Delaware Legislative Update 6.27.23

Posted about 2 years ago by Susan Conaty-Buck

Dear DCNP Members

It is the last week of the Delaware Legislative session and as always a busy time. Below are some bills currently in debate (or withdrawn) of interest to NPs, NP Practice Owners and Registered Nurses. Bill with Red headings are NP or NP Practice Related, Bills with Green headings are RN related and those with Black headings are some of the bills related to healthcare in general. Please contact your Representative or Senator as you feel appropriate.

This information will be shifting constantly this week so if you are interested in more information check out https://legis.delaware.gov/ to track legislation or sign up to testify at a House or Senate Committee meeting.

Thanks for your advocacy efforts this session.

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AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO HEALTH RECORDS.

This bill has passed in the House and Senate and to the Governor for signing.

Original Synopsis: This Act establishes requirements for the handling of treatment records for all of the following health-care providers under Title 24: 1. Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (certified nurse practitioners), Chapter 19. 2. Licensees under the Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Chapter 30: mental health professional counselors and associate counselors, chemical dependency professionals, marriage and family therapists, professional art therapists. 3. Psychologists, Chapter 35. 4. Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Chapter 39. Under current law, a patient or client does not have a right or clear procedure by which to obtain a copy of their record when one of these practitioners closes a practice, dies, terminates a patient relationship, or is incapacitated. The requirements established under this Act are modeled on the patient record requirements and procedures for physicians and correspond with the changes that would be enacted under House Bill No. 105 (152nd). These requirements and procedures also apply when a patient or client requests copies of their records. Under existing law, the governing boards established under these chapters have authority to promulgate regulations, if necessary, to address intersections between the requirements under this Act and professional codes of ethics. Sections 5 through 8 of this Act make technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual and corrects the spelling of the word “health-care” to be consistent throughout these chapters.

DE HB 227 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 16 AND 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LEAD POISONING PREVENTION.

The original bill: This Act makes various amendments to the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act to improve compliance with its testing and reporting requirements. First, this Act requires physicians to take a training program every 2 years relating to the provisions of the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act. Second, it requires the Division of Public Health to develop electronic forms to be used at a child’s 12 and 24 month well visit that record lead screening results and are shared with the Division. Third, it clarifies that laboratories and health care professionals involved in blood lead level analysis must report results to the the Division of Public Health. Finally, it requires the Division of Public Health to share data with school nurses relating to whether an enrolled student has been screened for lead poisoning.

The most recent amended bill: To better identify those communities in which lead screening numbers are low and to increase community awareness and engagement, this Amendment clarifies that primary health-care providers must report results to the Division of Public Health for every instance of screening, in addition to the 12 and 24 months scheduled screenings. Along with the results, the forms must contain the provider's information and the date of screening. It further requires all school districts and charter schools to report the number of students enrolled in kindergarten who have not provided proof of screening, or a certificate signed by a parent stating that screening is contrary to the parent's religious beliefs.

Finally, this Amendment removes Sections 3 and 4 from the bill that requires health-care providers to complete a training program every 2 years on their obligations under Chapter 26, the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act. This Amendment also clarifies that a record of proof of screening shall be kept in each student's school health record.

HB136 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PERSONAL INCOME TAX. Preceptor Tax Credit

Will not move forward - will provide more information about this as soon as possible. Thank you to those who wrote to your legislators about this.

Original Synopsis:

While the exact number of nurse vacancies in Delaware fluctuates, healthcare providers agree that the current shortage is unsustainable. Nursing shortages lead to error, higher morbidity, and mortality rates. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) outlines a number of contributing factors impacting the current national nursing shortage. One was a lack of nursing school faculty - including the preceptors that provide supervision and instruction for clinical practice. Since Delaware’s nursing education programs must require clinical learning experiences provided by these preceptors, nursing students have difficulty completing the required coursework necessary for degree and licensure. Section 1. This bill provides a nonrefundable tax credit of up to $1,000 and up to $5,000 for individual qualifying preceptors and clinical preceptors. Section 2. This Act shall be effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2024.

HB140 End of Life Options: Scheduled for DE House Vote 6/29/23

This Act permits a terminally ill individual who is an adult resident of Delaware to request and self-administer medication to end the individual's life in a humane and dignified manner if both the individual's attending physician or attending advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) and a consulting physician or consulting APRN agree on the individual's diagnosis and prognosis and believe the individual has decision-making capacity, is making an informed decision, and is acting voluntarily. This Act uses terms and definitions that are consistent with other Delaware laws in Title 16, specifically Chapter 25 (regarding advance health-care directives) and Chapter 25A (regarding Delaware Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment). This Act provides the following procedural safeguards: 1. No one may request medication to end life on behalf of another individual. 2. An individual cannot qualify for medication to end life under this chapter solely because of the individual's age or disability. A mental illness or mental health condition is not a qualifying condition under this Act and a mental illness or mental health condition may be the reason that an individual does not have decision-making capacity and is thus, ineligible for medication to end their life in a humane and dignified manner. 3. Both the individual's attending physician or attending APRN and a consulting physician or consulting APRN must confirm that the individual has a terminal illness and a prognosis of 6 months or less to live, has decision-making capacity, is making an informed decision, and is acting voluntarily. 4. The individual's attending physician or attending APRN must also provide specific disclosures to the individual to ensure that the individual is making an informed decision, including the presentation of all end of life options which include comfort care, palliative care, hospice care, and pain control. 5. The individual must be evaluated by a psychiatrist or a psychologist if either the attending or consulting physicians or APRNs are concerned that the individual lacks decision-making capacity. 6. The individual must complete a witnessed form requesting medication to end life and there are limitations on who can witness the signing of the form. 7. The attending physician or attending APRN must offer the individual the opportunity to rescind the request for medication to end life before writing a prescription for the medication. 8. Two waiting periods must pass before the attending physician or attending APRN may prescribe the medication to end life. 9. The attending physician or attending APRN must provide the qualified patient with instructions about the proper safe-keeping and disposal of unused medication to end life in a humane and dignified manner under applicable state or federal guidelines. The United States Food and Drug Administration guidelines include using a medication collection site or a medication disposal pouch, that deactivates and renders drugs ineffective. 10. An insurer or health-care provider may not deny or alter health-care benefits otherwise available to an individual based upon the availability of medication to end life or otherwise coerce or require a request for medication to end life as a condition of receiving care. 11. A health-care institution may prohibit a physician or APRN from prescribing medication under this Act on the health-care institution's premises and a physician or APRN may to refuse to prescribe medication under this Act. 12. A request or prescription for or the dispensing of medication under this Act does not constitute elder abuse, suicide, assisted-suicide, homicide, or euthanasia. 13. People acting in good faith and in accordance with generally accepted health-care standards under this Act have immunity, but those acting with negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct do not have criminal or civil immunity. 14. The Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) must develop rules and regulations to collect information regarding compliance with this Act and require health-care providers to file a report when medication to end life in a humane and dignified manner is prescribed or dispensed. DHSS may review samples of records maintained under this Act. The information DHSS collects must include the information necessary to assess a physician's or APRN's compliance with their responsibilities under this Act and DHSS has explicit authority to share information with the Division of Professional Regulation if DHSS suspects that a health-care provider failed to comply with the requirements under this Act. 15. DHSS must complete an annual statistical report of information collected under this Act, similar to public reports available in other states such as New Jersey where this end of life option is available. This report has the following purposes: • To assist the DHSS in its oversight responsibilities for this Act. • To assist the public in learning how well this new law is operating. 16. The Department of State may also promulgate regulations or develop forms and protocols necessary under this Act. 17. Allows the Office of Controlled Substances to provide reports of data in the prescription monitoring program to DHSS to assess compliance with this Act. This Act takes effect when final regulations required under this Act have been promulgated or July 1, 2024, whichever occurs earlier. This Act is known as "The Ron Silverio/Heather Block End of Life Options Law" in memory of Ron Silverio and Heather Block, who were passionate advocates that passed away without this option becoming available to them.

HB 243 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 16, 24, AND 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES.
This Act expands the qualifications for the Director of the Division of Public health to include non-physician professionals. It also allows for the Director to appoint a physician or advanced practice registered nurse in certain instances where that level of medical expertise is required to fulfill duties assigned to the Director.

HB 108 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DRIVER’S LICENSES. Did not go forward in Committee. No response from Sponsor r/t why held but investigating this.

Original Synopsis: This Act does all of the following: (1) Allows for all licensed independent practitioners that are treating a driver for a medical condition to report findings which allows for Nurse Practitioner, Physician Assistant, or Physician to sign Division paperwork and mirrors verbiage found in Title 13; (2) Updates the name of Medical Council to Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline which ensures compliance with code in handling of individual cases; and (3) Changes the Secretary of Health and Social Services to Secretary of Transportation for determining the status of driver’s license for individuals with a potential medical condition which allows for quicker response and ensures the confidentiality of a driver.

HB 60 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 18, 29, AND 31 RELATING TO BREAST CANCER SCREENING AND DIAGNOSTIC PROCEDURES. Sent to Governor for signature.

Original Synopsis: To prevent Delawareans from facing exorbitant costs for potentially life-saving screenings and follow-up tests, and to allow providers to use clinical judgement in the use of breast cancer examination tools based on established national standards, this Act requires that all insurance policies issued or renewed in this State include coverage of supplemental and diagnostic breast examinations on terms that are at least as favorable as the coverage of annual screening mammograms. The Act covers all group, blanket, and individual health insurance policies (except specified accident, specified disease, hospital indemnity, Medicare supplement, long-term care or other limited benefit health insurance policies) as well as the State employee healthcare plan and Medicaid. This substitute bill differs from the original bill in that it makes technical corrections, excludes certain health, and adds to the definition of breast MRI.

HB242 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO HOSPITAL VISITATION POLICY.

This act shall be known as "The No Patient Left Alone Act." It is intended to mitigate unintended negative impacts on patients and their families during a State of Emergency, pandemic, or infectious disease outbreak. This act would require hospitals to allow limited in-person visitation with patients, within designated parameters and limitations in the act.
Hospitals would be able to: restrict the number of visitors a patient could receive daily; require visitors to undergo and pass a specified health screening; and use personal protective equipment while visiting. Hospitals must make personal protective equipment required available for visitors for purchase. Entry could be denied to visitors not complying with the requirements, that failed their health screenings, or who were found to have a communicable disease.
Attending physicians would retain the authority to deny in-person visitation if they deemed their patients would be at risk for contracting an infectious disease or if they believed visitation posed a serious community health risk. Such determinations would be valid for up to seven days and subject to renewal.
Hospitals could deny visitation if a federal order, law, or regulation required it.
If a prospective hospital visitor were denied in-person visitation with a patient, the hospital would be required, to its best efforts, to develop alternate visitation protocols that would allow visitation to the greatest extent safely possible. This could include, but not be limited to, streaming audio and video.
Hospitals could not prohibit in-person visitation by a religious counselor to a seriously ill or dying patient, providing that the counselor complied with all visitation mandates established pursuant to this act. A visit by a religious counselor would not be counted against any daily visitation limit set by the hospital.
The Department of Health and Social Services would be responsible for overseeing the implementation, operation, and enforcement of this act.
Hospitals could be subject to fines for violating the terms of this act, providing the violations continue after the hospitals have been informed of the need to take corrective action.
This section does not create a civil cause of action against a hospital or physician.
This measure would become effective 180 days after its enactment.\

Note: This bill has received a great deal of criticism because it mandates internal hospital practices and increases the workload of nurses who would have police visitors but if does go through, an amended adding APRNs to those able restrict visitors has been prepared.

SB 165 w/ SA 1, SA 2 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PHARMACY.

Original Synopsis: This Act amends Chapter 25, Title 24 of the Delaware Code relating to the Practice of Pharmacy. The amendments authorize pharmacists to engage in “collaborative pharmacy practice” with one or more “practitioners” meaning individuals who are authorized by law to prescribe drugs in the course of professional practice. Pharmacists may also do so pursuant to a “collaborative pharmacy practice agreement,” which means a written and signed agreement between one or more pharmacists and one or more practitioners that provides for a collaborative pharmacy practice.

House Bill 230 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 10, 13, 24, AND 31 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO GENDER-AFFIRMING HEALTH CARE.

This bill is not anticipated to go further this session due to time constraints but anticipated to return next session

Original Synopsis:

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 gender-affirming health care. In summary, this Act does the following: (1) Clarifies that medical professionals who provide gender-affirming health 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 gender-affirming health care without the patient’s authorization, with some exceptions; (3) Protects health care providers from out-of-state civil actions relating to gender-affirming health care 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 recuperation of out-of-state judgments relating to gender-affirming services that are lawful in Delaware; and (5) Prohibits insurance companies from taking any adverse action against health care professionals who provide gender-affirming health care services. This Act further gives jurisdiction to the Family Courts to determine custody disputes when a child is in the State to receive gender-affirming health care, and the provision of gender-affirming health-care is at issue in the custody dispute. It also prohibits the state from enforcing an out-of-state court order that removes a child from a parent because the parent allows the child to receive gender-affirming health care

SB167 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS INVOLVING FIRST RESPONDERS, CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES, OR THEIR FAMILIES.

This Act establishes a wellness program designed to improve the well-being of first responders and first responders’ immediate family members, as well as civilian employees of police, fire, and emergency medical services agencies and their immediate family members, through the provision of wellness program services by trained peer support members. Wellness program services may include counseling, spiritual guidance, and education about financial resources, health resources, legal assistance, and stress management services.
This Act extends the confidentiality privileges to include communications made by a first responder, the first responder’s immediate family member, a civilian employee, or a civilian employee’s immediate family member, to a trained peer support member providing wellness program services though a state, county, or municipal law-enforcement, fire, or emergency medical agency’s wellness program.
This Act adds chaplains to definition of “first responders”. This Act defines “civilian employee”.
This Act updates the definitions section to account for the creation of the wellness program.
This Act also revises the confidentiality exception in § 4319(d)(4) of Title 10. In current Code, the exception applies in certain instances where the first offender uses critical incident stress management (CISM) services to commit or attempt to commit “a crime or fraud or mental or physical injury to the first responder who received critical incident stress management services or another individual”. This Act replaces the quoted phrase with “‘crime’, as defined under § 233 of Title 11, or fraud.”
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. The technical changes include combining the privileges to refuse to disclose any matter and refuse to produce any object or record that are covered in § 4319(b) and (c) of Title 11 in current Code into a single subsection, § 4319(b) of Title 10. This Act updates subsection (c) so that it only contains 1 subject: that the privileges in subsection (b) only apply if the proceedings, communications, or records, including information, are obtained during the provision of critical incident stress management (CISM) services or wellness program services.

HB 80 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 31 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO COVERAGE OF DOULA SERVICES.

Original Synopsis: This Act requires that doula services be covered by Medicaid in Delaware by January 1, 2024. It follows up on HB 343 from the 151st General Assembly which required the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance to submit a plan for implementing this coverage, and draws on that completed report.

DE HB 183 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ENDANGERING THE WELFARE OF A CHILD. -- (Hearing: Judiciary | Jun 28, 2023 12:00 PM, Senate Hearing Room, On the agenda)

This Act revises the existing crime of endangering the welfare of a child by providing or permitting a child to consume or inhale unprescribed controlled substances in the following ways:
1. Prohibits a person from intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly making controlled substances or prescription drugs available to a child through exposure, consumption, or inhalation.
2. Creates new penalties for endangering the welfare of a child through exposure, consumption, or inhalation of drugs.
This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 28 of Article IV of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to expand the scope of an existing crime within the jurisdiction of the Court of Common Pleas, Family Court, or Justice of the Peace Court.

SB160 (sec 67) Nursing Workforce Data Center (part of the state Bond Bill). No set date for vote but must be completed by end of session.

A BOND AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ACT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE AND CERTAIN OF ITS AUTHORITIES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2024; AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS OF THE STATE; APPROPRIATING FUNDS FROM THE TRANSPORTATION TRUST FUND; AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF REVENUE BONDS OF THE DELAWARE TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY; APPROPRIATING SPECIAL FUNDS OF THE DELAWARE TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY; APPROPRIATING GENERAL FUNDS OF THE STATE; REPROGRAMMING CERTAIN FUNDS OF THE STATE; SPECIFYING CERTAIN PROCEDURES, CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS FOR THE EXPENDITURE OF SUCH FUNDS; AND AMENDING CERTAIN STATUTORY PROVISIONS.AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR NURSING PROFESSIONALS.

If passed this Act will include development of a Nurse Workforce Center.

SB123 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PATIENT ABUSE.

Original Synopsis: This Act provides that any adult day care facility required to be licensed under Chapter 1 of Title 16 is subject to the existing reporting obligations for facilities under Subchapter III of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Delaware Code. This impacts all nurses who are mandatory reporters of abuse.

HB223 CE for Nursing Professionals AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR NURSING PROFESSIONALS.

Original Synopsis: This Act amends the continuing education requirements for nursing professionals, mandating that all nursing professionals receive at least one hour of continuing education in each reporting period on the recognition of sexual or physical abuse, exploitation, or domestic violence of vulnerable populations, or on the reporting obligations under the rules and regulations of the Board of Nursing. The Act removes the requirement for nursing professionals who work in adult gerontology to complete continuing education on the topic of diagnosis, treatment, and care of patients with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias.

SS 2 for SB 8 w/ SA 1AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MEDICAL DEBT. Synopsis:

This Act is the second substitute for Senate Bill No. 8. Like Senate Bill No. 8 and its first substitute, this Act protects patients from unfair debt collection practices for medical debt, including prohibiting large health care facilities from charging interest and late fees, requiring facilities to offer reasonable payment plans, limiting the sale of debt to debt collectors unless an agreement is made to keep protections in place, providing minimum time before certain collections actions may be taken, limiting liability for the medical debt of others, and preventing the reporting of medical debt to consumer credit reporting agencies for at least one year after the debt was incurred. Violations of the provisions of this Act are considered Prohibited Trade Practices and Consumer Fraud violations. Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill No. 8 differed from Senate Bill No. 8 as it required large health-care facilities to provide information to uninsured patients regarding eligibility and the application process for medical assistance. This information must be provided at the time of service or prior to discharge and again with each billing statement. It also created a minimum threshold for eligibility for payment plans, and it reduced the timeframe in which a bill under a payment plan may be first due. The first substitute also defined “medical assistance” and “time of service,” which were not defined in Senate Bill No. 8. This Substitute differs from Senate Substitute 1 in that it changes which medical providers are subject to this Act; it increases the threshold of outstanding debt that requires a payment plan to be offered to patients; it extends the amount of time allowed to provide the medical assistance notice; it refines the definition of medical assistance; it removes examples of companies that are currently credit reporting agencies; it removes a requirement that medical assistance information be printed in any patient’s primary language; it adds a requirement that providers make oral interpretation services available to patients for anything provided under this chapter; it clarifies that the Division of Child Support Services nor anyone filing a child support action is a medical debt collector; it clarifies that anything charged to a credit card is not medical debt; it removes the minimum time before the first payment under a payment plan is due. It also adds Section 2 making this effective 6 months after enactment.

NP Practices would be subject to this law but the provides a threshold of $20,000,000. 10) “Large health care facility” means any of the following entities:

Any hospital licensed under Chapter 10 of this title, whether a nonprofit subject to 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3), a not-for-profit entity, or a for-profit entity.
Any outpatient clinic or facility affiliated with a hospital or operating under the license of a hospital as defined in Chapter 10 of this title.
Any ambulatory or surgical center.
Any practice which provides outpatient medical, surgical, behavioral, optical, radiology, laboratory, dental, or other health care services with revenues of at least $20,000,000 annually.
Any licensed health care professional who provides health care services in one or more of the settings listed in paragraphs (10)a.-d. of this section.

SB167 : AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS INVOLVING FIRST RESPONDERS, CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES, OR THEIR FAMILIES.

SB 185 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CONTINUING EDUCATION.

Original Synopsis: This Act extends the date that the requirements created by Senate Bill 283 in the 151st become effective to allow the Division of Professional Regulation more time to implement these requirements. An Amendment clarifies the date for when the Act applies to doctors’ licenses and changes the date for when the Act applies to nurses’ licenses.

- DE HB 114 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 16 AND 25 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO RECOVERY HOUSING.

Substance use disorder constitutes a severe threat to the health and welfare of the citizens of Delaware. Recovery residences address the needs of individuals in recovery from substance use disorder by providing a safe and healthy living environment and a community of supportive recovering peers to which residents are accountable. Recovery residences support the recovery of individuals with substance use disorder and help prevent relapse, criminal justice system involvement, and overdose. Ensuring the certification of recovery residences according to nationally recognized evidence-based standards protects residents and communities from the harm caused by poorly managed or fraudulent recovery residences.
This Act institutes a voluntary certification process for recovery residences under standards and procedures that uphold evidence-based best practices and support a safe, healthy, and effective recovery environment. This Act establishes residents' rights of a recovery residence and protects residents against unreasonable and unfair practices in setting and collecting fees and other residence payments. This Act provides training and technical assistance for recovery residence operators and staff. This Act enables the data collection needed to study the effectiveness of Delaware’s recovery residences. This Act also excludes a certified recovery house admission agreement from the provisions of the Landlord-Tenant Code.

- DE HB 151 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROTECTION FROM

DE HB 154 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PERSONAL DATA PRIVACY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION. -- (Hearing: Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology

This bill creates the Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act. The Act delineates a consumer’s personal data rights and provides that residents of this State will have the right to know what information is being collected about them, see the information, correct any inaccuracies, or request deletion of their personal data that is being maintained by entities or people.
This Act is modeled after existing frameworks for data privacy in other jurisdictions. This Act will apply to entities that conduct business in the State of Delaware who controlled or processed the personal data of not less than 35,000 consumers or controlled or processed the personal data of not less than 10,000 consumers and derived more than 20 percent of their gross revenue from the sale of personal data.
This Act requires Delaware Department of Justice to engage in public outreach to educate consumers and the business community about the Act beginning at least 6 months prior to the effective date of the Act.

- DE HB 193 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 14 AND 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CONCUSSION PROTECTION IN YOUTH ATHLETIC ACTIVITES.

In 2016, the General Assembly passed HB 404, the Concussion Protection in Youth Athletic Activities Act (CPYAAA). This Act clarifies the requirements of CPYAAA and enables the Division of Public Health, in consultation with the State Council for Persons with Disabilities, to promulgate regulations to broadly implement the Act. This Amendment adds the requirement for non-scholastic athletic activity organizations to develop policies and procedures for advising athletes, coaches, officials, parents, and guardians of the signs and symptoms of concussion and explaining the risk of continuing to practice or compete in athletic events or activities after sustaining a concussion, as well as providing information about returning to academic and athletic events or activities after sustaining a concussion. APRNs will be able to sign for students to return to play.

SB 80 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO IMMIGRATION STATUS REQUIREMENTS FOR PROFESSIONAL LICENSES.

Original Synopsis:

Senate Bill No. 80 codifies the current practice in Delaware of not requiring proof of citizenship or a specific immigration status on an application for a professional license. By affirmatively providing eligibility for professional licenses regardless of immigration status, Senate Bill No. 80 brings Delaware into compliance with a federal requirement in place since August 22, 1996, under 8 U.S.C.S. § 1621(d), and provides public notice of this policy. Senate Bill No. 80 also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 80 differs from Senate Bill No. 80 by also codifying the current practice of allowing an applicant for a professional license who does not have a social security number to submit instead, an attestation stating that if the applicant obtains a social security number in the future, the applicant will update their application with that social security number.

DE SB 189 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT AND DRUG TESTING STRIPS.

This Act adds xylazine and it isomers, esters, ethers, salts and salts of isomers, esters and ethers to Schedule III of the Delaware Uniform Controlled Substances Act and expands the authorization for the distribution of testing strips to determine the presence of controlled substances. According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the emergence of xylazine across the United States appears to be following the same path as fentanyl, starting in the Northeast and then spreading to the South and working its way into drug markets westward, and the low cost of xylazine contributes to xylazine’s increased presence in the nation’s illegal drug supply. Xylazine is approved only for veterinary use, xylazine is a non-opioid with increasing presence as an adulterant, often in conjunction with opioids, in the illicit drug supply. When used alone and in conjunction with other drugs, xylazine is implicated as a cause or contributing cause of death in the United States. When used in conjunction with an opioid, such as heroin or fentanyl, xylazine may worsen respiratory depression in the event of a drug overdose, and because xylazine is not an opioid, naloxone is not known to be effective at reversing overdoses, and there is no known antidote or reversal agent for xylazine overdose in humans. This Act also exempts testing strips from the drug paraphernalia statute and expands the limitations on liability for lay individuals and organizations that provide a drug testing strip to an individual who uses drugs to reduce the likelihood of the individual experiencing harm.
This Act becomes effective upon the expiration of the Emergency Order issued by the Secretary of State placing Xylazine in Schedule III of the Uniform Controlled Substance Act or November 29, 2023, whichever is earlier.