With just a few weeks left in the 2024 legislative session of the 152nd General Assembly, lawmakers will return to Dover to approve the 2025 budget and address pending bills.
Delaware lawmakers have already passed several key bills that could have stalled the remaining weeks of the session, including “permit to purchase,” creating a hospital cost review board and expanding access to medical marijuana in the First State, among other laws.
Lawmakers will return to Dover on June 11 to finish the remainder of the session.
REVIEW BOARD KeynoteUSAPROVED:How a Delaware hospital cost review board aims to control health care costs
These are the bills to watch as lawmakers wrap up the legislative year:
Tax hospitals to increase Medicaid funding
Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 13, sponsored by Senator Sarah McBride, would institute a 3.58% tax on hospital net patient income, generating more than $100 million in new Medicaid funding for Delaware.
The legislation passed the state Senate on May 28 and is now in the House for consideration.
MORE FUNDS FOR HEALTH CARE:Hospital tax expected to generate $100 million in new Medicaid funding, passed by Delaware Senate
If approved by both legislative bodies, the bill would allow Delaware to tap into additional federal Medicaid funds, a move dozens of other states have opted to follow.
The legislation also has support from health care providers, unlike the hospital cost review board legislation that was hotly debated but then passed by the House and Senate earlier this year.
Source of income discrimination
Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 293 prohibits a landlord from discriminating against a tenant who has federal housing subsidies, such as Section 8 vouchers, as a source of income to cover rent.
The legislation, sponsored by Senator Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman, passed the state Senate on May 23. It is now up to the state House of Representatives to act on the bill, something it did not do in previous sessions.
The bill has gone through several iterations since it was first introduced three years ago as Senate Bill 90, which was also sponsored by Lockman.
While the Senate passed that bill in April 2022 during the 121st General Assembly, the Delaware House of Representatives did not take action on the bill before the end of the legislative session.
Pretrial Detention and Cash Bail Reform
Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 11, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, would no longer offer pretrial release to those accused of specific serious crimes who “pose a clear and compelling risk to the public,” according to a Senate press release. Majority caucus.
The legislation, which was unanimously approved by the Delaware Senate on May 22, begins the first stage of an amendment to the state Constitution and empowers the General Assembly to identify certain crimes and circumstances in which courts can use detention preventive to protect public safety.
During that same legislative session, the Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 12, which helps Delaware move away from a cash-only bail system while allowing judges to use their discretion to impose cash bail if they can. demonstrate that such measures are necessary to protect the safety of the public. and ensure that the accused appears in court.
Both bills have been assigned to committees within the state House.
Responsible gun ownership
While the General Assembly earlier this year passed a “permit to purchase” bill that requires people to undergo firearms training and receive a permit to purchase firearms, opponents of the legislation quickly filed a lawsuit against the measure after Delaware Governor John Carney signed the bill. .
House Substitute 1 for House Bill 270, sponsored by state Rep. Kim Williams, would require ammunition sold at retail establishments to be locked or only accessible to employees.
This bill was passed by the state House in April of this year and was recently removed from the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 22.
Coastal winds
Delaware lawmakers last month passed Senate Bill 265, which lays the groundwork for government agencies to contract for offshore wind projects.
Offshore wind has been a key topic of discussion regarding renewable energy in Delaware in recent years. It also has a long and complicated history in the First Estate.
The bill could pave the way for other large-scale clean energy projects, such as solar energy.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN:Offshore Wind Bill Passes Delaware Senate
The legislation is now before the House for consideration.
Probation, parole reform
An updated version of Senate Bill 4, known as Senate Substitute 2 for Senate Bill 4, would reform Delaware’s probation and parole system, focusing it on helping people meet the conditions of their “supervision.” “court-ordered state punishment” instead of imposing “unfairly punitive punishments.” and arbitrary rules” that return them to the criminal justice system, according to state senators.
The bill establishes a basic requirement in several sections of the state’s criminal code that directs courts, the Parole Board, and probation and parole officers to “impose the least restrictive conditions and minimally intrusive reporting requirements necessary to achieve the objectives of community supervision”.
Sen. Marie Pinkney, one of the bill’s sponsors, said the current “one-size-fits-all system” puts one in three parolees in prison for minor rule violations rather than new crimes.
The legislation was most recently withdrawn from the Senate Finance Committee in early May, but has not yet received a full vote in the state Senate.
Getting ready for legal marijuana
House Bill 355, sponsored by state Rep. Ed Osienski, passed the state House in late March and would provide “legal protections for financial institutions and other entities that provide financial or accounting services to business-related businesses.” cannabis that are licensed or registered under Delaware Law,” according to the bill.
The legislation aims to ensure that cannabis-related businesses have access to the financial and accounting services necessary due to the status of marijuana at the federal level.
The bill was introduced by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee in April, but has not yet been voted on by the entire legislative body.
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Another bill sponsored by Osienski, House Bill 408, creates a temporary conversion license for existing medical marijuana compassion centers to operate for recreational purposes to ensure Delaware’s recreational marijuana program can get underway in a timely manner.
The bill specifies that temporary licenses may not be issued after November 1, 2024 and expire after 48 months, “at which time the license may be renewed as an open license.”
The legislation was most recently reported by the House Economic Development/Banking/Insurance and Commerce Committee on May 23, but has not yet reached the House floor for a vote.
Training in sexual assault prevention.
House Bill 308, sponsored by state House Rep. Kim Williams, requires employees at institutions of higher education to receive sexual assault prevention training.
While current law makes training available, it is not a requirement.
The bill would make the training mandatory for higher education employees and require academic institutions to report campus sexual assaults each “academic year.” It would also require the state Department of Justice to publish annual reports of aggregate data so trends can be identified.
The legislation passed the Delaware House of Representatives in April and was withdrawn from the Senate Education Committee on May 15.
Do you have advice? Contact Amanda Fries at afries@delawareonline.com. Follow her on X at @mandy_fries.
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