Sen. Nicole Poore

This substitute for House Bill 383 does the following: Like House Bill 383, Section 1 of this Act prohibits discrimination against 340B drug distribution by manufacturers, third-party logistics providers, and wholesale distributors. Violations are deemed an unlawful practice enforceable by the Consumer Protection Unit of the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice has authority to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this Act. This Section differs from House Bill 383 by removing repackagers from the list of entities prohibited from engaging in 340B drug discrimination, authorizing the Board of Pharmacy to promulgate regulations and take disciplinary action against both licensees and holders of permits issued by the Board, and requiring covered entities, manufacturers, third-party-logistics providers, and wholesale distributors to publish annual reports on their websites and provide copies of the reports to the Board of Pharmacy, Speaker of the House, Senate President Pro Tempore, Office of the Governor, and members of the House and Senate Health Committees and Joint Finance Committee. Section 2 of this Act prohibits discrimination by pharmacy benefits managers against 340B covered entities. Violations are deemed unfair practices in the insurance business. Contracts purporting to include provisions in violation of this Act are deemed void and unenforceable. This Section differs from House Bill 383 by making technical changes to correct internal references and changing references to “health carriers” to reference “purchasers” instead. Section 3 of this Act contains severability language in the event that any provision or the application of the Act to a person or circumstance is deemed to be invalid. Section 4 of this Act contains non-preemption language to ensure that the Act can be read and interpreted to not conflict with other State or federal law.

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 Act requires the Director of the Sustainable Energy Utility to administer a program to provide financial assistance to Delaware residents for the cost of purchase and installation of electric vehicle supply equipment. For a low-income applicant (meaning up to 300% of the federal poverty level for household income), financial assistance covering up to 90% of the purchase and installation costs may be covered. For all other applicants the program may offer assistance to cover up to 50% of the costs.

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.

Under this bill, the Board of Massage and Bodywork may not issue initial certifications to practice as a certified massage technician for applications received after December 31, 2024.

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.

This Act makes several changes to the civil asset forfeiture proceedings of this state. It repeals the legal presumption that money, negotiable instruments or securities found in close proximity to controlled substances or records or with trace amounts of controlled substances are forfeitable. Such evidence is still admissible and may be considered by the Court in a forfeiture proceeding. It puts the burden of proof on the State to prove all elements of a forfeiture case by a preponderance of the evidence. Under the existing statute, it is the burden of an innocent owner to prove that they did not have knowledge of or consent to the use of their property in an unlawful act. It prohibits the forfeiture of currency less than $500. It prohibits forfeiture unless a criminal charge is brought. It requires the person holding seized property to be financially responsible for all fees associated therewith in the event the property is ordered by the Court to be returned. It allows a claimant property owner who substantially prevails in a forfeiture proceeding to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. The language in this section is modeled after a provision of the federal forfeiture statute, at 28 U.S.C. § 2465 that was put in place in 2000 as part of federal civil asset forfeiture reforms. It aligns forfeiture provisions in Title 11 with the forfeiture provisions in Title 16. It requires the Department of Justice to collect and annually report statistics regarding civil asset forfeiture.

This Act makes the crime of “patronizing a prostitute” a class E felony rather than a misdemeanor where the person from whom prostitution is sought is a minor.

This Act revises §§ 4732 and 4733 of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, Subchapter III, Chapter 47, Title 16 of the Delaware Code, pertaining to the regulation of the manufacture, distribution and dispensing of controlled substances. The revisions provide that out-of-state practitioners who wish to prescribe controlled substances in Delaware pursuant to a practice privilege, interstate compact license, telehealth registration, or military registration, must obtain a Delaware controlled substance registration. This Act will ensure that these out-of-state practitioners are subject to Delaware regulation with respect to prescribing controlled substances to Delaware patients.

Section 1 of this Act revises the definition of “massage establishment” by repealing the exemption for all business establishments licensed under other chapters of Title 24. This exemption allows a massage practitioner to work in a licensed cosmetology shop that does not hold a massage establishment license. In that situation, the cosmetology shop can have an identified professional-in-charge responsible for the operation of the cosmetology shop and its employees, but that individual is not responsible for the massage practitioners. This means that the professional-in-charge responsible for the cosmetology shop cannot be held responsible for the wrongful actions of a massage practitioner, which adversely impacts the disciplinary process. With this exemption repealed, a cosmetology shop offering massage services is required to have both a massage establishment license and a licensed massage practitioner as the professional-in-charge responsible for the actions of all massage practitioners providing services on the premises. Section 2 of this Act increases the minimum hours of education required for licensed massage therapists for students who begin their massage therapy education on or after July 1, 2024, from 500 hours to 625 hours and makes corresponding revisions to the required curriculum hours for each subject. This increase in hours is required by changes in the federal Department of Education regulations for student eligibility for Title IV financial aid, including the elimination of the “150% rule”. Instead, school hours must match the curriculum hours required for licensure by the state. However, programs that require less than 600 hours are not eligible for Title IV financial aid. This change is consistent with the recommendation of the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards that 625 curriculum hours are appropriate to adequately train massage therapists to practice safely and competently. Section 1 of this Act takes effect upon enactment, but Section 2 of this Act takes effect on or before July 1, 2024, to align with the effective date of the federal Department of Education regulations. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.