Sen. Dave Wilson

This Act is being proposed in hopes of allowing for additional disbursements from a special fund created by the General Assembly to ensure adequate pensions for affected police officers and firefighters, and their surviving spouses. This raises the pension level an individual is permitted to receive and still be eligible for a distribution from the special fund from $35,000 or less to $55,000 or less. It also ensures that those eligible to receive a distribution from the special fund will be able to do so upon enactment, and not have to wait until the current date permitted under the Code.

This Act to Amend the Charter grants the City Council the power to exercise eminent domain for the purpose of property acquisition, with the exception of land to be used solely for recreational purposes. It also grants the City Council the power to make proclamations to recognize achievements, historical events, special days or months for civic and social purposes, and other similar matters. This Act also clarifies that the Mayor may establish committees as they deem necessary with the consent of the City Council. Duration of elected officials’ terms, previously 2 years, shall be increased to a term of 3 years, beginning with the 2026 election for the Mayor, and beginning in 2027 for incoming Councilmembers. This Act prohibits any person in arrears and owing the City funds for taxes and other applicable fees, shall be ineligible to serve as Mayor or Councilperson. If a sitting Mayor or Councilperson becomes more than two months in arrears to the City, they shall be disqualified from their position and the seat shall be declared vacant.

This Act requires the permitting of an electric substation as an allowed conditional use in a heavy industrial zone under certain conditions set forth in the Act, including that the electrical substation is being constructed to support the operation of a proposed renewable energy generation project of 250 MW or greater. This Act is being given retroactive effect such that, if a county has previously denied an application for an electrical substation that would meet the requirements of this Act, then the application shall be deemed granted provided that the electrical substation meets the requirements of this Act.

The Board of Pharmacy (“Board”) has worked for several years to amend Chapter 25, Title 24 of the Delaware Code to update the statute governing pharmacy licensure and practice in this State. The result of these efforts is this Act, which modernizes Chapter 25 to include a licensure system similar to those already in place in many other states, reflects current practices and standards, and clarifies the law. The Board’s priority in amending Chapter 25 was to ensure competence and accountability of individuals, pharmacies, and other establishments regulated by the Board. This Act expands and updates the definitions section to include terms related to current practice, such as “compounding” and “outsourcing facilities.” Board membership terms are increased: Board members will be eligible to serve for a maximum of three consecutive, three-year terms. The Board officers are identified as president and vice president. Several sections are added to the Board’s powers and duties, including the authority to promulgate a Code of Ethics. This Act amends the qualifications for licensure as a pharmacist to set forth clearly objective criteria. With respect to licensure as a pharmacist by reciprocity, the “good standing” requirement is clarified, and a criminal background check requirement is added. The requirements for license renewal, reinstatement, and reactivation are amended to provide that, after a certain time period has expired, a licensee will be required to undergo a criminal background check and the licensee’s disciplinary history will be reviewed. This Act revises the potential Grounds for Discipline of pharmacists to include violation of the Code of Ethics. Available sanctions are broadened to include permanent revocation and potential administrative penalties not to exceed $10,000 for the first violation with further penalties optional for subsequent violations. These changes will serve as a deterrent for licensee conduct posing a risk to the public health, safety, and welfare. This Act strikes the provision for “Counseling of Pharmacists” to align statutory language with actual practice. Disciplinary matters are public and are addressed by the entire Board. The requirements for prescription labeling, pharmacy closing, and prescription departments will be addressed in rules and regulations to allow for necessary revisions as practice standards evolve. This Act also revises the requirements for pharmacies and non-resident pharmacies in the interest of objectivity and consistency. Grounds for discipline and available sanctions are expanded. In particular, the Board will have the discretion to impose an administrative penalty not to exceed $250,000 for each violation with further penalties available for ongoing violations. Further, with respect to non-resident pharmacies, the Board will also have the authority to impose administrative penalties, up to $10,000 per day, for the infraction of delivering drugs into Delaware without a license issued by the Board. This Act adds a new section for licensure requirements for manufacturers, wholesale distributors, outsourcing facilities, medical gas distributors, and retail non-pharmacies. Key personnel will be required to undergo criminal background checks. Possible administrative penalties are revised significantly, from $50 per day, to a maximum of $250,000 for each violation with further penalties available for ongoing violations. The option of this sanction will serve as a deterrent for wrongful conduct by establishments that are often delivering drugs from out-of-state into Delaware. This Act also makes revisions to ensure that statutory provisions are consistent with other Title 24 professional licensing board practice acts. Technical corrections serve to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act takes effect 1 year after enactment.

The Department of Education (“Department”) currently administers the High Needs Educator Student Loan Repayment Program, the Speech-Language Pathologist Student Loan Repayment Program, and the Mental Health Services Student Loan Repayment Program. Annually, these programs help roughly 600 public school employees, including educators, speech-language pathologists, school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers, through a single application process, by making loan payments directly to student loan lenders. But paying the lenders directly has caused 2 persistent issues: 1. Because the payments are considered taxable income, award recipients have the tax withheld from their paychecks, even though the payments go directly to the lenders. This lowers the award recipients’ take-home pay and can create confusion and hardship. 2. The process involves sending out 600 or more individual checks each year. And many checks are returned or delayed due to changes in lender information or system mismatches. To avoid these issues, the Department recommends combining the 3 different student loan repayment programs into a single program and changing the award process from a system that repays lenders directly to a system that pays stipends to public school employees through the State central payroll operation. These changes would streamline a system that already uses a single application and would do all of the following: 1. Avoid surprise tax impacts and imputed income issues. 2. Reduce administrative burden and failed payments. 3. Provide more timely and transparent support to award recipients. The suggested changes are easy to implement, budget-neutral, and could allow public school employees who previously declined awards due to the tax consequences to benefit from the financial support. This Act makes the changes recommended by the Department by doing all of the following: 1. Eliminates the separate Speech-Language Pathologist Student Loan Repayment Program, Mental Health Services Student Loan Repayment Program, and High Needs Educator Student Loan Repayment Program, and combines them into a single program under § 4163 of Title 14. 2. Shifts payment of awards from paying the lenders directly to paying the award recipients a stipend through the State central payroll operation. 3. Streamlines the process for determining financial need by allowing the Department to focus on collecting the income and loan information that is necessary to fairly allocate program funds. 4. Changes the title of § 4163 of Title 14 from the High Needs Educator Student Loan Repayment Program to the “Public School Employee Support Program for High Need Areas” because the 3 programs are now combined into a single program and the program is no longer a direct student loan repayment program. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act allows the Auditor of Accounts to issue subpoenas directly, removing a requirement that the Auditor first file a praecipe with the Superior Court prothonotary. It also allows the Auditor to effect service of such a subpoena, and to apply for a court order if a recipient fails to respond to a subpoena. Failure to comply with such a court order may be punished as contempt of court. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act amends the Town of Houston (“Town”) Charter to do all of the following: 1. Gender neutralize the Charter. 2. Clarify the voting rights for multiple owners of a single piece of real estate located in the Town. 3. Change the times for polling and elections. 4. Change the qualifications of Town Councilmembers, the Town Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Alderman, Assistant Alderman, Treasurer, Town Tax Collector, and Town Solicitor. 5. Change the dates on which nominations for Town Councilmembers can be made. 6. Clarify when Town Council meetings may be held and the date when Town Councilmembers can be sworn into office. 7. Change the type of contracts that the Town Council may enter into. 8. Change and clarify how Town taxes may be levied and collected. 9. Change how the Town budget must be posted. 10. Remove the regulation and control of observance of the Sabbath Day. 11. Change the Town’s right to regulate animals, beasts, birds, or fowl. 12. Increase the Town’s ability to levy fines. 13. Remove limits on the amount of revenue the Town may raise. 14. Clarify the utilities the Town may tax. 15. Increase the borrowing limits of the Town. 16. Give the Town greater flexibility to locate a bank to serve the Town. 17. Change the voting rights in special elections. 18. Corrects citations to the Delaware Code. This Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act also incorporates previously enacted changes [64 Del. Laws c. 211] that were inadvertently not included in the online copy of the Town of Houston’s Charter. This Act 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 municipal charter.

Maddy summaryThis Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR 103) designates November 2025 as "Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month" in Delaware. It is a non-binding resolution expressing the state legislature's recognition of autoimmune diseases and their impact on residents. The resolution does not create new laws, allocate funding, or impose requirements; it solely aims to raise public awareness during that month. It directly affects Delaware residents by highlighting autoimmune health issues through official state recognition.

Maddy summaryThis concurrent resolution designates June 2025 as Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Month in Delaware. It formally recognizes the condition and aims to increase public awareness about Myasthenia Gravis within the state. The resolution has no binding legal effect or policy changes.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates September 14-20, 2025, as "Adult Education and Family Literacy Week" in Delaware through a symbolic resolution. It does not create new laws, allocate funding, or directly affect specific individuals or programs. The resolution serves only to recognize and promote awareness of adult education and family literacy initiatives within the state. It is a procedural designation with no binding policy changes.