Individuals who are released from prison face many hurdles as they re-enter the community, including difficulty obtaining identification documents. Lacking identification imposes additional hurdles as these individuals attempt to find housing and employment. This Act requires the Department of Correction to provide individuals who are being released from the custody of the Department of Correction ("DOC"), after 6 months of incarceration following conviction, with a Delaware Personal Credential Card ("Personal Credential"). An individual may present the Personal Credential to receive one free certified copy of the individual's birth certificate and one identification card or driver's license, if otherwise eligible to receive those documents. This Act builds on the pilot that has been in place since 2012, when the DOC partnered with the Division of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Health and Social Services to obtain identification for individuals who volunteer to participate in the I-ADAPT re-entry program. Currently, individuals in I-ADAPT receive a Prisoner Re-Entry card, valid for 1 year, that can be used to obtain to obtain a free copy of their birth certificate, if they were born in Delaware, and a free identification card, if otherwise eligible to receive one.
Sponsored bills
This Bill updates the State of Delaware’s False Claims and Reporting Act to make it compliant with the requirements of Section 1909 of the Social Security Act. Section 1909 of the Social Security Act provides a financial incentive for States to enact laws that establish liability to the State for individuals and entities that submit false or fraudulent claims to the State Medicaid Program. This incentive provides for a ten percent increase in the share of a qui tam recovery or settlement apportioned to the State. For a State to qualify for this incentive, State law must meet certain requirements enumerated under Section 1909(b) of the Social Security Act, so that the State’s law is at least as effective as the Federal False Claims Act. After review by the Office of Inspector General for the United States Department of Health & Human Services (“OIG-HHS”), it was determined that Delaware’s current False Claims and Reporting Act fails to meet the requirements of Section 1909(b) of the Social Security Act. OIG-HHS has granted Delaware a two-year grace period, ending December 31, 2018, to address these deficiencies. This bill amends the False Claims and Reporting Act to bring it into compliance with the requirements of Section 1909(b).
This Bill authorizes the Department of Agriculture to utilize any laboratory designated by the Department of Agriculture rather than only the State Chemist to analyze samples of foods, dairy and other feeds and insecticides, and to cooperate with the United States Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies in the enforcement of the laws related to foods, dairy and other feeds, and insecticides.
This Act requires that feminine hygiene products be provided free of charge to individuals in custody at facilities operated by the Department of Correction and facilities operated by the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act encourages prescribers and patients to use proven non-opioid methods of treating back pain by doing the following: 1. Prohibits numerical limits on physical therapy and chiropractic care, which might deter prescribers or patients from using those treatments rather than opioids. 2. Adds continuing education requirements for prescribers relating to risks of opioids and alternatives to opioids. 3. Creates a pilot program within the state employee health care plan that allows the use of massage therapy, acupuncture, and yoga for the treatment of back pain.
This Act establishes the Delaware School Safety and Security Fund to allow certain eligible public schools to partially or fully fund projects intended to improve school facilities and training relating to safety or security. The Department of Education shall administer the fund. This Act is effective upon appropriation.
This Act amends § 2532 of Title 29, in the Not-for-Profit Healthcare Conversion Act, to ensure that the Attorney General has sufficient time to review a proposed not-for-profit healthcare conversion and, if appropriate, take action to protect the charitable assets being held for public benefit. Due to an apparent drafting error, the Not-for-Profit Healthcare Conversion Act currently permits a not-for-profit healthcare entity to provide notice to the Attorney General of a proposed not-for-profit healthcare conversion as late as the day of the proposed transaction, which would prevent the Attorney General from performing the functions intended by the General Assembly when it enacted the Not-for-Profit Healthcare Conversion Act.
Since 1973, § 9605(b) of Title 9 of the Delaware Code (“§ 9605”) has prohibited the recordation of instruments that restrict the sale, gift, transfer, assignment, conveyance, ownership, lease, rental, use, or occupancy of real property to or by any person because of the person’s race, color, creed, sex, national origin, or ancestry. This Act provides a mechanism for owners of real property subject to an instrument that contains a provision that restricts property rights based on the list of characteristics included in § 9605, including the governing documents of a common interest community, to redact and strike the unlawful restrictive covenant language from instruments recorded with a county recorder of deeds before the original enactment of § 9605 or in violation of § 9605. This Act also amends the list of characteristics included in § 9605 that may not be used to discriminate in the sale, gift, transfer, assignment, conveyance, ownership, lease, rental, use, or occupancy of real property to make it consistent with Delaware’s fair housing laws. However, this Act makes clear that provisions that are permitted by the exceptions to the Delaware Fair Housing Act are not prohibited from being recorded by a recorder of deeds. Finally, this Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This bill allows for small employers who have more than 5 employees to obtain a “stop loss” policy for health insurance. This will provide more options for small employers in the health insurance market. Additionally these changes bring the section into compliance with the Delaware Legislative Drafting manual.
This amendment removes the notary requirement for requests for absentee ballots in municipal elections. The notary requirement for absentee ballots in State elections has previously been removed.