Sen. Bryant Richardson

This Act removes the time restriction that only allowed for certain teachers or specialists who were hired after August 9, 2023, to obtain additional experience credit for purposes of salary computation. This Act would allow for teachers or specialists hired before August 9, 2023, to qualify for the same experience credit for purposes of salary computation.

This Act makes changes to the Delaware Child Care Act to clarify that early education programs run by state or local education agencies are subject to a parallel regulatory and monitoring structure administered by the Office of Child Care Licensing to ensure health, safety, and child development standards are met.

This House Joint Resolution directs the Department of Health and Social Services (“DHSS”) to explore participating in the federal Restaurant Meals Program (RMP). The RMP is an option that states may incorporate into their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to ensure that SNAP recipients who are senior citizens, disabled, or unhoused, or other eligible family members of those participants, may use their SNAP benefits to buy hot foods or hot prepared meals. These populations may otherwise experience barriers that prevent them having the opportunity to access a nutritious and sustaining meal. This Joint Resolution also requires DHSS to provide a report to the General Assembly as to its findings.

This Legislation is the Delaware Pre-Authorization Reform Act of 2025. Section 1 of the Act applies to health Insurance Contracts regulated under Chapter 33 of Title 18. Section 1 provides that changes in utilization review terms for a health-care service, such as the clinical criteria used to conduct utilization reviews for a health-care service, will apply only upon re-authorization of the health-care service. Covered persons must be notified at least 6 months before any changes to utilization review terms, except in certain circumstances such as changes in clinical guideline status In addition, Section 1 sets qualifications for who may make determinations with regard to requests for pre- authorization of health-care services and appeals of adverse determinations; a timeline and required contents for the notification of an outcome of appeal of an adverse determination or a notification that additional information is necessary to make the determination of appeal; and requirements for any utilization review entity used to perform utilization review by an insurer, health-benefit plan, or health-service corporation. Section 1 also shortens the timelines for the determination of pre-authorization requests and notification to the health-care provider of the determination. For requests for pre-authorization of non-urgent health-care services not submitted electronically, the utilization review entity must notify the health-care provider within 5 business days of receipt of the request; for requests submitted electronically, notification must be given within 3 business days of receipt. For requests for pre-authorization for urgent health-care services submitted electronically, notification must be given within 24 hours of receipt. By January 1, 2027, insurers, health-benefit plans, health-service corporations, and utilization review entities must accept and respond to electronic pre-authorization requests through the same platform as the electronic request was submitted. In addition, Section 1 extends the time period that a pre-authorization is valid for from 60 days to 90 days. Finally, Section 1 provides that no more than 1 pre-authorization may be required for a single episode of care, and that if pre-authorization is granted as to a health-care service that is part of a group of services for which a bundled payment is charged, pre-authorization for the other health-care services included in the group is deemed to be approved as well. Section 2 of the Act applies to Group and Blanket Health Insurance under Chapter 35 of Title 18 and makes the same changes to pre-authorization standards and procedures that Section 1 of the Act makes to Health Insurance Contracts regulated under Chapter 33 of Title 18. Section 3 of the Act provides that the State Employee Benefits Committee established under § 9602 of the Title 29 of the Delaware Code must ensure that carriers administering plans for group health insurance comply with the requirements and provisions for pre-authorization set forth in Chapter 33, Subchapter II and Chapter 35, Subchapter V of Title 18. Section 4 of the Act provides that the Act will apply to health insurance policies, contracts, or certificates issued, modified, or renewed after December 31, 2026. Section 5 of the Act provides that the Department of Health and Social Services must, to the extent feasible, assure that contracts awarded to carriers providing health insurance relating to Medicaid assistance comply with the requirements and provisions for pre-authorization set forth in Chapter 33, Subchapter II and Chapter 35, Subchapter V of Title 18. Section 6 provides that this Act is known as the "Delaware Pre-Authorization Reform Act of 2025."

This Act makes the following updates to the Behavioral Health Consortium: - Expands the charge of the Consortium to include all aspects of behavioral health care, in addition to substance use disorder. - Adds term limits for appointed members. - Modifies the membership to remove nonoperational organizations and include representation from the Maternal and Child Death Review Board and Delaware’s Veteran community. - Removes the Behavioral Health Commission’s approval authority over the Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission’s granting and contracting processes. Additionally, this Act makes the following updates to the Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission: - Revises the Commission’s organization to reflect one Chairperson. The Commission may elect a vice chair from among its members. - Updates authorities related to the distribution of the Prescription Opioid Settlement Fund and the Prescription Opioid Impact Fund. - Ensures any reports produced by the Commission are distributed to the Behavioral Health Consortium. This Act also makes minor technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Substitute differs from the original House Bill No. 169 in that it incorporates the conforming changes in House Amendment No. 1 to House Bill No. 169 directly into the body of the bill.

Maddy summaryHB 114 amends Delaware's traffic code to permit the limited use of low-speed motorized scooters on public roads and bike paths. It directly affects scooter riders by establishing new rules for operation, including speed limits and safety requirements. The bill explicitly bans high-speed scooters from being used on public roads, maintaining current restrictions. This change updates Title 21 of the Delaware Code to formally recognize low-speed scooters as legal vehicles under defined conditions.

This bill names the hill west of Mill Creek situated on New Castle County parcel number 0803100018 where the Spring Grove Mill House sits as “General Washington’s Hill of Deception”. This is the site of one of the most impactful combat event that occurred on Delaware soil during the Revolutionary War.

This Act provides that March 9 will be known as 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion Day and will be commemorated in this State by appropriate ceremonies to honor the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion members. In commemorating such a day, citizens are encouraged to write and mail letters to family, friends, military personnel, and veterans to recognize postal employees and the important service these employees provide in connecting us to each other.

This Act addresses information and access rights relating to bargaining units, which are defined under existing law as groups of public employees designated by the Public Employment Relations Board as appropriate for representation by an employee organization for purposes of collective bargaining. Section 1 of the Act amends the Public School Employment Relations Act in Title 14 of the Delaware Code. It provides that a public employer must provide an exclusive bargaining representative with certain contact information of bargaining unit employees, (i) within 14 calendar days of their hiring and (ii) in January and October of each year, starting in January 2026. In addition, a public employer must allow an exclusive representative to communicate with bargaining unit members using their employer-issued email addresses regarding collective bargaining, the administration of collective bargaining agreements, the investigation of grievances, workplace-related complaints and issues, and internal matters involving the exclusive representative's governance or business. Section 2 of the Act makes these same amendments to the Public Employment Relations Act in Title 19 of the Delaware Code.

This Act is a result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's review of the Delaware Cemetery Board. Based on the Committee's recommendation, this Act changes the Office of Auditor of Account's obligation to audit the Distressed Cemetery Fund from annually to at least once every 5 years. This Act also updates the name of the Office of Auditor of Accounts.