-over-year results and describe the actions it will take in the coming year to meet the benchmark, and further requires the Board to adopt a Uniform Reporting Manual for Budget Submissions to ensure the consistency of information provided by hospitals. Hospitals must provide labor costs by units of service and budget category, salary reporting is narrowed to officers, directors, key employees, and highest-compensated employees, and certain categories, such as payer contract information and three-year capital budgets, are no longer required. Second, HB 350 required the Board to determine annually whether each hospital has met the State’s healthcare spending benchmark. That requirement remains, but this Act expressly requires the Board to issue written findings of fact and determinations as to whether each hospital: (1) has met the benchmark; and, if applicable, (2) has satisfied the elements of the hospital’s Benchmark Compliance Plan (BCP), which replaces the PIP; and (3) is participating in a Meaningful Cost Containment Arrangement (MCCA). Further, the Board may also make policy recommendations to the Delaware Health Care Commission or the General Assembly regarding how to better align hospital budgets with the benchmark, while promoting efficient and economic operations and maintaining the ability of hospitals to meet hospitals’ financial obligations and to provide quality care. Third, beginning in 2027, hospitals that fail to meet the benchmark must submit a BCP for the Board’s approval. As with HB 350, if the BCP does not meet the criteria established by the Board, the Board may require the hospital to amend and resubmit the BCP. If a BCP is required, the Board will examine and determine in writing the following year whether the hospital has satisfied the BCP’s elements. However, if the hospital demonstrates that it is subject to an MCCA, then the hospital is not required to submit to the BCP process for that year. MCCAs are contracts between hospitals and payers (including, in some cases, federal or state governments) that are designed to reduce healthcare costs by holding the hospital financially accountable for controlling healthcare spend for a specific population – including downside risk. However, even if a hospital has an MCCA and therefore is not required to adopt a BCP, it still must present its detailed budget information to the Board every year so that the Board may determine whether it has met the benchmark. A hospital’s adoption of an MCCA does not exempt it from that process, only the requirement that it adopt a BCP—and only for one year. Civil penalties of up to $500,000 for knowingly failing to comply with reporting standards remain in effect.

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes January 27, 2026, as International Holocaust Remembrance Day and encourages education and remembrance in observance of the day.

Maddy summarySCR 138 amends Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 87 by changing the deadline for a final report on counterfeit license plates from June 30, 2026, to May 1, 2026. This procedural change directly affects the committee or entity required to submit the report under SCR 87. The bill only adjusts the due date without altering the report's content or requirements. It is a routine administrative adjustment to an existing resolution.

Maddy summaryHCR 88 is a ceremonial resolution recognizing January 2026 as "National Mentoring Month" in Delaware. It does not create new laws or affect any specific individuals or groups; it simply makes a symbolic acknowledgment of mentoring efforts. The resolution was passed unanimously by both the House and Senate in early 2026. This type of resolution serves to highlight a cause but has no binding policy impact.