Sen. Spiros Mantzavinos

Maddy summaryThis Senate Concurrent Resolution formally congratulates the Class of 2025 Eagle Scouts for achieving the highest rank available in Scouting America. The measure directly affects these young individuals by offering official legislative recognition for their accomplishment. It does not change any laws or policies but serves as a ceremonial acknowledgment of their service and dedication.

This concurrent resolution declares May 21, 2026, as “Communities in Schools of Delaware Day” and calls upon the people of Delaware to become mentors, leaders and supporters in their local schools.

This bill creates a special license plate for Delaware State University to support student access, academic excellence, and university programs that advance the institution’s mission.

This Act requires that effective amounts of folic acid be added to corn masa flour and corn masa which are staples in many minority diets. Under this Act, corn masa flour sold or used in the State must contain folic acid at a level of .7 mg of folic acid per pound of corn masa flour. Wet corn masa product must contain .4 mg of folic acid per pound of end product. These products must include a declaration of folic acid on the nutrition label in accordance with applicable federal law. Minority communities in the United States face a greater risk of neural tube defects (NTDs), which are serious birth defects that occur during early pregnancy. NTDs include spina bifida, characterized by an opening along the spine that can cause mild to severe nerve damage and disability, and anencephaly, a fatal condition where parts of the brain or skull are missing in newborns. Research has shown that daily intake of folic acid can reduce the risk of NTDs by over half. In response, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration mandated folic acid fortification in enriched cereal grain products in 1998, resulting in a 35% reduction in NTD cases. However, this policy did not include corn masa flour, a staple in many minority diets.

This Act amends the Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act (DPDPA), Chapter 12D of Title 6, originally enacted in 2023, to more closely align the DPDPA with similar consumer data protection laws enacted in other states. This Act amends the applicability threshold of the DPDPA to entities who process the personal data of not less than 15,000 consumers, which on a population percentage basis closely aligns to thresholds in Connecticut and New Jersey. This Act amends Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) applicability exemptions, adopting approaches to financial data in similar laws in Connecticut, Montana, and Oregon, by exempting all data regulated by GLBA while limiting entity-level exemptions specifically to banks and insurers and their respective affiliates. This Act introduces contracting and due diligence requirements where businesses sell or disclose personal data to third parties and also harmonizes several DPDPA business requirements and consumer rights with personal data privacy laws in other states. This Act also makes technical changes to existing law to conform to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act is a substitute for HB 379 which includes revisions to the school and district level component section of Chapter 16 to align the code with current State and National guidelines for education. This Act reduces the emphasis on discipline and focuses instead on guidelines to promote a positive learning environment that assists students at risk for or experiencing academic or behavior problems. This Act repeals § 1605A of Title 14 as § 1605 of Title 14 now addresses its contents. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act amends Title 16 to establish statewide standards for levels of neonatal care for facilities that operate neonatal nurseries or neonatal intensive care units. The Act requires facilities to comply with nationally recognized standards for levels of neonatal care established by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), ensuring that newborns receive care in facilities equipped to meet the complexity of their medical needs. Under the Act, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) will designate each facility's level of neonatal care based on compliance with the AAP standards, including staffing, equipment, facility capabilities, and patient protocols. The Act further establishes additional requirements for facilities providing Level IV NICU services which care for the most critically ill and medically complex newborns. DHSS must adopt implementing rules by January 30, 2027, and will seek input from the Delaware Perinatal Quality Collaborative and existing NICU providers in developing these rules.

Current Delaware law provides that a life insurance policy may contain a provision excluding or restricting coverage in the event of death by suicide within 2 years from the date of issue of the policy. This Act reduces the time period to 1 year from the date of issue of the policy. It applies to a policy that is issued after the effective date of the Act. This Act also requires that in the event any death benefit is denied because the insured dies as a result of suicide within 1 year from the date of issue of the policy, the insurer must refund all premiums paid for coverage providing the denied death benefit on the insured. This Act is effective 6 months after its enactment into law.

This Act requires that meetings of the Public Service Commission be livestreamed virtually and requires that members of the public have the opportunity to comment virtually.

This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment to allow the General Assembly to enact laws for the registration of voters without restrictions on the time period in which registration must be closed prior to an election. It also requires the General Assembly to provide by law for means to ensure the accuracy and integrity of voter registration. This Act is in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Albence v. Higgin, 2022 Del. LEXIS 377 (Del. 2022) which found a same-day registration statute to be “incompatible with Section 4 [of Article V of the Constitution]’s registration deadline and its relationship to the appeal and correction process.” Amending the Delaware Constitution requires not only the passing of the changes in this Act, but also passage of the same changes after the next general election by the next General Assembly. House Substitute No. 1 to House Bill No. 88 restores language requiring voters to be registered in order to vote at a general election that was mistakenly struck from the original bill. It also updates the section to conform to technical revisions made by 84 Del. Laws, c. 281 and 85 Del. Laws, c. 5. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the Delaware Constitution.