This concurrent resolution remembers and recognizes the life and service of former Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner.
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 17, 2022.
This Concurrent Resolution recognizes January 9, 2022, as "Law Enforcement Appreciation Day" in Delaware.
This resolution honors the life and legacy of former Delaware State Senator Robert L. Venables, Sr.
This Act requires personal income tax brackets to be annually adjusted for cost-of-living increases. This will prevent tax increases due to "bracket creep" caused by cost-of-living raises given to workers. This Act will be effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2022.
This Resolution condemns the federal action against parents and reaffirms parents' rights to bring grievances to school boards.
Over 80% of pharmaceuticals in the United States are purchased through pharmacy benefits manager ("PBM") networks. PBMs serve as intermediaries between health plans, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and pharmacies or pharmacists, and PBMs establish networks for patients to receive reimbursement for drugs. Given the scope of PBMs in the healthcare delivery system, this Act is designed to provide enhanced oversight and transparency as it relates to PBMs. Specifically, this Act does the following: (1) If a PBM denies an appeal for reimbursement subject to maximum allowable cost pricing, requires the PBM to provide the national drug code number of wholesalers in Delaware that have the drug in stock below maximum allowable cost. (2) Authorizes a pharmacy or pharmacist to decline to dispense a prescription drug or provide a pharmacy service to a patient if the amount reimbursed by a PBM is less than the pharmacy acquisition cost. If a pharmacy or pharmacist declines to provide a drug or service, the pharmacy or pharmacist must inform the patient that the pharmacy or pharmacist did this because of the costs of providing the drug or service and provide the patient with a list of pharmacies in the area that may provide the drug or service. (3) Requires PBMs to provide a reasonably adequate and accessible pharmacy benefits manager network. (4) Increases transparency by requiring PBMs to provide reports to the Insurance Commissioner on network adequacy and the amount of rebates received by PBMs to provide reports to the Insurance Commissioner on network adequacy and the amount of rebates received by PBMs and distributed to insurers or patients. (5) Prohibits PBMs from engaging in certain conduct, such as spread pricing, false advertising, and reimbursing a pharmacist or pharmacy in an amount less than the PBM reimburses itself or an affiliate for the same drug or service. If a PBM engages in prohibited conduct, the Insurance Commissioner is authorized to deny, suspend, or revoke the PBM's registration under § 3355A of Title 18 or impose penalties or take other enforcement action under § 3359A of Title 18. (6) Clarifies that the Insurance Commissioner is authorized to deny an application for registration filed by a PBM. (7) Increases the registration and renewal fee to be paid by a PBM to better reflect the cost of the registration and renewal process and better align with the fee assessed by other states that require PBMs to register. (8) Transfers § 3359A of Title 18 (regarding penalties and enforcement) to a separate subchapter focused on prohibited practices, penalties, and enforcement. In addition, this Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Finally, this Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 10 of Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to increase the effective rate of any tax levied or license fee imposed.
This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 82. Like Senate Bill 82, this Substitute does all of the following: (1) Codifies the Department of Education’s (“Department”) current efforts to establish a uniform public school registration process and requires that, beginning with the 2023 through 2024 school year, all public schools shall use the uniform public school registration process. This registration process will simplify the process for families, enable public schools to engage with families and plan in advance of the school year, and integrate data systems to eliminate duplication of effort. (2) Requires the uniform public school registration process to be Internet-based and in paper form and in English and Spanish and may be in other languages. This Act also requires that certain information must be provided in the process and that the Internet-based uniform public school registration process must include certain features. (3)Requires the Department to provide training to certain school district and charter school employees regarding the uniform public school registration process and issue guidelines for privacy of information submitted as part of the registration process. (4) Requires the Department to report to the Governor and General Assembly, no later than March 14, 2022, on the Department’s ability to connect the Internet-based uniform public school registration process to other Internet-based systems that are used to collect student data by the State; the Department; a licensed child care provider, including Head Start; or a public school serving preschool through age 21. This Substitute differs from Senate Bill No. 82 by doing all of the following: (1) Clarifying that a student must be registered in the student’s school district of residence before being eligible for the school choice process. (2) Requiring a public school be certified as completing training from the Department on the uniform public school registration process before providing paper forms as part of the in-person registration process. (3) Requiring the Department to provide uniform information about the uniform public school registration process to public schools and requiring the public schools to post the information on the school’s website and in other publications. (4) Requiring a public school to provide a parent with certain information after the parent completes the registration process, including the public school and school in which the child is enrolled.
Like House Bill No. 166, House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 166 establishes the Elevate Delaware program. Elevate Delaware will provide payments for tuition and auxiliary expenses, up to $10,000, for individuals to attend an approved non-credit certificate program. The Workforce Development Board will create a list of non- credit certificate programs eligible for the Elevate Delaware program and establish priorities based upon the skill requirements of employers in Delaware. It also allows the Department of Labor to provide payments to participants in Elevate Delaware to cover auxiliary expenses necessary to meet basic living expenses or purchase supplies necessary for the non-certificate program or employment upon completion of the program. House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 166 differs from House Bill No. 166 as follows: 1. Instead of basing eligibility upon graduation from a Delaware high school, individuals are eligible for Elevate Delaware if they are employed by an employer with under 51 employees and are subject to Delaware income tax. This change helps small employers expand by investing in workforce development and helps Delaware residents increase their earning capacity. Currently, over 83% of Delaware employers have under 51 employees. 2. States that the intent of Elevate Delaware is to preserve jobs in Delaware and for Delaware residents and that the Department of Labor may recoup payments made on behalf of individuals if either the individual or an employer acts in bad faith under the requirements of Elevate Delaware. 3. Requires that if an individual is not a resident of Delaware, the individual’s employer must intend to retain the individual as an employee for at least 1 year following completion of the eligible program and the individual must intend to work in Delaware for at least 1 year following completion of the eligible program. 4. Tuition payments are made directly to an eligible program. 5. Allows Elevate Delaware payments to be made for supplies an individual needs for the training program or employment upon completion of the program. 6. Requires the Workforce Development Board to approve non-credit certificate programs throughout the State, based upon the population of each county. 7. Takes effect for program that begin after December 31, 2021 instead of within 1 year from enactment of this Act. 8. Removes the requirement that the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee review this Act because this review can occur without a specific requirement in this Act.
Delaware has been irreparably harmed by the opioid crisis. In 2018, 400 people died of an overdose in Delaware, and in 2019, 431 people died of an overdose. Settlements from opioid distributors, manufacturers, and pharmacies are expected to provide significant monies over a substantial period of time to Delaware. These funds are intended to address to harm caused by the opioid crisis in our communities. This Act establishes the Prescription Opioid Settlement Fund (Settlement Fund) and Prescription Opioid Distribution Commission (Commission), to ensure that settlement money is used to remediate and abate the opioid crisis and is not diverted to other purposes. The Commission is part of the Behavioral Health Consortium and is established to ensure that decisions on how to spend funds are reached through consensus driven process that takes into account the views and experience of affected communities. The Behavioral Health Consortium will distribute money received by the Settlement Fund and the Prescription Opioid Impact Fund (Impact Fund), enacted by Senate Bill No. 34 of the 150th General Assembly, according to the recommendations of the Commission. The Commission shall seek input from the public and relevant stakeholders and shall convene a Local Government Committee to ensure that recommendations from counties and municipal governments are carefully considered. The terms of settlement agreements, bankruptcy plans, or other agreements for the payment of monies by defendants in opioid-related litigation will likely include terms that establish how the money must be spent. The Commission is required to adhere to those terms. The Commission must produce an annual report regarding the receipt and disbursement of funds. This Act preserves the status quo of the existing parties to litigation while limiting the ability for new local government opioid suits to be brought, because new lawsuits could limit the size of Delaware’s recovery in global settlements that are expected to be reached. This Act repeals the sunset of the Prescription Opioid Impact Fee (Impact Fee) and Impact Fund It also repeals the report requirement for the Impact Fund because the information in that report will be included in the new report that the Commission must produce. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 4 of Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of three-quarters of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to appropriate funds to a county or municipality. This Act also requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend a charter issued to a municipal corporation.
