Rep. Sherry Dorsey Walker

This Act requires that individual, blanket, and group health insurance carriers cover drug treatment for the associated conditions of metastatic cancer in the same way treatment for metastatic cancer is covered. Specifically, it requires insurance companies to cover any FDA approved drug prescribed to treat the side effects of metastatic cancer treatment and prohibits insurance companies from mandating that patients first fail to respond to a different drug or prove a history of failure of such drug. Technical changes are also made to comply with the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Maddy summaryHB 279 updates Delaware state law to grant school employees up to five days of bereavement leave, aligning their benefits with those already available to state employees. This change ensures that teachers and other school staff receive the same time off to handle family deaths as their counterparts in the state workforce. The legislation was passed by both the House and Senate and was signed into law by the Governor in August 2024.

This Act removes the requirement that a juvenile can only be referred to the the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation Program a second or subsequent time if the juvenile’s prior referral was for a different offense than the second referral, allowing a juvenile to be referred for the same offense if the juvenile is otherwise qualified. This Act also makes technical changes to comply with the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This is a clean-up bill that moves certain workers’ compensation-related provisions in Chapter 25 of Title 18 to Chapter 26 of Title 18, the latter of which shall exclusively govern workers’ compensation filings. The bill also makes technical corrections to conform with the Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act increases the exemption in bankruptcy and other debt proceedings for a debtor’s personal residence from $125,000 to $200,000. The exemption has been limited to $125,000 since 2012 while home prices have increased dramatically in the intervening years. It also increases the exemption for tools of the trade and for a vehicle to $25,000 from $15,000. This Act also exempts worker’s compensation awards under the laws of other states from attachment in bankruptcy or other proceedings in the same manner that a worker’s compensation award made under Delaware law is exempt. The Act takes effect on January 1, 2025.

This Act makes several updates to the Boiler Safety Program. The Boiler Safety Program can issue certificates of compliance and the Secretary can grant variances. A 6th member is added to the Boiler Safety Council from associated labor unions. It adds an enforcement section for violators who fail to comply with Program requirements. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform with current drafting standards. Finally, the Act allows DNREC to establish fees for the Program that reasonably reflect the cost of the Program and defray its expenses. It therefore requires a 3/5 vote.

This Act removes the sunset provision in Chapter 453, Volume 83 of the Laws of Delaware relating to the program established under §9011A of Title 29 to assist individuals who are in or have experienced foster care in Delaware with driver education, driver licensing, and motor vehicle insurance and associated barriers and costs. The Act also amends §9011A of Title 29 to clarify the scope and administration of the program, and amends the definition of “youth in foster care” under §3921 of Title 18 to maintain consistency with 29 Del. C. §9011A(g)(1).

This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 150. Like Senate Bill No. 150, this Act requires included facilities have sufficient staff to meet the needs of each resident and requires dementia care services training for staff. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 150 in the following ways: (1) it removes the definition of activity services; (2) it defines direct care, secured memory care unit, and memory care services; (3) it requires that assisted living facilities providing dementia care services to residents in a secured memory care unit create a staffing plan that ensures the facility has sufficient staff to meet the scheduled, reasonably foreseeable unscheduled, and evolving needs of residents and; (4) it charges the Department of Health and Social Services with reviewing the staffing plan during each annual inspection and during any other inspection in which the Department deems it relevant; (5) it revises initial dementia care services training requirement by limiting the requirement to individuals that provide care in a secured memory care unit of an assisted living facility, creating separate training requirements, both in terms of duration and content, for individuals that provide direct care and non-direct care to residents receiving dementia care services in secured memory care units of assisted living facilities; (6) it revises the annual dementia care services training requirement to mirror initial dementia services training requirements; (7) it establishes dementia care services training requirements for individuals employed by temporary staffing agencies; (8) it gives the Department of Health and Social Services the discretion to accept other required dementia care services training to satisfy the dementia care services training requirements; (9) it details the transferability of training between facilities and temporary staffing agencies; and (10) it narrows the scope from all long-term care facilities to only assisted living facilities.

This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 151. Like Senate Bill No. 151, this Act requires included facilities to disclose information related dementia care services in the form determined by the Department of Health and Social Services, and it establishes requirements for the dissemination of that information. Like Senate Bill No. 151, any violation of this Act is an unlawful practice under § 2513 of Title 6 and a violation of subchapter II of Chapter 25 of Title 6 of the Delaware Code. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 151 in the following ways: (1) it narrows the scope of the disclosure requirements to apply only to assisted living facilities that advertises, markets, or otherwise represents that the facility provides dementia care services; (2) it revises the definition of dementia care services, and defines direct care, memory care services, and secured memory care unit; (3) it replaces the term agent with the term authorized representative; (4) it revises the list of information that must be included in the disclosure form; (5) it clarifies the Department’s and the facility’s role in preparing and completing the disclosure; (6) it removes the requirement that an included facility must publish the disclosure on the facility’s website; and (7) it grants the Department of Health and Social Services the authority to investigate potential violations and refer cases to the Department of Justice.

On military installations subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction, the investigation and prosecution of juveniles for alleged violation of federal crimes is conducted in the federal court system. The federal court system often tries juveniles as adults and it lacks juvenile-focused resources. Federal law, however, permits the State to accept concurrent jurisdiction over juvenile matters on military installations if a request is made by a United States official and the Governor, via Executive Order, accepts the request. This Act provides the statutory authority for the State to accept concurrent jurisdiction over crimes or delinquent acts involving juveniles on military installations located in the State. According to this Act, if the Governor accepts a request for concurrent criminal juvenile legislative jurisdiction from a United States official, a State agency or local government agency may enter into a memorandum of understanding with any federal agency for coordination and designation of responsibility related to the concurrent criminal juvenile legislative jurisdiction. This Substitute bill adds “delinquent acts” to those juvenile matters the Family Court has jurisdiction to adjudicate within a military installation. It also clarifies that offenses within a military installation that are adjudicated in Family Court must have been committed while the child was under the age of 18. This Substitute bill also provides concurrent jurisdiction for those criminal offenses involving a child in which the child has been determined to be amenable to prosecution as an adult in Superior Court. This Substitute bill also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.