Sen. Laura Sturgeon

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a new permanent state commission dedicated to Asian and Pacific Islander heritage and culture in Delaware. The nine-member group will be appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the Senate President Pro Tempore, with members required to be citizens of Asian or Pacific Islander descent who live, work, or own businesses in the state. The commission will operate without pay and will focus on promoting cultural awareness, strengthening community ties, and advising state officials on policies that benefit Asian and Pacific Islander residents. It will be organized under the Secretary of State and may form subcommittees to collaborate with other local organizations.

This Act creates the Delaware Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Service Act. The Act provides compensation and reintegration services to individuals who have served sentences of incarceration, wrongful incarceration in a psychiatric institution, parole, probation, and sex offender registration in the State for crimes that they did not commit. An individual claiming wrongful conviction or, if deceased, that individual's heirs, may bring a petition for compensation in Delaware Superior Court. A petitioner who makes the required showing is entitled to damages based on the type and period of wrongful incarceration, probation, parole, or registration, and other amounts, such as reasonable attorney fees in obtaining relief, subject to requirements of proof. However, a petitioner is not entitled to such compensation if the Department of Justice establishes that the petitioner was an accomplice in the commission of the crime or that the petitioner intentionally and voluntarily caused the conviction at issue by committing perjury or fabricating evidence at trial in order to prevent the conviction of the true perpetrator. In addition, an individual released from incarceration as the result of the reversal, overturning, or vacation of a conviction is entitled to emergency assistance and services. Senate Substitute 3 for SB 169 differs from SS 2 for SB 169 in that it provides that a petitioner who served time in a psychiatric institution is eligible to apply for relief. Senate Substitute 3 for SB 169 also provides that in all cases, in order to be compensated, a petitioner must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the petitioner did not commit the crime that resulted in the conviction or that there was no crime committed. This provision differs from Senate Substitute 2, which required this showing only for a petitioner who entered a Robinson plea or entered a plea of no contest. In addition, Senate Substitute 3 for SB 169 provides that persons who were pardoned are not eligible for post-release services under the Act. Finally, Senate Substitute 3 for SB 169 provides that any award under the Act must be offset by any amounts the petitioner has recovered in a civil action or settlement of a civil action for wrongful conviction or imprisonment. If, after receiving an award under the Act, a petitioner subsequently recovers in such a civil action or settlement, the petitioner must reimburse the State to the extent of the amounts awarded in the civil action or settlement of the civil action.

This Act modernizes and expands the concept of maternal mental health by replacing the definition of maternal depression with the more encompassing definition of perinatal mood and anxiety disorder. This Act contemplates treatment for any caregiver who may be affected by perinatal mood and anxiety disorder. This Act avoids use of gender-based pronouns as recommended by the Legislative Drafting Manual.

Pharmacists in Delaware provide some of the same medical services as physicians, advance practice registered nurses, and physician assistants, including immunizations. The General Assembly has recently added to the services that pharmacists may provide, including prescribing birth control, testing and treating for a variety of conditions, and prescribing pre-exposure and post-exposure HIV prophylaxis. However, health insurance plans do not currently recognize pharmacists as a provider type that may seek reimbursement for these services, despite already providing coverage for the same services if they were obtained from other providers. This could lead to many pharmacists not providing such expanded services due to the lack of insurance coverage. This Act requires health insurance providers to provide the same reimbursement to pharmacists that is already provided other providers performing the same services at the same rates as advance practice registered nurses and physician assistants. This bill also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act updates House Bill 455 from the 151st General Assembly by providing the same legal protections afforded providers of contraceptive and abortion services to providers of fertility treatment. In summary, this Act does the following: (1) Clarifies that medical professionals who provide fertility treatment care cannot be disciplined for such services even if such services are illegal or considered to be unprofessional conduct or the unauthorized practice of medicine in another state, so long as such services are lawful in this State; (2) Prohibits health care providers from disclosing communications and records concerning fertility treatment without the patient’s authorization in any civil action or proceeding, with some exceptions; (3) Protects health care providers from out-of-state civil actions relating to fertility treatment that is legal in Delaware, including the issuance of a summons or the enforcement of subpoenas relating to such cases; (4) Creates a cause of action for recouperation of out-of-state judgments relating to fertility treatment that is lawful in Delaware; and (5) Prohibits insurance companies from taking any adverse action against health care professionals who provide fertility treatment and services.

This Act allows pharmacists, under protocol approved by the Division of Public Health, to provide HIV pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis treatments.

This Act updates provisions of the code covering the Delaware Institute of Medical Education Research (DIMER), which creates partnerships with out-of-state medical schools as an alternative to creating a state sponsored medical school. Specifically, this Act does the following: (1) Updates the name of the Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University to “Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University”; (2) Adds the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine as a DIMER medical school; (3) Alters and updates the composition of the DIMER Board and provides that all members will be appointed by the Governor; (4) Clarifies that a vacant Board position is not counted for quorum purposes; (5) Requires the Board Chair to be elected from the members of the Board, rather than appointed by the Chair of the Delaware Health Care Commission; (6) Requires the Board to select candidates for the Chair and Vice Chair from a nominating committee determined by the Board; and (7) Provides that the Board Chair and Vice Chair shall serve no more than 3 consecutive terms.

This Act permits trucks having 5 or more axles that are hauling farm produce grown in this State and traveling from the farm on which the farm produce is grown to a location at which the farm produce is to be processed or stored, or from a location at which the farm produce is processed or stored to an export facility within this State, to weigh up to 90,000 pounds or combined manufacturer’s gross combined weight rating (GCWR), whichever is less, before a penalty is assessed for exceeding weight restrictions. A truck hauling farm produce is granted this increased weight limit if the truck complies with several conditions aimed at ensuring public safety. Surrounding states have similar increased weight limits for hauling farm produce. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act transfers the sections pertaining to assessment functions and the New Castle County Board of Assessment Review from the subchapter governing the functions of the Department of Land Use to the subchapter governing the functions of the Department of Administration and updates reference to the Department of Land Use to the Office of Finance in Chapter 83 of Title 9. It changes the New Castle County Board of Assessment Review from 8 members appointed by New Castle County Council and 1 member appointed by the County Executive, with the advice and consent of County Council, to 8 regular members and 3 alternate members appointed by New Castle County Council and 1 regular member appointed by the County Executive, with the advice and consent of County Council. It changes the Sussex County Board of Assessment Review from 5 members to 5 regular members and 3 alternate members. It permits Sussex County Council to provide for the term, residency requirement, compensation, and procedure for filling vacancies. It authorizes the appointment of a representative called a “referee” or a panel of 3 members of the Board to hear assessment appeals. It increases the time period in which the appeal process may take place from one month to three months. In all counties, it removes the requirement that a board of assessment or Department or Office of Finance to show the names of the owners, last owners, or reputed owners, the value of the property, and the amount of each owner’s assessment in their written assessments. In all counties, it clarifies that all property subject to assessment shall be assessed at its fair market value as of the date of the most recent reassessment base year in the county in which the property is located. It removes the requirement in Sussex County that the written assessment must state whether unimproved land is timberland, swamp, or marsh, and the number of acres. It provides the Board of Assessment Review for New Castle County the ability to determine the schedule and manner of hearings necessary to handle its higher volume of appeals in a timely manner and increases the time for the Board to provide appealing parties notice of the hearing from 5 to 10 days. Further, it changes the date that the Board of Assessment for Sussex County or its representatives must hear appeals and make additions, alterations, or corrections to assessments from February 15 through March 1 to March 1 through May 31 of each year or until all appeals have been heard and acted upon during a year of reassessment. It removes the requirement that the Board or representatives must sit in their offices during each secular day to hear such appeals. It provides that duplicate assessments may be in the form of a widely accepted electronic file format. It clarifies that when a board of assessment, Department or Office of Finance makes a supplemental assessment that does not alter, amend, or make a new one, it is treated like a general or annual assessment and the notice provisions required of an altered, amended, or new assessment do not apply. In all counties, it provides that any notices required to be given under Title 9, Chapter 83 may be sent by e-mail when the property owner has provided an electronic mail address for notice purposes. In all counties, it provides that each board of assessment or Department or Office of Finance shall publish notices of the place, and the website if made available electronically, where the annual and supplemental assessment roll may be inspected together with a notice of the time and place of the sittings to hear appeals. It changes the publication requirements for such notices in the case of Kent and Sussex Counties to one time in at least 2 newspapers and in the case of New Castle County to the newspaper with the highest general circulation. It clarifies the method for determining taxation value, frequency of assessments, and assessment rate for mobile homes by providing that Ad Valorem assessments for mobile homes shall be developed in the same manner as real property and be predicated on their market value and taxed at the same rate as real property throughout the county and school district in which the mobile home is located and in the name of the owner. In instances where the land is leased, the land upon which the mobile home is located shall be separately assessed and shall not include the value of the mobile home located thereon. It removes the provision that mobile homes be subject to a tax based on their value as rated in a nationally recognized appraisal guide and that a recognized guide be used to determine the assessed value on mobile homes. It removes the provision that for model homes not appearing in a guide, the board of assessors must contact a reputable mobile home dealer to determine value.

This Act provides that the next of kin of a deceased police officer, member of a fire department, or member of the Delaware National Guard is entitled to a Delaware state flag if the deceased person served in at least 1 qualifying entity for at least 10 years and died in the line of duty or while an active member. This Act is a substitute for and differs from Senate Bill No. 221 in the following ways: - Applies to Delaware state flags only. - Removes language that referenced draping a flag over a casket at the deceased person's funeral service. - Removes auxiliary members of a volunteer fire department or a member of service organization providing volunteer ambulance services from list of individuals who qualify for a flag. - Uses the broader term "law-enforcement officer" and clarifies the definition. - Clarifies that a firefighter may be either paid or volunteer to qualify for a flag. - Names the following entities as responsible for providing flags: the Delaware Volunteer Firefighters Association for firefighters, the Department of Safety and Homeland Security for police officers, and the Delaware National Guard for their members.