Sen. Laura Sturgeon

This Act expands the Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust’s responsibility to review deadly use of force incidents by law enforcement by adding review of cases involving serious physical injury. It also requires that if the Division issues a public report on the use of force, the report must include the race of the law enforcement officer who used force, the race of the individual on whom force was used, and whether race was a relevant or motivating factor.

This Act expands eligibility for mandatory expungement of adult and juvenile cases by doing all of the following: 1. Aligns eligibility for juvenile expungement so that all cases eligible for adult expungement are eligible for juvenile expungement. 2. Allows all cases terminated in favor of the accused and cases for underage possession or consumption of alcohol under § 904(e) or (f) of Title 4, possession of marijuana under § 4764 of Title 16, or possession of drug paraphernalia under § 4771 of Title 16 to be expunged, regardless of prior or subsequent adjudications or convictions. 3. Repeals § 4764(j) of Title 16 because this Act makes cases for marijuana possession eligible for mandatory expungement under § 1017 of Title 10 and § 4374 of Title 11. 4. If a person has no prior or subsequent convictions, makes a case for drug possession under § 4756 of Title 16 eligible for mandatory expungement 5 years after conviction. Juvenile adjudications of delinquency for drug possession under § 4756 of Title 16 are already eligible for mandatory expungement so no corresponding change is necessary to § 1017 of Title 10. 5. If a person has no prior or subsequent convictions, makes additional felony convictions eligible for mandatory expungement 10 years after conviction. Juvenile adjudications of delinquency for these felonies are already eligible for mandatory expungement so no corresponding change is necessary to § 1017 of Title 10. 6. Applies existing exceptions for eligibility for mandatory expungement because of the status of the victim to the offenses that become eligible under this Act. 7. Makes corresponding changes to other expungement sections in Title 10. This Act adds a misdemeanor conviction for official misconduct to the offenses that are ineligible for mandatory expungement under § 4373(b) of Title 11. This Act does not make any offenses that are currently ineligible for mandatory expungement under § 4373(b) of Title 11 eligible for mandatory expungement. This Act takes effect on January 1, 2022. Section 10 of this Act aligns this Act with the changes to § 4373 of Title 11 if Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 38 is also enacted into law in 2021. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act creates an automatic expungement process for adult and juvenile charges that are eligible for mandatory expungement because under the petition-based system, only a small fraction of people eligible for expungement ever obtain this important relief. Under this Act, the State Bureau of Identification must identify and expunge cases eligible for automatic mandatory expungement on a monthly basis. This Act is effective immediately and will be implemented on August 1, 2024. Implementing the automatic expungement process requires coordination between different courts and state agencies. This Act is known as “The Clean Slate Act”. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act supports children who spent part or all of their teen years in the State's foster care system to access higher education by providing a tuition waiver program to cover the cost of tuition, fees, and (where offered) room and board at a public Delaware college or university.

This Act prohibits a person who is the subject of a Protection from Abuse Order of the Family Court and who knows or has reason to know, that the Order has been issued from purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling a deadly weapon or ammunition for a firearm in this State. This Act also prohibits the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant, active indictment or information related to a felony or misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from purchasing a firearm. The subject of the pending criminal process must know or have reason to know that the process is pending in order for the prohibition to apply. This Act also makes technical changes to the existing law to make it conform to the Legislative Drafting Manual.

House Bill No. 92 reduces the term of a member elected to a school board from 5 years to 4 years for members elected after December 31, 2021. House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 92 differs from House Bill No. 92 because it clarifies that under § 1052(c) of Title 14, 2 members of a school board may be elected in the same year when the terms of both members expire the same year. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

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.

This Act requires that individual, group, State employee, and public assistance insurance plans provide coverage for a medically necessary insulin pump at no cost to a covered individual.

This Act allows pharmacists to administer or dispense contraceptives under a standing order from the Division of Public Health. At least 11 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands allow pharmacists to dispense contraceptives without a prescription from another health-care practitioner. This practice is supported by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

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.