Rep. Eric Morrison

This Act, known as the Delaware Climate Change Solutions Act, follows the issuance of Delaware’s Climate Action Plan in 2021, and establishes a statutory requirement of greenhouse gas emissions reductions over the medium and long term to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions on the State, establishing a mandatory and regularly updated plan to achieve those emissions reductions and develop resilience strategies for the State, and requires State agencies to address climate change in decision-making and rulemaking.

This Act defines certain facilities which will require an applicant seeking a permit for a new facility, or expansion of an existing facility, or renewal of an existing permit, located in an overburdened community, as defined in the Act, to provide an environmental justice impact report. Facility includes the following commercial or industrial business: (1) Manufacturer of animal food, meat, seafood, tobacco, manufactured home, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, petroleum, asphalt, ready-mix concrete, primary metal, nonmetallic mineral products, ammunition or transport equipment; (2) pulp, paper, paperboard and sawmills; (3) rail or water freight dock; (4) landfill, transfer station, resource recovery, scrap metal or recycle center or compost operator; (5) sewage treatment center, animal waste processor or sludge processor; (6) commercial livestock and poultry growers; (7) medical waste incinerator (with the exception of those attendant to a hospital or university intended to process self-generated medical waste); and (8) commercial or industrial businesses not contained in (1)-(7) that currently contribute or upon permit approval would contribute to the cumulative pollution in an overburdened community, as identified by the Department in conjunction with the Environmental Justice Board. For all permit applications, the environmental justice impact report would be required at least 60 days before a required public hearing. Under the Act an “overburdened community” is defined as any census tract, as delineated in the most recent U.S. Census, in which one or more of the following applies: (1) 35% of the residents are below 185% of federal poverty level. (2) At least 25% or more identify as minority or member of a state or federally recognized tribal community or immigrant. (3) 25% or more have limited English proficiency as defined by U.S. Census Bureau. (4) Geographic locations that potentially experience harms and risks as determined by the Environmental Justice Board. The Department would be required to create and post on its website a list of “overburdened communities” and update the list every 2 years. The Act establishes the Environmental Justice Board to review and make recommendations on the environmental justice impact reports, conduct public hearings, and other measures to help the Department fulfill the purpose of this chapter. The public hearing on the permit would be required to provide an opportunity for meaningful public participation by the overburdened community. Following the public hearing the Secretary would be required to consider the recommendation of the Environmental Justice Board and the testimony presented at the public hearing. The Secretary could impose conditions to the permit that may be necessary to reduce the adverse impact to the public health or to the environment in the overburdened community. The Secretary would have the authority to deny a permit application in an overburdened community upon a finding that the cumulative impact imposed by the new or expanded facility would constitute an unreasonable risk to the health of the residents of the overburdened community or to the environment in that community. The Act requires the Department to establish rules and regulations to implement the Act, in consultation with the Environmental Justice Board, within 6 months after its enactment.

This concurrent resolution requests that the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) conduct a comprehensive statewide assessment of affordable housing, particularly for moderate and low income families and first-time home buyers, including existing and proposed DSHA loan and grant programs and provide this assessment to the General Assembly no later than January 1, 2023.

Delaware is one of a handful of states that has no cap other than unconscionability on interest rates for short-term consumer loans. Under Delaware case law, the unconscionability of an interest rate is decided by a court on a case by case basis. This Act caps interest rates at 20% for short-term consumer loans of $1,000 or less that must be repaid in less than 60 days and motor vehicle title loans. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act removes all penalties for possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana, except for those who are under 21 years of age. Possession of more than 1 ounce of marijuana and public consumption remain unclassified misdemeanors. The Act also removes language referencing search and seizure authority. This Act also adds a provision to the Uniform Controlled Substances Act that provides that there will be no criminal or civil penalty for transfers of 1 ounce or less of marijuana between persons who are 21 years of age or older without remuneration.

This Act clarifies the authority of the Office of Animal Welfare and Department of Agriculture to enforce all state laws relating to protection and control of animals, including dog barking laws. The Act also transfers the authority to impose and collect fines and penalties under this title to the enforcing agency. This Act takes effect on January 1, 2024.

This bill is the Cover All Delaware Children Act. This Act directs the Department of Health and Social Services to develop and operate a medical coverage program for children in Delaware who are not otherwise covered, including children who are not documented. A child resident in the state whose family income is low enough that they would qualify on that basis for Medicaid or CHIP coverage, but is not eligible for Medicaid or other federally funded coverage, is eligible for coverage and medical care under this Act. This Act takes effect January 1, 2023.

This Act permits a terminally ill individual who is an adult resident of Delaware to request and self-administer medication to end the individual's life in a humane and dignified manner if both the individual's attending physician or attending advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) and a consulting physician or consulting APRN agree on the individual's diagnosis and prognosis and believe the individual has decision-making capacity, is making an informed decision, and is acting voluntarily. This Act uses terms and definitions that are consistent with other Delaware laws in Title 16, specifically Chapter 25 (regarding advance health-care directives) and Chapter 25A (regarding Delaware Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment). This Act also provides the following procedural safeguards: 1. No one may request medication to end life on behalf of another individual. 2. An individual cannot qualify for medication to end life under this chapter solely because of the individual's age or disability. 3. Both the individual's attending physician or attending APRN and a consulting physician or consulting APRN must confirm that the individual has a terminal illness and a prognosis of 6 months or less to live, has decision-making capacity, is making an informed decision, and is acting voluntarily. 4. The individual's attending physician or attending APRN must also provide specific disclosures to the individual to ensure that the individual is making an informed decision, including the presentation of all end of life options which include comfort care, palliative care, hospice care, and pain control. 5. The individual must be evaluated by a psychiatrist or a psychologist if either the attending or consulting physicians or APRNs are concerned that the individual lacks decision-making capacity. 6. The individual must complete a witnessed form requesting medication to end life and there are limitations on who can witness the signing of the form. 7. The attending physician or attending APRN must offer the individual the opportunity to rescind the request for medication to end life before writing a prescription for the medication. 8. Two waiting periods must pass before the attending physician or attending APRN may prescribe the medication to end life. 9. An insurer or health-care provider may not deny or alter healthcare benefits otherwise available to an individual based upon the availability of medication to end life or otherwise coerce or require a request for medication to end life as a condition of receiving care. 10. A health-care institution may prohibit a physician or APRN from prescribing medication to end life on the health-care institution's premises. 11. A request or prescription for or the dispensing of medication under this Act does not constitute elder abuse, suicide, assisted-suicide, homicide, or euthanasia. 12. People acting in good faith and in accordance with generally accepted health-care standards under this Act have immunity, but those acting with negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct do not have criminal or civil immunity. 13. The Department of Health and Social Services must develop rules and regulations to collect information regarding compliance with this Act, complete an annual statistical report of information collected under this Act, and may review samples of records maintained under this Act. This Act is known as "The Ron Silverio/Heather Block End of Life Options Law" in memory of Ron Silverio and Heather Block, who were passionate advocates that passed away without this option becoming available to them.

This Concurrent Resolution designates the week of May 8, 2022 to May 14, 2022 as National Charter Schools Week and commends Delaware's charter public schools for their efforts in educating Delaware students.

The Delaware Marijuana Control Act regulates and taxes marijuana in the same manner as alcohol. Section 1: Amends Chapter 47 of Title 16 to provide that the offenses and penalties under Uniform Controlled Substances Act do not apply to marijuana-related conduct allowed under the Delaware Marijuana Control Act or the Delaware Medical Marijuana Act, Chapter 49A of Title 16. Section 2: Makes technical corrections to Chapter 47 of Title 16 and excludes industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana. Section 3: Amends § 4902A of Title 16 so that the definition of a registered safety compliance facility includes not just marijuana produced for medical use but also marijuana produced under the Delaware Marijuana Control Act. Section 4: Amends Chapter 4 of Title 4 to expand the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement’s duties and powers to include enforcement of the Delaware Marijuana Control Act. Section 5: This section creates the Delaware Marijuana Control Act. Subchapter I contains definitions and general provisions. This section of the Act permits individuals over age 21 to possess, use, purchase, or transport 1 ounce (28 grams) or less of marijuana, no more than 5 grams of which may be concentrated, by individuals 21 years of age or older if the individuals are in compliance with this chapter. It permits the operation of marijuana businesses if they operate under licenses granted under the Marijuana Control Act, but imposes the same limits on hours and holiday sales as apply to sales of alcohol. It prohibits the use of marijuana in public, by drivers or passengers in vehicles, and prohibits the smoking of marijuana anywhere that smoking tobacco or e-cigarettes is not permitted. Marijuana may not be sold in an establishment licensed to sell alcohol. It delineates the rights of property owners with respect to marijuana possession and consumption. There are penalties as with alcohol sales, for individuals under the age of 21 using false identification to purchase marijuana, and for businesses that fail to verify the age of marijuana consumers. This Delaware Marijuana Control Act Oversight Committee is created. This Oversight Committee will coordinate the implementation of this Act with the Medical Marijuana Program, the Division of Public Health, the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, and the public. The Oversight Committee will review the effectiveness of the Delaware Marijuana Control Act in regard to the safe operation of facilities licensed under this Act, the impact of this Act on public safety, and the impact of this Act on public health. The Commissioner must submit an annual report to the Governor and the members of the General Assembly setting forth all matters of interest and all statistics concerning marijuana regulation and control in the State including: the number of licenses of each variety issued with the State; including the name and address of each person licensed to cultivate, manufacture, or sell marijuana or marijuana products in the State; the amount of marijuana and marijuana products sold within the State; the number of licenses of each kind granted and the number cancelled during the year, and the outcomes and effective of the issuance of social equity licenses. This subchapter includes a provision protecting public officers, employees, contractors or volunteers who are acting in accordance with the provisions of this Act as part of their duties and requiring the State indemnify them in any civil or criminal proceedings that may arise from carrying out duties imposed under this Act. Subchapter II creates the position of Marijuana Commissioner and an Appeals Commission. The Commissioner has the power to establish health and safety regulations for marijuana cultivation that are consistent with applicable rules and regulations established by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the Department of Agriculture. The Commissioner must consult with the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement before adopting or establishing policies that concern enforcement. Finally, they must coordinate with the Division of Small Business, Development, and Tourism so that potential businesses licensed under this Act have access to programs, particularly those that support small businesses owned by minorities, women, and veterans. Subchapter III sets up the regulations and licenses under the Delaware Marijuana Control Act. The Marijuana Commissioner has the authority to adopt regulations to implement this Act and includes specific requirements that marijuana establishments must meet to obtain licenses. Regulations must require that products containing marijuana use of a symbol and a standard measurement to be used on all marijuana products so they are easily identified as containing marijuana and consumers can identify the amount of marijuana in different products; be in opaque, child-resistant packaging; and contain a warning label explaining evidence-based harms from consuming marijuana, including the impact on developing brains. The regulations must also contain security requirements, testing requirements, advertising restrictions, and require that food products comply with State food safety laws. There are separate licensing requirements for retail marijuana stores, marijuana testing facilities, marijuana cultivation facilities, and marijuana product manufacturing facilities. Licensing requirements also differ between open licenses, social equity licenses, and microbusiness licenses. There is a $10,000 biennial fee for most open licenses, with reduced licensing fees for microbusinesses and social equity licenses. Cultivation licenses are determined square footage of the grow rates. As part of the competitive scoring process the Commissioner will use to determine which applicant may obtain licenses to operate each type of marijuana establishment, applicants for open licenses will submit a business plan, an environmental and sustainability plan, as well as attestations affirming that (1) the applicant has a project labor agreement with a bona fide labor organization, and (2) the applicant has or will utilize a project labor agreement. Subchapter III establishes the criteria for social equity and microbusiness licenses, requires the Commissioner to develop a financial assistance and technical assistance programming to aid social equity applicants. Subchapter VII provides the Commission the authority to refuse approval of changes in the ownership, officers, or directors, financial interest or lease in connection with any license. The subchapter also details the requirements when there is a change in ownership of a license or licensee, a change in officers and directors, and changes in the financial interest of a license or licensee. Subchapter VIII creates the Marijuana Regulation Fund and the Justice Reinvestment Fund. The Regulation Fund will consist of fees collected, penalties imposed, and taxes collected under this Act. It creates the marijuana control enforcement tax on retail marijuana in the amount of 15%. 7% of the tax revenue collected will be allocated to the Justice Reinvestment Fund, under the management of the Department of Justice where it will be used for projects to improve quality of life for communities most impacted by the prohibition of marijuana and “war on drugs” era policies. Sections 6 and 7: Create a State tax deduction for all ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred by a marijuana establishment to reflect the inability of a business licensed under this Act to deduct these expenses from federal taxes and thus state taxes. This creates a more level playing field with other businesses. Section 8: Allows the Division of Revenue to share records with the Marijuana Commissioner for purposes of tax compliance. Section 9: Exempts tax paid on marijuana products from the gross receipts tax. Section 10: Removes possession of marijuana from the list of activities that prohibits a person from at the same time possessing a handgun. Section 11: Requires regulations to be finalized within 12 months of the effective date of this Act. Section 12: Makes the provisions of the bill severable.