In 2006, Delaware enacted “Jessica’s Law,” which requires first time offenders convicted of a specified sexual offense against a child under 14 years of age and individuals previously convicted of a Class A or B sexual offense in Title 11 and subsequently convicted of a specified sexual offense sentences be sentenced to at least 25 years in prison, up to life. The specified sexual offenses in “Jessica’s Law” are Rape in the Third Degree (where the defendant engages in sexual penetration with the victim without the victim’s consent or with a victim who is under 16 years of age and causes physical injury or serious mental or emotional injury); Rape in the Second Degree; Rape in the First Degree; Dangerous Crime Against a Child; Sexual Offender Unlawful Sexual Conduct Against a Child; and Sexual Abuse of a Child by a Person in a Position of Trust, Authority, or Supervision in the First Degree (where the defendant engages in sexual penetration or sexual intercourse with a child under 16 years of age). Data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Nation Incident-Based Reporting System indicates that 1 of every 7 victims of sexual assaults is under the age of 6. This Act updates “Jessica’s Law,” enhancing penalties for especially vulnerable victims, as follows: (1) Requiring that an individual convicted of one of the specified offenses in “Jessica’s Law” be sentenced to an additional 5 years in prison if the victim is a child under the age of 7. (2) Requiring that an individual convicted of Unlawful Sexual Contact in the First Degree (involving a child under the age of 13) or Kidnapping in the Second Degree (for the purpose of violating or abusing the victim sexually) be sentenced to at least 5 years in jail if the victim is a child under the age of 7. (3) Requiring that an individual convicted of Kidnapping in the First Degree (for the purpose of violating or abusing the victim sexually) be sentenced to at least 10 years in jail if the victim is a child under the age of 7. Additionally, this Act requires the Superior Court to impose these sentences upon the application of the State.
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This Act provides supplementary appropriations to certain Grants-in-Aid for Fiscal Year 2019. Section 1 – Government Units and Senior Center $24,685,721 Section 2 – One-Times and Community Agencies $20,386,744 Section 3 – Fire Companies $6,760,542 Section 4 – Veterans Organizations $312,631 GRAND TOTAL $52,145,638
This Resolution honors Secretary of the Senate Bernard J. Brady by declaring June 30 to be “Bernard J. Brady Day in the Delaware State Senate.” It further thanks him for his 39 years of unequalled service to the Delaware State Senate.
This resolution recognizes June 30, 2018 as "Staff Appreciation Day" in the Delaware State Senate.
This legislation requires that all full-time employees of the State, including employees of school districts, continuously in the employ of the state for at least one year, shall be eligible for 12 weeks of paid leave upon the birth or adoption of a child 6 years of age or younger. Both parents would be eligible for such leave. Employees shall continue to have the right, as they do under current law, to use accrued sick leave for maternity and paternity purposes. This legislation leaves intact the rights of persons adopting a child over 6 years of age to take unpaid leave. Due to lack of adequate paid family leave policies, many parents must return to work sooner than is optimal for the health of mothers (in the case of biological birth) and children. Granting paid leave will contribute to the establishment of parent-child bonds, breastfeeding establishment, and allow infants to receive vaccines and develop stronger immune systems prior to entering daycare. Further, a more generous leave policy will increase the productivity of workers and reduce employee turnover. This Act takes effect January 1, 2019. The Office of Management and Budget is directed to establish guidelines for the implementation of this Act.
This Act requires that health insurance offered in this State provide coverage for fertility care services, including in vitro fertilization ("IVF") procedures, for individuals who suffer from a disease or condition that results in the inability to procreate or to carry a pregnancy to a live birth. This Act also requires that health insurance offered in this State provide coverage for fertility preservation for individuals diagnosed with cancer and other diseases, when medically necessary treatment could adversely affect their fertility. Like all other diseases, infertility should be covered by insurance. According to the National Infertility Association, RESOLVE, infertility affects 1 in 8 couples and 3 in 4 never obtain needed treatment, often because they cannot afford it. Everyone deserves the right to procreate and to try to build a family. Right now, many Delaware families diagnosed with infertility fall into a “coverage gap” and pay out-of-pocket for fertility care services. Only certain employers provide any fertility care coverage in Delaware and what they do provide is often very limited. Families generally must pay high co-pays or adhere to service restrictions and lifetime dollar caps that strictly limit their treatment options, and thus make it unaffordable for many of them to proceed without risking their financial security or without achieving a successful pregnancy. For example, 1 IVF cycle can cost between $15,000 and $25,000 and, on average, it takes 2 to 3 cycles to achieve pregnancy. Additionally, highly inflated managed care pharmacy prices for IVF medications, where families with coverage can pay as much as 100% more for medications compared to prices charged to self-pay families, often contribute to 25-50% or more of total IVF costs, which can quickly drain lifetime caps and severely limit overall IVF care options. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 15 states currently have laws regarding insurance coverage for infertility diagnosis or treatment, including 2 states that border Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. This puts the State at a significant competitive disadvantage, as many reproductive age residents intentionally change employers and leave Delaware to gain more attractive fertility care benefits. It is also well-documented that individuals who self-pay for an IVF procedure, or have limited benefits, often demand that 2 or more embryos be transferred to their uterus. This greatly increases the risk of multiple births and is a dangerous and costly approach for heavily burdened health care resources, and can be completely avoided with greater access to covered fertility care services. Studies show that states with insurance coverage have a lower rate of multiple births because fewer embryos are transferred. This Act requires insurers to cover fertility care services based on the current standard of care for IVF treatments to achieve pregnancy success rates for singleton births at the lowest possible costs. This will greatly reduce the risk of multiple births and greatly reduce hospital and health care costs, thus saving employers money. Several recent studies have found that the cost of perinatal and neonatal care for twins is about $100,000, whereas singleton pregnancies cost about $13,000. Triplet pregnancies can cost $400,000 or more. For every 100 pregnancies from IVF that are singletons but could have been twins, about $8.7 million dollars is saved, on top of reduced pain and suffering for parents and premature babies. This Act would significantly reduce this high financial and societal burden by promoting IVF technologies that use single-embryo transfers. This Act could increase the number of persons treated for infertility, but also increase the number of babies born in Delaware by 2-300 per year, thus increasing the state’s birth rate by 1-2% and providing a boost to the local economy, while also decreasing health care costs.
This Substitute Act implements certain recommendations adopted by the Lottery & Gaming Study Commission in 2015 and the Video Lottery Advisory Council in 2017, in recognition of significant changes in the regional gaming marketplace and the State’s desire to remain competitive in the face of a proliferation of gaming venues in neighboring states. This Substitute Act adjusts the revenue sharing model in a way that ensures that the State continues to benefit from video lottery proceeds, ensures continued employment and horse racing at the State’s three video lottery facilities, and ensures that the video lottery agents will be able to reinvest capital in their facilities, market their facilities, and maintain their high standards of customer service. Effective July 1, 2018, this Substitute Act does all of the following: 1. Reduces the State’s share of gross table game revenues from 29.4% to 15.5%. 2. Suspends the table game license fee due June 1, 2019, and continues to suspend the fee in subsequent fiscal years if each agent increases expenditures on marketing, wages, and benefits by its pro rata share of the license fee. 3. Increases purses for horsemen by 0.6%, phased-in over two years. 4. Reduces the State’s share of gross slot machine revenues from 43.5% to 41.5% or 42.5% to 40.5%, as applicable, with additional reductions of 2% possible for each video lottery agent starting with the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019, based on qualified capital expenditures reaching 3% of video lottery net proceeds. The Substitute Act also removes the prohibition against video lottery agents operating on Christmas or Easter. The Substitute Act differs from the Act with respect to the increases in purses for horsemen, a revised basis upon which to calculate the State’s share of gross slot machine and table games revenues, and requirements for video lottery agents to increase capital expenditures, marketing, wages, and benefits to continue the suspension of table game license fees and receive additional reductions in the State’s share of video lottery net proceeds. Sections 2, 5, and 6 of this Substitute Act are drafted to amend the law in effect at the time the changes are to take effect.
This Act permits private sector labor organizations and employers to enter into union security agreements to the full extent allowed under federal law.
This resolution recognizes the University of Delaware on its 275- year history.
The Public Service Commission’s (“PSC”) authority over public utilities has been changed by recent decisions by the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) and legislation enacted in Delaware. This Act changes the statutory requirements for PSC public utilities to remove requirements that are no longer consistent with the FCC decisions and revised State laws but impose unnecessary burdens and costs on utilities and administrative costs to the PSC. This Act also removes an unnecessary administrative requirement regarding motor vehicle dealers. The specific changes are as follows: Section 1. Removes the requirement in § 4915 of Title 6 that an annual assessment be sent to motor vehicle dealers so that the PSC has the flexibility to send an annual assessment and notification to motor vehicle dealers only when the annual assessment is necessary to cover actual administrative costs. Current law requires that the annual assessment be sent even when the actual cost of administering this chapter is zero or de minimis. The PSC has had only 2 cases in the past 6 years and both were settled without significant cost. Section 2. Revises an internal reference to reflect a subsection redesignated by this Act. Section 3, Section 5, Sections 6 through 8. Amend §§ 215, 704, 705, 706, and 707 of Title 26 so that PSC approval is not needed for telecommunication filings for mergers, transfers of control, securities issuance, and financings. The telecommunications industry has continued to evolve and provide competitive services in Delaware. The FCC exercises regulatory authority over telecommunication service providers and recent statutory changes eliminated the PSC’s authority to regulate telecommunication customer service. Thus, applications for merger or transfer of control are typically permitted after there has been no PSC action within the required 30 day period. This section eliminates an unnecessary regulatory requirement and loses little oversight of competitive telecommunication service providers. Section 4. Eliminates PSC authority to regulate “rates changed” for basic cable services. On September 9, 2015, the FCC issued new rules declaring basic cable service to be competitive in all areas because fiber and satellite services offer a competitive alternative. To retain rate regulatory authority, states must petition the FCC showing a lack of competitive alternatives with their boundaries and Delaware has not filed a petition to do so. This change codifies the impact of that FCC ruling on PSC authority. Section 8. Amends § 707 of Title 26 to eliminate the annual rate filing by telecommunication providers. In 2013, HB 96 redefined basic service in Delaware to include an individual access line and residential local usage at a location where there is no alternative provider of telephone service available and switched access services. This revised definition eliminated all basic service in Delaware and the need for a telecommunication provider to file applications for rate changes, which had been calculated using the Gross Domestic Product Price Inflation Index. Under federal law, carriers are prohibited from increasing intrastate switched access rates, so there is no need for a State filing regarding a calculation related to switched access services. Thus, this change eliminates unnecessary regulatory filings. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.