This Act provides that the next of kin of a deceased police officer, member of a fire department, or member of the Delaware National Guard is entitled to a Delaware state flag if the deceased person served in at least 1 qualifying entity for at least 10 years and died in the line of duty or while an active member. This Act is a substitute for and differs from Senate Bill No. 221 in the following ways: - Applies to Delaware state flags only. - Removes language that referenced draping a flag over a casket at the deceased person's funeral service. - Removes auxiliary members of a volunteer fire department or a member of service organization providing volunteer ambulance services from list of individuals who qualify for a flag. - Uses the broader term "law-enforcement officer" and clarifies the definition. - Clarifies that a firefighter may be either paid or volunteer to qualify for a flag. - Names the following entities as responsible for providing flags: the Delaware Volunteer Firefighters Association for firefighters, the Department of Safety and Homeland Security for police officers, and the Delaware National Guard for their members.
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This bill seeks to amend sections of Chapter 66 concerning the members of Delaware Volunteer Fire Departments. This bill will hold current members to the same standards as applicants with relation to criminal activity.
This bill grants authority to the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) to adopt regulations related to the operation of temporary staffing agencies that staff temporary nurses and other staff positions in long-term care facilities in the State and assigns oversight within DHSS to the Division of Health Care Quality. The bill requires temporary staffing agencies to (1) register annually with the Division of Health Care Quality; (2) validate the qualifications of all provided staff provided; (3) maintain records of all provided staff’s credentials, job requirements, and required immunizations; and (4) provide all such records upon request to DHSS and to the long-term care facility where the employee is placed. The bill also requires temporary staffing agencies to report annually to DHSS regarding various factors, including its employee placements, costs charged to long-term care facilities, and wages paid to temporary staff. This bill is intended to replace HB199.
For claims for line of duty death benefits for covered persons, which include police officers, firefighters, auxiliary and volunteer ambulance and rescue company members, paramedics, and others, submitted on July 1, 2023, and thereafter, this Act increases the benefits for the beneficiary or beneficiaries from $200,000 to $375,000, payable in annual installments, with the maximum amount paid in any 1 calendar year being $50,000.
Section 1 amends Title 31 to require all health benefit plans delivered or issued for Medicaid to cover services related to the termination of pregnancy. Coverage provided under this section is not subject to any deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or any other cost-sharing requirement and must cover the full scope of services permissible under the law. It also moves the definition of “carrier” out of individual provisions and into the general definition section for the chapter. Section 2 adds a definition of “religious employer” to Title 18. Sections 3 and 4 amend Title 18 to require both individual and group health carriers to cover services related to the termination of pregnancy with identical cost-sharing prohibitions. Certain types of limited coverage plans are exempt from the requirement, and HDHP and catastrophic plans are exempt from the cost-sharing prohibitions if such requirements would cause them to lose their status and treatment under federal law. A religious employer may obtain an exclusion from the carrier if the requirements conflict with the organization’s bona fide religious beliefs and practices. Section 5 amends Title 29 to require coverage for services related to the termination of pregnancy under the state employee health plan. Coverage shall not be subject to any deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or any other cost-sharing requirement and shall apply to the full scope of services permissible under the law. The changes to Medicaid and the state employee health plan are effective January 1 of the year following enactment. The changes to insurance requirements for private group, blanket, and individual coverage are effective for policies issued, renewed, or altered after December 31, 2025. This substitute differs from the original bill as follows: (1) It makes several technical corrections; (2) It limits the permissible applications of referral, prior authorization, and in-network requirements to ensure full and timely access to covered services; (3) It requires federal funds to be used for Medicaid services wherever the use of federal funds is allowed and specifies State funds will otherwise be used for covered services; (4) It adds a definition of religious employer and requires a religious employer to cover services when the life or health of the covered individual is at risk; (5) It changes the effective and application dates of the coverage requirements; (6) It caps the benefit at $750 per year per covered individual for Medicaid; and for private insurance it allows the benefit to be limited to $750 per covered individual per year. The bill also makes a technical change by moving the definition of “carrier” out of individual sections of Chapter 5 of Title 29 and into the general definitions section for that chapter.
This Act amends the provisions in Title 9 of the Delaware Code relating to the county comprehensive plans for Sussex, Kent, and New Castle Counties, and Title 22 of the Delaware Code relating to municipal comprehensive plans for municipalities with populations greater than 2,000, to require that their comprehensive plans increase community resiliency and address the impacts of climate change. The Delaware Code provisions regarding county comprehensive plans are being amended to require that future land use plans reflect strategies that consider community resiliency and reduce the vulnerability of property, agriculture, infrastructure, and cultural and natural resources from the impacts of climate change, including extreme weather events, and that those strategies be informed by the Delaware Climate Action Plan and Implementation Plans as amended, and in consultation with the Office of State Planning and Coordination. The new provisions add “walking trails” to the mobility element to be considered, and require that consideration be given to alternatives to auto-centric development patterns, including transit services. County comprehensive plans must be consistent with the State Implementation Plan and consider designated State evacuation routes. The county comprehensive plans must also consider forests, habitat areas, and wildlife corridors. The housing element for county comprehensive plans must consider anticipated growth areas and be in conformance with the strategies reflected in future land use plans and encourage the development of new housing growth away from areas vulnerable to inland and coastal flooding. This Act will not take effect until November 15, 2026.
The Delaware Energy Solutions Act of 2024 authorizes processes necessary to help meet the net zero goals of the Climate Change Solutions Act of 2023. The bill facilitates a transition to carbon-free energy sources by (i) preparing for offshore wind to be a significant element of Delaware’s energy future, if cost is competitive with other potential sources, and (ii) increasing options for interconnecting renewable energy resources to the transmission grid. The bill authorizes the State Energy Office (SEO), with the approval of the Public Service Commission (PSC), to issue solicitations to procure offshore wind. A solicitation can be for a project that serves only Delaware, or in coordination with other states, and authorizes procurement of at least 800 megawatts but not more than 1,200 megawatts of power to Delaware, in a single or multiple solicitations. Solicitations proceed through the following steps: The SEO drafts a solicitation for wind energy if it believes market conditions would result in a bid of no more than 110 percent of the “Delaware Benchmark Price,” defined as the average price that Delmarva Power has paid for power and renewable energy compliance over the prior three years. The Renewable Energy Task Force, an existing public body, must be consulted on the structure and factors of the proposed solicitation. The PSC evaluates the proposed solicitation and determines in a public process, with public comment, if issuing the solicitation would be in the public interest. If so, PSC issues a Preliminary Order allowing the solicitation to proceed. Municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives are provided an option to participate in the potential project. Third-party “Qualified Purchasers,” such as those that currently purchase electricity for Delaware industries and utilities, could also participate. After preliminary PSC approval, SEO issues the solicitation. Pricing is the key factor, and the returned bids will also include information about avoided greenhouse gas emissions as well as environmental, economic, health and electric grid benefits to Delaware. The SEO cannot proceed to negotiate a contract unless a bid comes back with a price at or below 110 percent of the Delaware Benchmark Price. If contract negotiations occur, SEO confers with PSC staff in finalizing the terms of the contract. PSC reviews the proposed purchase contract to verify that the bid meets all statutory and solicitation requirements, including the examination of the bid price to ensure it is no more than 110 percent of the Delaware Benchmark Price, and is competitive with other new renewable or carbon-free energy projects in the region. If PSC approval is granted, Delmarva Power and any public utility that elected to participate would amend their rates to pass on the costs or savings of the project to their customers. In addition to allowing offshore wind procurement, the bill enhances the PSC’s current Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) process by giving the Commission authority to issue a CPCN in connection with renewable energy interconnection facilities, such as the transmission lines from an offshore wind project to a nearby substation, or the lines connecting a utility scale solar project (over 30 MW) to a nearby substation. The bill outlines the factors PSC should consider when granting a CPCN for renewable energy interconnection facilities. Additionally, the bill provides separate authority to the Delaware Department of Transportation to permit such facilities in a State-owned Right of Way under Title 17, once a CPCN is issued by the PSC.
This Joint Resolution designates August 31, 2024, as "International Overdose Awareness Day" in the State of Delaware and requires that in observance, the State flag be flown at half-staff at State facilities. By recognizing International Overdose Awareness Day, this Joint Resolution affirms the importance of overdose awareness, remembers those who have died from overdose, and acknowledges the grief suffered from losing a loved one to overdose.
This Act creates the Delaware Grocery Initiative. The Delaware Grocery Initiative is a healthy foods initiative that seeks to provide financial assistance to eligible food resources as designated by the bill. The Act defines food deserts and eligibility requirements for the initiative. The Act authorizes the Division of Small Business to implement the grant and financial support system. This substitute bill does the following: 1. Adds the following terms in the definition section of the Act: Council, food resource, Healthy Foods Retail Initiative, Program, and specialty grocer. 2. Modifies the definition of food desert. 3. Removes terms of grocery store, rural tract, and urban tract in lieu of the new definitions of food resource and food desert. 4. Designates the Division of Small Business, instead of the Office of State Planning, as theagency authorized to implement the Delaware Grocery Initiative and authorizes the Division of Small Business to adopt rules. 5. Replaces the grocery and food desert study with a food access strategy. 6. Subject to appropriation, creates a food access strategy to address food insecurity and requires submission of a report to the General Assembly and the Governor by June 1, 2025.
This Act simplifies and in some cases increases the civil penalties for violations of laws related to dogs that run at large, dogs that bite a human being or domestic animal while running at large, and dogs that are designated as dangerous or potentially dangerous. It also expands the requirements for keeping or maintaining a dangerous or potentially dangerous dog to include provisions related to licensing, vaccination, microchipping, and leashing. The Act also makes changes to procedures of the Department of Health and Social Services (“the Department”) relating to dogs, including the following: (1) It removes an unused provision requiring that notification of the impoundment of a running at large dog be made to the dog owner in writing. (2) It gives the Department 15 days, rather than 5 days, to file a civil action after impounding a dog and identifying and informing the dog owner. (3) It changes from 48 to 24 the number of hours that an individual can confine a dog that is not the individual’s own before contacting the Department to report the dog. Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 269 differs from Senate Bill No. 269 as follows: (1) It removes a provision that would have increased the amount of liability insurance that a dangerous dog owner must carry. (2) It expands the definition of “serious physical injury” to include injuries that pose serious or prolonged impairment to health and serious or prolonged loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ. (3) It removes inaccurate cross-references from § 3074F and replaces them with references to the entire chapter. (4) It provides that a dog will not be considered dangerous or potentially dangerous if it injures a human being who is teasing, tormenting, abusing, or assaulting the dog’s owner or its offspring, in addition to the dog. The current § 3074F only allows this exception for torment, abuse, or assault of the dog itself. (5) It changes one of the criteria for declaring a dog dangerous to provide that the injury to the human being must be a serious physical injury. (6) It adds the definition of “domestic animal” that appears in § 3071F to § 3041F. (7) Throughout the bill, it changes “person” to “human being” when needed for accuracy and consistency. Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 269 Act also corrects minor technical errors in Senate Bill No. 269 and makes additional technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.