Rep. John A. Kowalko

This Act establishes Juneteenth as a State holiday. Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of the last enslaved African Americans in the United States. The Act adds Juneteenth as a legal holiday and reduces the number of floating holidays from 2 to 1. The two floating holidays were created by the 145th General Assembly as replacements for Presidents Day and Columbus Day. This Act replaces the floating holiday that replaced Columbus Day with a legal holiday to celebrate Juneteenth. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act is called the Jamie Wolfe Employment Act in recognition of Jamie Wolfe, a powerful disability rights advocate who worked tirelessly on behalf of people with disabilities for equal rights and equal access to education, housing, competitive and integrated employment, transportation and community-based services. The Act requires that authorization to pay individuals with disabilities less than the minimum wage required to be paid to other employees will be phased out by July 1, 2023. It is consistent with the goals of the Employment First Act enacted by the 146th General Assembly and with national trends. In September 2020, the United States Commission on Civil Rights recommended that 14(c) certificates be phased out. The Employment First Oversight Commission created in the Employment First Act is charged with the responsibility of developing and implementing a plan for the phase-out and insuring that the needs of affected providers and employees with disabilities working at less than minimum wage are considered as the phase-out is implemented.

This Act prohibits a person who is the subject of a Protection from Abuse Order of the Family Court and who knows or has reason to know, that the Order has been issued from purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling a deadly weapon or ammunition for a firearm in this State. This Act also prohibits the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant, active indictment or information related to a felony or misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from purchasing a firearm. The subject of the pending criminal process must know or have reason to know that the process is pending in order for the prohibition to apply. This Act also makes technical changes to the existing law to make it conform to the Legislative Drafting Manual.

Section 1 of this bill establishes the crimes of possession of an unfinished firearm frame or receiver with no serial number, possession of and manufacturing a covert or undetectable firearm, possession of and manufacturing an untraceable firearm, and manufacturing or distributing a firearm using a three-dimensional printer. This bill also makes it a crime to possess a firearm frame or receiver with a removed, obliterated, or altered serial number. This bill makes very limited exceptions to the requirement that certain guns have serial numbers which are: (1) Firearms manufactured before 1968; (2) Muzzle loaders that only use black powder, and antique replicas. Finally, this bill makes clear that § 1463 of Title 11 concerning untraceable firearms does not apply to members of the military forces or members of a police force in this State duly authorized to carry an untraceable firearm, and does not apply to the manufacture or importation for sale to a law-enforcement or military entity in this State. Section 2 is a severability clause. Section 3 provides that Section 1459A of Title 11, which is possession of an unfinished firearm frame or receiver with no serial number, takes effect 90 days after the Act's enactment into law.

The Victims’ Compensation Assistance Program (“Agency” or “VCAP”) administers the Victims’ Compensation Fund and provides financial assistance to eligible victims of crimes to help cover the costs of a variety of services that help victims and their families begin to rebuild their lives, including lost wages, medical expenses, payment for mental health counseling, and funeral expenses. By awarding financial compensation for losses that victims sustain as a result of crime, VCAP can help alleviate the financial burden and distress that crime leaves behind. In FY 2019, VCAP paid $2,091,787.94 to and on behalf of victims of crime. VCAP is solvent and the Victims’ Compensation Fund balance as of June 30, 2020 was $4,155,111.82. This Act seeks to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of VCAP in the following ways: (1) Lifts the statutory employment cap that limited the number of employees VCAP could employ. This update will enable the Department of Justice to augment VCAP staff by utilizing grant or federal funding. (2) Codifies benefits and more clearly enumerates available benefits and increases the funeral and burial benefit to $5,000/$2,500, respectively. (3) Makes several changes to conform to the current practice, including removing the claims payment process description in § 9005(8) and § 9009, updating the claims application process in § 9009, and removing the reporting requirements in § 9017. (4) Amends § 9009(10) to give the Agency specific authority to close inactive claims. (5) Updates the list of Advisory Council members to reflect the dissolution of the Sexual Assault Network of Delaware, which became the Delaware Alliance Against Sexual Violence. (6) Expands the population of victims able to be served, including changes to ensure victims of human trafficking are eligible for compensation. (7) Extends the deadlines to request reconsideration and file an appeal with the Appeals Board and reorganizes appeals process provisions by placing them all in the same section. (8) Changes "offense date" to "sentencing date" in § 9014(c). (9) Updates the chapter so that each program is referred to by a consistent name. (10) Adds defined terms “Executive Director” and “claimant” to the definitions section and further clarifies to which category of victims parts of the Code apply. (11) Removes the term “incompetent” in favor of adopting a phrase that uses people first language. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act requires that individual, group, State employee, and public assistance insurance plans provide coverage for a medically necessary insulin pump at no cost to a covered individual.

This Act allows pharmacists to administer or dispense contraceptives under a standing order from the Division of Public Health. At least 11 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands allow pharmacists to dispense contraceptives without a prescription from another health-care practitioner. This practice is supported by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

According to the Children’s Bureau within the Administration for Children & Families, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico have enacted infant safe haven laws that allow a parent to surrender a newborn without fear of prosecution. These laws vary in terms of where an infant can be surrendered. Delaware is among 16 states that only permit a baby to be surrendered to a hospital. Twenty-five states allow surrenders at fire stations and 25 states permit surrenders to personnel at police stations or other law enforcement agencies. This Act adds police stations to the designated safe havens where an individual may surrender a baby. This Act makes conforming amendments to other laws of this State based on this addition. Additionally, this Act codifies a portion of the original Safe Arms for Babies law, Chapter 187 of Volume 73 of the Laws of Delaware, that requires the Department of Health and Social Services to take certain actions related to the law. Finally, this Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 120. Like Senate Bill No. 120, this Substitute continues recent efforts to strengthen the primary care system in this State by doing the following: (1) Directing the Health Care Commission to monitor compliance with value-based care delivery models and develop, and monitor compliance with, alternative payment methods that promote value-based care. (2) Requiring rate filings limit aggregate unit price growth for inpatient, outpatient, and other medical services, to certain percentage increases. (3) Requiring an insurance carrier to spend a certain percentage of its total cost on primary care. (4) Requiring the Office of Value-Based Health Care Delivery to establish mandatory minimums for payment innovations, including alternative payment models, and evaluate annually whether primary care spending is increasing in compliance with the established mandatory minimums for payment innovations. (5) In Sections 2 and 3 of this Act, revising the appointment process for members of the Primary Care Reform Collaborative who are not members by virtue of position to comply with the requirements of the Delaware Constitution. These revisions are largely similar to those proposed in Senate Substitute No. 1 to Senate Bill No. 59 (151st General Assembly) (“the Substitute”). As such, Section 2 is designed to take effect if the Substitute does not pass both chambers or passes but is not enacted; Section 3 is designed to take effect if the Substitute passes both chambers and is enacted. (6) Making technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual This Substitute differs from Senate Bill No. 120 as it does all of the following: (1) Adds a “whereas clause” stating that the Department of Insurance does not regulate Medicaid or employer-based plans provided under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or their rates. (2) Provides that rate filings for health benefit plans may not include aggregate unit price growth for nonprofessional services that exceed the greater of 2% or Core CPI plus 1% in 2024, 2025, and 2026. (3) Makes a technical correction to properly alphabetize definitions in Section 4 of the Act (relating to § 2503 of Title 18). (4) Removes “mental health and substance abuse disorder” from the definition of an “inpatient hospital”. (5) Adds a definition of “professional services” and makes clear that “nonprofessional services”, which are subject to the aggregate unit price growth limits of § 2503(a)(12)a. of Title 18, do not include professional services. (6) Amends the definition of “other medical services” to make clear the term includes the facility component of vision exams, dental services, and other services when those services are billed separately from the professional component. (7) Changes the date for mandatory minimums for payment innovations to support a robust system of primary care to January 1, 2026. (8) Make clear that the Office of Value-Based Health Care Delivery is to annually evaluate whether primary care spending is increasing in compliance with the requirements of, and regulations adopted under, all of Title 18. (9) Requires the Office of Value-Based Health Care Delivery to collect data and develop reports to monitor and evaluate the percentage of spending in primary care that is delegated to hospitals and related networks for care coordination through alternative payment models. (10) Removes the sunset date on provisions requiring individual, group, and State employee insurance plans to reimburse primary care physicians, certified nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other front-line practitioners for chronic care management and primary care at no less than the physician Medicare rate. (11) Sunsets Sections 5 and 6 of this Act and § 2503(a)(12)a. of Title 18 as contained in Section 4 of this Act on January 1, 2027.

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