This Act creates a Prescription Opioid Impact Fund (“Fund”) through a prescription opioid impact fee (“Fee”) that is paid by pharmaceutical manufacturer. The anticipated revenue from the Fee is $2.8 million in 2020, $2.7 million in 2021, and $2.5 million in 2022.: 1. The fee is based on the total of the Morphine Milligram Equivalent (“MME”) in each manufacturer’s products dispensed in Delaware, based upon data already reported to the Prescription Monitoring Program (“PMP”). The PMP data contains the mandatory reports by pharmacists of every prescription opioid dispensed in the State. The PMP data does not include prescription opioids administered in hospitals, provided directly to patients by hospice, or dispensed by veterinarians. 2. The fee is assessed on manufacturers who exceed a threshold of 100,000 MMEs dispensed each quarter. 3. The Fee is calculated at a rate of either 1 penny per MME for a name brand prescription opioid dispensed and reported in the PMP or ¼ of a penny per MME for a prescription opioid that is a generic. The Act also provides that Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services, after receiving recommendations from the Behavioral Health Consortium, the Addiction Action Committee, and the Overdose System of Care Committee, will award grants and contracts from the money in the Fund for the following activities: 1. Opioid addiction prevention. 2. Opioid addiction services, including the following: 3. Inpatient and outpatient treatment programs and facilities, including short-term and long-term residential treatment programs and sober living facilities. 4. Treating substance use disorder for the under-insured and uninsured. 5. Emergency assistance relating to prescription opioids, including purchasing Naloxone. 6. Administrative costs of implementing the Fee and Fund, up to 15% of the amount in the Fund. Finally, this Act expires in 5 years, unless terminated sooner or extended by the General Assembly, so that the Fee is only continued if it is effective and is not creating negative unintended consequences.
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This concurrent resolution establishes a Task Force to investigate the cost of special education to include recommending strategies to improve cost efficiencies and outcomes for special education.
The use of genetic information in disqualifying coverage for non-health insurance products is a gap in the protection provided by the federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. As a result, patients who seek genetic counseling to determine whether they may be at risk for certain diseases, such as genetic testing for the BRCA gene to determine predisposition for breast and prostate cancers, are cautioned that a positive result could result in the person being denied insurance. The potential denial of insurance has a chilling effect on patients seeking genetic testing, blocking them from being proactive by putting in place a preventative care plan that would reduce the likelihood of them getting the specific disease in the future. This Act follows the lead of other states and prohibits discrimination based upon genetic information in the issuance or renewal of disability, long-term care, and life insurance by doing the following: 1. Clearly explains what constitutes discrimination under this Act. 2. Allows the results of genetic information approved by the Insurance Commissioner to be used for disability or long-term care insurance in a manner that is reasonably related to anticipated claims experience. 3. Prohibits sharing the results of direct-to-consumer genetic tests with insurers. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act fully exempts property taxes for disabled veterans with a 100% VA rated service-connected, permanent and total disability or disabled veterans who are receiving 100% disability compensation due to individual unemployability. The 100% rating and disability compensation is determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The disabled veteran must be legally domiciled in the State for 3 consecutive years and own and occupy the real property as his or her primary place of residence to qualify for the exemption. This exemption only applies to the county portion of property taxes and not school taxes.
In a case of first impression, the Superior Court ruled, contrary to "common knowledge" of Delaware Criminal laws, that criminal impersonation requires proof that a real person (a human being who has been born and is alive) has been impersonated; in other words, one cannot impersonate a fictitious person. Evans v. State, Del. Super., April 30, 2019. This Act provides that criminal impersonation occurs when one impersonates a real or fictitious person.
This bill places restrictions on the placement of clothing bins. The bill requires a person who places a clothing bin on a property, or has an existing clothing bin on a property, to obtain a permit from the Department of Health and Social Services. The bill also imposes civil penalties on those that violate any provision of this Act and allows for seizure of any violator’s clothing bin at its expense, with an appeal process in the Justice of the Peace Court.
This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment to establish the right to hunt and fish in Delaware. Twenty-one other states have preserved the rights of their citizens to hunt, fish, or trap wildlife. This Act is modeled after the constitutional provisions of Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee. This Act specifically acknowledges Delaware’s valued, natural heritage of hunting, fishing, and trapping, and declares hunting, fishing, and trapping as the preferred methods of managing and controlling wildlife in this State. This Act may not be applied to do any of the following: 1. Affect rights to divert, appropriate, or use water, or to establish a minimum amount of water in any water body. 2. Lead to a diminution or abrogation of a public or private right or of the State’s power to regulate commercial activities. 3. Prevent the suspension or revocation, under a law enacted by the General Assembly, of an individual’s hunting, fishing, or trapping license. 4. Alter a burden of proof requirement otherwise established by law for a challenge to a law or regulation pertaining to hunting, fishing, or trapping the wildlife of this State.
This Act authorizes the Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the Department, or General Assembly, including a House, joint committee, committee, or member of the General Assembly, to request, and requires the Auditor of Accounts conduct or contract for, an audit of a charter school's business and financial transactions, records, and accounts in certain circumstances. In addition, this Act makes clear that the Auditor of Accounts may not charge for an audit conducted or contracted for under this Act.
At this time, blood lead level screening and testing rates are well below what the Division of Public Health would expect them to be based upon the risk factors that determine when screening or testing is necessary. This bill simplifies the requirements and the process for healthcare providers and eliminates confusion that may be causing the low compliance rate for screening or testing, and defines terms used in the Act. This bill mandates screening, defined as capillary blood test, at 12 and 24 months of age. The bill clarifies insurance coverage for the costs of compliance with the Act. The Division of Public Health is also directed to report on elevated blood lead levels to the General Assembly annually and to develop regulations to implement and enforce the Act within 12 months of being enacted.
This Act establishes that State government offices are to close when a National Day of Mourning is declared due to the death of a current or former President.