Sen. Marie Pinkney

This House Concurrent Resolution recognizes and commends Children & Families First for its extraordinary and enduring contributions to the children and families of Delaware during National Foster Care Awareness Month and Mental Health Awareness Month in May 2026.

This Concurrent Resolution celebrates Homeschool Awareness Month in May 2026 and aims to demonstrate how homeschooling can be a better option than regular schooling for many children.

This Act repeals the requirement that a person must apply for a certificate of public review prior to the acquisition of major medical equipment. A certificate of public review may still be required if the acquisition meets the capital expenditure threshold under § 9304(a)(2) of Title 16. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform with the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual and restores a missing word to § 9304(a)(2) of Title 16.

This Act changes the title of “physician assistant” to “physician associate” in Title 24, as well as changes the references from physician assistant to physician associate throughout the Delaware Code. It does not change any rights or privileges of those who have been or continue to hold themselves out to be a “physician assistant.” Current law provides that a physician associate may not maintain or manage a location that does not have oversight by the physician associate’s collaborating physician. This Act provides that a licensed physician associate with more than 6,000 post-graduate clinical practice hours who intends to practice without a collaborative agreement must apply to the Regulatory Council for Physician Assistants for independent practice authority. This Act also provides that the Regulatory Council for Physician Associates must adopt rules and regulations to address the following: (1) the verification of post-graduate clinical practice hours for physician associates with more than 6,000 post-graduate clinical practice hours; (2) creating an application for physician associates with more than 6,000 post-graduate clinical practice hours to request independent practice authority; (3) creating a process for physician associates who practice without at least 1 licensed Delaware physician in the group, practice, or health system, and have been granted independent practice authority, to notify the Physician Associates Regulatory Council prior to a change of their practice area and provide proof they have had training which aligns to the new practice area; and (4) the conditions under which a physician associate may be denied independent practice authority and how to reapply. The Act also provides that a physician associate is considered to be a primary care provider when practicing in the medical specialties for a physician to be a primary care provider. Payment for services within the physician associate’s scope of practice must be made when ordered or performed by the physician associate, if the same service would have been covered if ordered or performed by a physician. Payment for services must be based on the services provided and not on the health care professional who delivered the service. Physician associates must be authorized to bill for and receive direct payment for the medically necessary services they deliver. The Act also provides that a physician associate who has independent practice authority may sign the special disabled license plate or placard applicant form certifying that a person is disabled, for use in an application to receive a special license plate. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act is effective immediately and to be implemented the earlier of : (1) One year from the date of the Act’s enactment; or (2) When the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline approves the enabling regulations promulgated by the Regulatory Council of Physician Associates.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates May 2026 as "Foster Care Month" throughout the State of Delaware. It serves as a symbolic recognition rather than a law that changes funding, mandates specific programs, or alters existing regulations. The measure directly affects the state government by establishing an official theme for the month, though it does not impose new obligations on foster care agencies or families.

This Act updates and modernizes Delaware law regarding birth certificates, death certificates, driver’s licenses, identification cards, and marriage license applications, licenses, and certificates (government documents) as follows: • Establishes uniform gender designations. • Provides uniform requirements when an individual seeks to change their gender designation. • Protects the privacy of records related to a change of an individual’s gender designation. • Revises existing law regarding marriage licenses and certificates to reflect current practices and to clarify current procedures. Under existing law, people can change their gender designation on these government documents. However, only the Office of Vital Statistics (OVS) can amend marriage certificates and the requirements to change gender on these government documents are only in regulations. These existing regulations require certification from a medical or social service provider certifying the individual’s true gender identity and do not explicitly keep the original documents and information submitted in support of the change confidential. Specifically, this Act does all of the following in Sections 1 through Section 6 of this Act: • Establishes, for these government documents, that “sex” or “gender” may be designated by “F” for female, “M” for male, or “X” for unspecified. Unspecified designates a gender identity that is not female or male. • Allows an individual to change their gender designation without a court order or certification from a medical or other service provider. • Allows a parent to amend the parent’s gender designation and name on their child’s birth certificate. • Creates procedures so that people can amend marriage certificates through either OVS or the county clerk of the peace that issued the marriage license. These procedures require that OVS and the clerk of the peace share the amended certificate with the other office, using the existing electronic records system. • None of the documents or records under this Act are public records. This Act adds strengthened protections that prohibits the release of a request to change gender, and previous versions of the amended government document, unless the following specific requirements are met: For birth certificates and marriage certificates, information related to the change of gender and the previous birth certificate may only be released if the request meets the requirements for the release of records of healthcare services under § 3928 of Title 10 and § 611 of Title 29. Section 3928 of Title 10 prohibits a court from ordering the release of records related to healthcare services requested by another state related to a criminal violation of a law if the healthcare services are legal in Delaware. In addition, § 611 of Title 29 prohibits a state or local government agency from releasing information in response to inquiries concerning the lawfulness of healthcare services that is related to healthcare services that are lawful in this State. For driver’s licenses and identification cards, information related to the change of gender, including previous photos and names on these documents, may only be released if the request is for a permissible use of personal information. In addition, if the request is from another state, there must be a demonstrated legitimate public safety need for the information that would be necessary to obtain a valid court order in Delaware. Before releasing gender change information to a person in another state, the individual making the request must provide a signed affidavit acknowledging their responsibility to protect this information and agreement that the information will only be used for the legitimate public safety need that is the basis for the request. In addition, Sections 7 through Section 12 of this Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual and updates existing law to conform to modern procedures as follows: • Revises Chapter 1 of Title 13 and Chapter 31 of Title 16 to eliminate duplicative and conflicting provisions. • Transfers the requirements for the information required in a marriage license application from Title 13 to Title 16, because under existing law in Title 16, OVS is responsible for creating all forms related to marriage. • Creates separate terms for marriage license applications, marriage licenses, marriage certificates, and the background information provided at the time of the application for a marriage license. It clarifies that a marriage license becomes a marriage certificate when the officiant and both witnesses sign the form after the marriage is performed. These changes are necessary because existing law uses the term “marriage license” when referring to both the license required to get married and the certificate documenting that the marriage was performed. • Clarifies that only individuals with authority under Title 12 may obtain a certified copy of death certificate from OVS. • Align the existing privacy protections under § 305 of Title 21 with the strengthened protection in Section 6 of this Act. This Act is effective immediately but has a delayed implementation date for all of the following: • The Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) and the Department of Transportation (DelDOT) to adopt the necessary regulations and forms. • DelDOT, DHSS, and the clerks of the peace to make necessary changes to computer systems.

This resolution designates May 6-12 as "National Nurses Week" and 2026 as “The Year of The Power of Nurses” in Delaware. This resolution also recognizes the Delaware Nurses Association for its’ 115 years of service to Delaware Nurses and all residing in Delaware.

Like Senate Bill No. 5, this Act is the first leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution to ensure that every Delawarean is afforded reproductive freedom. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 5 by making the following clarifications: (1) That an individual has a fundamental right to reproductive freedom relating to that individual’s pregnancy. (2) That the standard of medical judgment is a “good-faith medical judgment” rather than a “professional judgment”. (3) That the health care professional making the good-faith medical judgment is the “treating attending health care professional” rather than the “attending health care professional”. Amending the Delaware Constitution requires not only the passing of the changes in this Act, but also passage of the same changes after the next general election by the next General Assembly. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the Delaware Constitution.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates the week of May 10 through May 16, 2026, as "National Hospital Week" within the State of Delaware. It directly affects state government records and public communications by officially recognizing this specific time period. The key provision is a formal declaration that does not create new laws, regulations, or funding but serves to acknowledge hospitals during this designated week. As a commemorative resolution, it has no operational impact on healthcare services or hospital operations.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates May 5th as International Midwives Day to acknowledge the contributions of midwives in Delaware. It serves as a formal recognition rather than a law that changes regulations or funding. The resolution was passed by both the House and Senate to honor the profession's legacy.