Bail reform moves forward and other final votes by Delaware General Assembly

Delaware lawmakers returned to Dover for the final day of the 152 ^nd General Assembly session, with both chambers collectively acting on over 50 bills, including a $98.5 million grants-in-aid bill.

The General Assembly sent bail and manufactured housing reform bills to Gov. John Carney and passed a flurry of other bills in the final hours of session Sunday.

Here’s a selection of what did and didn’t pass this year:

$98.5M for community groups, senior centers, first responders

The General Assembly approved a $98.5 million grants-in-aid bill , designating over half ($51.6 million) to community groups, cultural and historic entities, and various groups tackling issues like alcohol and substance abuse, and $34.5 million for government units and senior centers.

The price tag is an increase from previous grants-in-aid bills, which lawmakers pointed out before approving the legislation Sunday.

Senate Bill 327 includes some of the following:

• $17 million for current paramedic operations in all three counties, including an additional $1 million to each county to hance those operations.
• $11.6 million for fire and ambulance companies to properly maintain and ensure full operation of trucks, ambulances and rescue boats.
• $10.3 million for senior center operations and organizations that provide services to those centers.
• $698,000 for veterans’ organizations throughout Delaware.

Bail reform headed for constitutional amendments

The state House on Sunday approved two bills that aim to reduce Delaware’s reliance on a bail system that emphasizes a person’s ability to pay for their pretrial freedom instead of their actual risk to society.

BAIL REFORM: What to expect in the final days of the Delaware General Assembly's legislative session

Senate Bill 11 and Senate Bill 12 passed by the House ensures that the legislation – which are constitutional amendments – can begin the next hurdle of approval by both chambers next year. Both bills required a two-thirds vote to pass the House and Senate and must be approved by two consecutive General Assemblies.

Delaware House blocks removal of death penalty from Constitution

The Delaware House defeated House Bill 301 on Sunday, legislation that would have begun the process of removing the death penalty from the state Constitution.

Amendments to the state's constitution require a larger majority for passage, as well as passage in two consecutive sessions of the assembly. Therefore, striking the penalty from the constitution would mean future attempts to reinstate it would have a higher bar to clear.

ELIMINATING DEATH PENALTY: Lawmakers repeal death penalty, while fate of constitutional amendment unclear

In recent days, both chambers passed House Bill 70, eliminating the death penalty in Delaware criminal statutes. That legislation now heads to Gov. John Carney for his signature.

Hospital tax now approved by both chambers

Senate Bill 13 , sponsored by Sen. Sarah McBride, institutes a 3.58% tax on hospitals’ net patient revenues, thereby generating more than $100 million in new Medicaid funding to Delaware.

The legislation was approved by the state Senate on May 28, and has generated broad-based support among health care institutions. The Delaware House’s approval on Sunday now sends the bill to Gov. John Carney.

Offshore wind clears last hurdle

Offshore wind in Delaware cleared its final hurdle Sunday with the House approving Senate Bill 265 , laying out the process that governmental agencies will go through when contracting offshore wind projects in the state.

The Delaware Energy Solutions Act of 2024 was heralded by environmentalists as a major win and a big step for the state in reaching its clean energy goals, but there are still opponents who worry about its economic feasibility and potential impacts on tourism.

The bill also may pave the way for other large-scale clean energy projects that rely on sources like solar power.

Source of income, housing status protected

Senate Bill 293 , which prevents landlords from discriminating against tenants who receive government assistance to pay for rent, passed the General Assembly on Sunday.

Also approved was House Bill 439 , which makes "housing status" a protected characteristic under Delaware law, prohibits the discrimination of a person based on their housing status when searching for housing and House Bill 440 prohibits the same for employment and professional activities.

Senate Bill 247, which creates a system to ensure manufactured home communities with health and safety violations and conditions that threaten the health and safety of residents cannot raise rent until these issues are addressed, also moves to Carney for his signature.

The House failed to act on House Bill 191, which would have given renters the ability to end leases when conditions in the unit threaten the “life, health, or safety” of the tenant or a member of the household.

MANUFACTURED HOUSING: Rising land rents create a different kind of housing crisis for mobile homeowners

The legislation has gone through many changes, most recently with the Senate changing escrow expectations – no longer requiring a renter to hold unpaid rent in escrow, but instead remedying arrears after court proceedings.

While the Senate approved the measure June 26, that chamber’s edits caused consternation among House representatives Sunday prompting the bill’s sponsor Rep. Sherry Dorsey-Walker to table it.

Other housing bills passed by the General Assembly include:

• House Bill 442 creates an affordable housing task force to investigate and make findings and recommendations to the governor and the General Assembly on how to increase the production of affordable rental units and homes in Delaware.
• Senate Bill 246 codifies a Housing Repair and Modification Fund that the Delaware State Housing Authority has provided funding for low-income Delawareans to make home repairs to ensure the health and safety of homes.

Oversight, accountability boosted for long-term care industry

Senate Bill 215 , requiring annual inspections of long-term care facilities in Delaware, cleared the House on Sunday and now heads to the governor’s desk for signing.

The bill was part of a package of legislation aimed at reforming the long-term care industry and ensuring adequate oversight of assisted living and nursing homes providing services to a vulnerable population.

Efforts to improve Delaware’s policing of long-term care facilities were prompted after a 2023 Delaware Online/The News Journal investigation found the state has failed to police its long-term care industry over the past decade, in some cases failing to inspect assisted living facilities for years.

Senate Bill 215 joins four other bills targeting the long-term care industry awaiting Carney’s signature:

• Senate Bill 216: increasing civil penalties against long-term care facilities.
• Senate Bill 151: mandating that facilities disclose when they provide dementia care services.
• House Bill 204: allowing the Department of Health and Social Services to create regulations for operating temporary staffing agencies that staff positions at long-term care facilities.
• House Bill 300: requiring DHSS to maintain a public registry of assisted living facilities that are accredited “and/or certified to provide memory care services” by an “approved independent accrediting organization.”

Meanwhile, House Bill 223 – approved by the Senate on Sunday – removes a continuing education requirement for nurses working in adult gerontology to receive training for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. According to the bill, it instead mandates all nurses receive “at least one hour of continuing education” on “recognition of sexual or physical abuse, exploitation, or domestic violence of vulnerable populations.”

Reproductive options expanded in Delaware

The House also acted on outstanding bills that expand reproductive options and ensure transparency at “crisis pregnancy centers.”

Senate Bill 300 and Senate Bill 301 , sponsored by Sen. Kyle Evans Gay and approved by the House on Sunday, address transparency regarding services and medical professionals at “crisis pregnancy centers” and require public universities to provide access to abortion pills respectively.

Senate Bill 232 , which was approved by the Senate in March, was also passed by the House on the last day of session. The bill expands contraceptive coverage laws to include “over-the-counter non-emergency contraceptive bills” since the Federal Drug Administration approved the same.

Got a tip? Contact Amanda Fries at afries@delawareonline.com. Follow her on X at @mandy_fries.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Bail reform moves forward and other final votes by Delaware General Assembly