This resolution affirms that members of the General Assembly are committed to civility in public discourse and that they will lead by example to actively cultivate a political culture in Delaware where collaboration, respect, and productive discourse can thrive.
Like House Bill No. 2, House Substitute No. 1 for HB 2 makes technical corrections to § 5546 of Title 29 and increases from $7,000 to $8,000, both of the following: • The amount of the burial benefit under the State Employees’ Pension Plan. • The amount paid for funeral expenses for a member of a volunteer fire company, volunteer fire company ladies auxiliary, or a volunteer ambulance and rescue company. HS 1 for HB 2 differs from HB 2 because it changes the effective date to October 1, 2026, and because the enactment of Senate Bill No. 28 (85 Del. Laws, c. 215) on September 9, 2025, included all of the following: • The technical revisions to § 6750 of Title 18 that were also included in Section 2 of HB 2. • The transfer of § 6750 of Title 18 to § 6701A of Title 18, which was also included in House Amendment No. 1 to HB 2. • The enactment of § 6701A of Title 18, which was also included in HA 1 to HB 2.
The Delaware State Inspire Scholarship Program (Inspire scholarship) pays undergraduate tuition for 8 semesters at Delaware State University (DSU). Some students complete their undergraduate degrees in less than 8 semesters because they take heavier than average course loads each semester or because they earned college credits during high school. This Act aims to reward students for their hard work and provide additional access and opportunity for them to continue their higher education by allowing students to use the Inspire scholarship program towards additional levels of higher education if the student obtains their undergraduate degree before using all 8 semesters of eligibility. Specifically, this Act extends eligibility for Inspire scholarships as follows: 1. Under current law, most students may use Inspire grant money for up to 8 continuous semesters towards a bachelor's degree at DSU. This Act allows students who complete a bachelor's degree in less than 8 continuous semesters to use the remaining Inspire grant money towards a graduate degree program at DSU. 2. The Inspire scholarship program provides additional time for individuals who lived in foster care to complete an undergraduate degree. This Act makes corresponding changes to the eligibility for these individuals so that they also can use remaining Inspire grant money towards a graduate degree at DSU if they complete their undergraduate degree before exhausting the time available to do so. In addition, this Act modifies 2 requirements for eligibility for the Inspire scholarship program for students using the scholarship for a graduate degree program so that students may be enrolled on a part-time basis and are not required to maintain continuous enrollment. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act requires the Division of Public Health (“Division”) to create a website where Delaware residents can find out the level of PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” in their public drinking water systems. This Act also requires the Division to notify public water utilities if the PFAS in their water exceeds certain limits, known as maximum containment levels, or MCLs. Water companies receiving this notice from the Division must then notify their customers that the PFAS levels in their water exceed the MCLs. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that PFAS, which are a class of chemicals that do not break down naturally, are linked to certain cancers, liver problems, thyroid issues, low birth weights and birth defects, decreased immunity, and other serious health issues. Children may be particularly susceptible to negative health outcomes from PFAS exposure, with some research linking high PFAS levels in children to developmental problems and reduced effectiveness of vaccines. Although Delaware is currently working toward making PFAS information available to consumers as required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the federal rule that requires water systems to report on PFAS does not require them to do so until 2027, and water systems will not face consequences for exceeding MCLs until 2029. By providing everyone who uses public drinking water systems with the ability to determine the level of PFAS in their water prior to 2027, and to be notified when levels exceed MCLs, this Act empowers Delaware residents to advocate for safer water. This Act takes effect 90 days after its enactment into law.
This Act establishes the following principles in regards to public library material: (1) Library material is provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all persons the library serves; (2) Library material should not be excluded, removed, or prohibited from a catalogue because of the origin, background, or views of a persons who created the material; (3) Material should not be excluded, removed, or prohibited from a library because of partisan, ideological, or religious disapproval. This Act requires that public libraries adopt a library collection development policy consistent with the foregoing principles. The written policy must include the policy and procedure that libraries will follow when receiving and reviewing objections to library material. It further requires that all library material that is under review due to an objection must remain available for use by library patrons until the review process is concluded. It also prohibits the governing body of a library from suspending, disciplining, or otherwise retaliating against an employee of a library that acts in accordance with the State principles and media content policy. This Act also creates similar requirements for school libraries and requires that public schools create policies and procedures for reviewing objections to school library material that conform to the established collection development policy for school libraries. Within these policies and procedures, school libraries must include: (1) a uniform process to submit an objection to material in a school library; (2) a requirement that material under review due to an objection remain available for use by students and school personnel until the review process is concluded; and (3) a reasonable timeline to conduct and conclude the review process. An appeal of a decision determining whether school library material may remain in the school library may be made to the board of the local education agency. A final appeal from the decision of the board of the local education agency may be made to a School Library Review Committee, which is made up of the following individuals or the individual’s designee: (1) The President of the School Chiefs’ Association. (2) The State Librarian. (3) The Secretary of the Department of Education. (4) The President of the Delaware State Education Association. (5) The President of the Association of School Administrators. (6) The President of the Delaware Association of School Librarians. (7) The President of the Delaware Library Association.
Currently, the Delaware Volunteer Fire Service Revolving Loan Fund may only obtain funding from the General Assembly through appropriation. This Act would allow for funding and donations to be made by any person, charitable organizations, and counties of the State. When a county contributes to the Fund, the Act requires the Fund ensure county specific contributions are spent on loans to fire companies within that county. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware legislative Drafting Manual.
Section 1 of this Act requires that $7,000 be paid for the funeral expenses of a deceased member of a volunteer fire company, volunteer fire company ladies auxiliary, or volunteer ambulance and rescue. Consistent with a legal interpretation of the existing law by state agencies, Section 1 of this Act continues to enable the payment of funeral expenses for the funeral of a deceased member of a volunteer fire company, volunteer fire company ladies auxiliary, or volunteer ambulance and rescue company even if the member was also a state employee entitled to burial benefits under § 8331 of Title 11, § 8395 of Title 11, § 8846 of Title 11, or § 5316 of Title 29. However, Section 1 of this Act makes changes to existing law to make this legal interpretation clear and to specifically identify the state employee burial benefits to which this provision applies. Section 2 of this Act delays the effect of this Act until October 1, 2025, to provide time to implement this Act after the enactment of the fiscal year 2026 appropriations act containing the funding for this Act. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Substitute for House Bill No. 212 corrects a technical drafting error to underline new language contained in Section 2 of the Act, and is otherwise identical to House Bill No. 212, which does the following: Section 1 of this Act amends the time period during which health insurers may initiate overpayment recovery efforts from 24 months to 12 months of a claim being paid. This Act also amends one of the exemptions to the overpayment recovery deadline to require an indication of fraud, abuse, or other intentional misconduct based on a physical review or review of claims data or statements as opposed to merely having a reasonable belief of such fraud, abuse or other intentional misconduct. It aligns requirements for provider-oriented clawbacks with those for pharmacies. Section 2 of this Act requires written notice from pharmacy benefit managers or entities conducting pharmacy audits. Because Department examinations have indicated that PBMs misuse this provision in the law to conduct audits outside the parameters of the Pharmacy Audit Integrity Program, Section 3 of this Act amends the exclusions to the applicability of the pharmacy audit rules to require that pharmacy benefits managers have more definitive proof, based on physical review of claims data or other investigative methods, to believe misconduct has occurred before the rules related to the Pharmacy Audit Integrity Program become inapplicable to an investigative audit. This Act also makes technical corrections to existing law to conform to the requirements of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act allows Sussex County to apply an impact fee to building permits within the respective school district for the purpose of collecting funding for the local share of school capital construction programs.
This Act builds on the success of the Downtown Development Districts Act, Chapter 19 of Title 22 of the Delaware Code, by permitting a municipality with a population of 30,000 or more in the 2020 federal census, which includes Wilmington, Dover, and Newark, to designate an area in the municipality as a "Downtown Development Corridor". This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
