Rep. Bryan Shupe

This act regulates persons who receive compensation for advising or assisting with veterans' benefits earned by serving our nation in the military. This bill would not prohibit persons or business entities from receiving compensation for advice to Veterans that is unrelated to veteran claims or services available to veterans from the V.A. or its accredited agencies. Investment, insurance, banking, and other advice or services not provided by the V.A., or its accredited agencies may be obtained by veterans and fees charged for such services.

This Act removes Delaware from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (“RGGI”) as the state has already exceeded its CO2 reduction goals, cutting emissions by 45%. Despite this progress, Delaware faces high electricity costs and slow economic growth, ranking 46th in GDP growth. RGGI compliance costs are passed on to consumers, making energy more expensive for families and businesses. States outside RGGI have maintained lower energy prices while still reducing emissions. Exiting the program will allow Delaware to pursue policies that support both economic growth and energy affordability.

This Act changes the timeline for fiscal projections required under § 1901, § 1902, and § 1905 of Title 29 from 3 years to 5 years. It also changes the timeline for fiscal projections required under § 1903 of Title 29 from 1 year to 5 years. This Act applies to all bills or joint resolutions filed after the Act’s enactment into law. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act prohibits gender transition surgery for children due to the potential for an irrevocable procedure occurring when there is a significant probability that children will come to identify with their biological gender. This Act prohibits the use of public funds and insurance coverage for gender transition surgery for children. This Act provides for enforcement of the Act as follows: (1) By providing for compensatory damages, injunctive relief, declaratory relief, or any other appropriate relief. (2) By making a referral for or provision of gender transition procedures to a child unprofessional conduct for which a physician or healthcare professional making the referral for or provision of gender transition procedures to a child is subject to discipline by the appropriate licensing entity or disciplinary review board with jurisdiction over the physician or healthcare professional in this State.

This Act is a substitute for Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 41. This Act differs from SS 1 for SB 41 in that it removes the ban on the manufacture, sale, delivery, distribution, holding with the intent to sell, and offering for sale in Delaware of food that contains Red dye 40 (CAS no. 25956-17-6). Like SB 41 and SS 1 for SB 41, this Act bans the manufacture, sale, delivery, distribution, holding with the intent to sell, and offering for sale in Delaware of food that contains Red dye 3 (CAS no. 16423-68-0). For purposes of this chapter and section, food includes drink, ice, confectionary, and condiments. Red dye 3 is a color additive made from petroleum that gives foods a bright cherry-red color. Red dye 3, also labeled Red 3 or FD&C Red No. 3, is a synthetic additive used to color food and drink that has been linked to behavioral concerns in children and cancer. Red dye 3 is in thousands of foods, including those marketed to children. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Branded Foods Database at FoodData Central identified 9,201 U.S. food products that contain Red dye 3, including hundreds of products made by the country’s biggest food companies. However, Red dye 3 does not need to be in our food supply. Companies could replace Red dye 3 with natural colors from foods like beets, red cabbage, or black currants, or could simply leave it out entirely. Red dye 3 is added to food only to make it look more appealing. After the release of SB 41, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revoked the authorization to use Red dye 3 in food and ingested drugs under the Delaney Clause of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The Delaney Clause prohibits FDA authorization of a food or color additive if it has been found to induce cancer in humans or animals. This Act establishes a State prohibition against Red dye 3 in food products to ensure it will remain banned in the State of Delaware. The civil penalty provision for violation of this Act remains the same as in SB 41 and SS 1 for SB 41; any person that violates this Act is subject to a civil penalty as follows: (1) For a first occurrence, not to exceed $5,000, in addition to costs. (2) For a subsequent occurrence, not to exceed $10,000, in addition to costs. Each day on which a violation of this Act occurs constitutes a separate occurrence. This Act retains the same effective date as SS 1 for SB 41. This Act takes effect on January 15, 2027, to align with the date by which Red dye 3 must be removed from foods under federal law.

This Senate Concurrent Resolution recognizes February 4, 2025, as "USO Day" in the State of Delaware and honors USO Delaware for its important and inspiring work supporting military members and their families.

This Act establishes school officer units to fund school resource officers or constables in all Delaware public schools. Specifically, this Act funds at least 1 school officer in each school in a school district and in each charter school, regardless of enrollment, and provides for additional school officers for schools with over 1,000 students.

Maddy summaryThis Senate Concurrent Resolution designates January 9, 2025, as "Law Enforcement Appreciation Day" in Delaware. It symbolically honors Delaware law enforcement officers for their service without creating new policies, requirements, or funding. The resolution expresses legislative gratitude for officers' dedication to community safety and public protection. As a ceremonial measure, it has no direct legal or financial impact on residents or agencies.

This Senate Concurrent Resolution honors and recognizes the leadership, achievements, and sacrifices of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and urges all citizens of the First State to participate fittingly in the observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on January 20, 2025.

This substitute bill requires the Secretary of DNREC to follow certain procedures when conducting public hearings, while giving discretion to the Secretary in choosing which hearings the procedures apply to. The bill becomes effective August 1, 2024.