Today wrapped up the last day of session for the General Assembly before going on spring recess for two weeks. Below is a summary of the bills the State Chamber is following that saw movement, among others.
 
HS 1 for HB 350 (Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board): Establishes a “Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board”. The new board, comprised of five volunteer political appointees, would review and either approve or reject all aspects of every Delaware hospital’s budget on an annual basis. The board would also hold meetings for the public to comment on and approve the budgets of Delaware hospitals.

Position: The State Chamber is opposed to the bill and provided the following testimony during the committee hearing on March 27th: “This is a very challenging issue for an organization as diverse as the State Chamber. We acknowledge that healthcare is a top concern amongst our members. However, any proposal that addresses the concerns of payers should include “healthcare” defined broadly. Our members and their employees make regular use of doctor visits, drugs, pay insurance premiums, make hospital visits, use rehabilitation services, and so on. From the perspective of payers, the entirety of this is complicated and includes federal and state programs they have limited knowledge of. Small manufacturers, accounting firms, building contractors or retailers, healthcare is just not what they know or do. This is a benefit they provide their workforce but is not something they’re experts on. There are many pieces to this complicated puzzle, and while we understand the underlying premise behind the proposal before you today, we oppose HS 1 for HB 350.”

Status: The bill was released from committee and now moves to House Appropriations. 

Five of the seven bills in Senator Huxtable’s housing package were heard in committee including:

• SB 22 (Delaware Workforce Housing Program): Establishes the “Delaware Workforce Housing Program" (DWHP). The DWHP allows a qualified workforce housing investor to be reimbursed through a grant up to 20 percent of the capital costs associated with workforce housing units they create. The project must be located in Investment Levels 1 and 2 as established by the Delaware Strategies for State Policies and Spending to be eligible for a grant.
• SB 25 (Realty Transfer Tax): Exempts contracts for the construction of affordable housing units from the 2% realty transfer tax imposed under 30 Del. C. § 5402(f).
• SB 244 (County Taxes): Allows a county that imposes a lodging tax to spend money from that tax on workforce and affordable housing programs.
• SB 245 (Foreclosure Prevention Programs): The Office of Foreclosure Prevention and Financial Education and the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program have been important resources in preserving home ownership and educating homeowners on their rights and responsibilities in times of economic contraction and expansion. This Act removes the expiration dates from the programs, which were originally intended as temporary and currently requires extension approval from the General Assembly.
• SB 246 (Housing Repair and Modification Fund): Act codifies a “Housing Repair and Modification Fund,” which will be administered by DSHA and serve low- and very-low-income homeowners in need of home repair assistance.

 
Position: The State Chamber is engaged and gathering feedback on these bills. | Status: All five bills were released from committee and now move to the Senate Ready list except for SB 245 which has been assigned to the Senate Finance Committee. SB 23 and SB 247, the other two bills in the package of seven were not heard in committee this week and await consideration.
 
SB 237 (County Comprehensive Plans): Amends the provisions in Title 9 of the Delaware Code relating to the county comprehensive plans for Sussex, Kent, and New Castle Counties, and Title 22 of the Delaware Code relating to municipal comprehensive plans for municipalities with populations greater than 2,000. The act would require that their comprehensive plans increase community resiliency and address the impacts of climate change.

Position: The State Chamber is engaged and looking for feedback.

Status: Released from committee and placed on the Senate Ready list.
 
The State Chamber has also received a draft copy of a credit card surcharge bill. You can view the draft here. Representative Baumbach has requested the State Chamber’s feedback on the bill. Please review the bill and let me know if you have any thoughts.
 
Some other bills that didn’t see movement which the State Chamber is following and engaged on include:

• HB 17 (Paid Sick and Safety Leave): Requires all employers in the State to provide employees with a minimum of one hour of earned sick time and safety leave for every 30 hours worked. For employers with nine or fewer employees, the time may be unpaid, job-protected time instead of paid time.
• HS 2 for HB 55 (Homeless Bill of Rights): Ensures that all individuals, regardless of housing status, have equal opportunity to live in decent, safe, sanitary, and healthful accommodations and enjoy equal opportunities. Sets forth the rights of individuals experiencing homelessness and creates a process by which the State Human and Civil Rights Commission and the Division of Human Relations may accept and investigate complaints of discriminatory treatment, attempt conciliation, and refer enforcement actions to the Department of Justice where necessary.
• HB 317 (Notice Involving Gift Cards): Requires all sellers of third-party gift cards to display a notice of potential scams involving gift cards.
• HB 327 (Sexual Assault, Harassment, and Discrimination): Protects victims of sexual assault, discrimination, or harassment from retaliatory lawsuits that arise when a victim of sexual assault discloses information regarding an act of sexual assault, discrimination, or harassment.
• SS 1 for SB 147 (Computer Related Crimes): Creates a narrow exception to computer-related crimes so that an employee is not guilty of a crime when they obtain evidence under §§ 932, 933, or 935 of Title 11 if the employee’s actions were taken to pursue a claim by an employee that the employer violated a state or federal employment law. The substitute includes language recommended by the employment section of the Delaware Bar Association. It adds language on lines 7 and 8 that ensures employees can’t go on fishing expeditions and removes Chapter 936 of Title 11 under the exemption.
• SB 222 (Electrician Apprenticeship Ratios): Changes current law which allows all the work being completed on a jobsite to be done by workers possessing an apprentice license. Mandates a 3 to 1 ratio of journeypersons to apprentices where non-residential electrical work is performed and imposes fines for violations.

• SB 229 (Employees Right to Inspect Personnel Files): Extends the right of employees to inspect their own personnel files to former employees.
• SB 233 (Service Worker Protection Act): Establishes employment protections for certain service employees during changes of ownership. Such as providing employees with at least fifteen days’ notice prior to a contract change, must retain all affected service employees for a 90-day transition period, and may not reduce any affected service employee's work hours in order to circumvent the protections under this Act.

• SB 255 (Wage Payment and Collection Act): Makes a prime general contractor jointly and severally liable for a violation of the Wage Payment and Collection Act that is committed by a subcontractor, regardless of whether the subcontractor is in a direct contractual relationship with the prime general contractor. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring an action to collect wages under the Wage Payment and Collection Act and provides that a prime general contractor is jointly or severally liable for a violation of the Delaware Contractor Registration Act by a subcontractor.

 
If you have any feedback on any of the items, please let me know. The General Assembly will return to session on Tuesday, April 16th. 

Today wrapped up another week of session for the General Assembly, who only has one week left before spring recess begins. They will return to session on Tuesday, April 16th, following the recess. There have been developments in the status of several bills in which the Delaware State Chamber is following: 
 
HB17 (Paid Sick and Safety Leave): This bill requires all employers in the State to provide employees with a minimum of one hour of earned sick time and safety leave for every 30 hours worked. For employers with nine or fewer employees, the time may be unpaid, job-protected time instead of paid time.

• Status: The bill was originally scheduled to be heard in the House Labor Committee on Tuesday, but it was not addressed. It will be rescheduled for a later date,  to be announced | Position: Opposed 

HS1 for HB350 (Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board): Establishes a “Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board”. The new board, comprised of five volunteer political appointees, would review and either approve or reject all aspects of every Delaware hospital’s budget on an annual basis. The board would also hold meetings for the public to comment and approve the budgets of Delaware hospitals.

• Status: Introduced in lieu of HB350 | Position: Opposed

 
The substitute differs from the original bill in that:

• It provides additional detail regarding the operation of the Board, budget modifications, and provides an appeal right to the Superior Court.
• It changes the application of the definition of hospital to exclude psychiatric facilities.
• The deadline for the Board to issue a final decision on a budget is changed to 90 days before the start of a hospital’s fiscal year rather than a fixed date.
• Updates the confidentiality provisions for hospital records.

 
If you have feedback on these bills or others, please let me know.

Today wraps up a busy week for the General Assembly! Several bills were acted on or introduced which will impact the business community. Below is a summary of those bills.
 
Bills introduced:

• HB350 (Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board): Establishes a “Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board”. The new board, comprised of five volunteer political appointees, would review and either approve or reject all aspects of every Delaware hospital’s budget on an annual basis. The board would also hold meetings for the public to comment and approve the budgets of Delaware hospitals.
  • Status: Assigned to House Administration | Position: Opposed
• SB237 (County Comprehensive Plans): This act amends the provisions in Title 9 of the Delaware Code relating to the county comprehensive plans for Sussex, Kent, and New Castle Counties, and Title 22 of the Delaware Code relating to municipal comprehensive plans for municipalities with populations greater than 2,000. The act would require that their comprehensive plans increase community resiliency and address the impacts of climate change.
  • Status: Assigned to Senate Elections & Government Affairs | Position: Engaged and gathering feedback
• HS1 for HB149 (Personal Income Taxes): This act requires personal income tax brackets to be annually adjusted for cost-of-living increases.
  • Status: Assigned to House Revenue & Finance | Position: Engaged and gathering feedback

 
Bills acted upon:

• SB233 (Service Worker Protection Act): Establishes employment protections for certain service employees during changes of ownership.
  • Status: Released from Senate Labor Committee and now placed on Senate Ready List | Position: Opposed

• HB327 (Sexual assault, harassment, and discrimination): This act protects victims of sexual assault, discrimination, or harassment from retaliatory lawsuits that arise when a victim of sexual assault discloses information regarding an act of sexual assault, discrimination, or harassment.
  • Status: Tabled in Committee | Position: Opposed
• HB333 (Artificial Intelligence Commission): This act creates the Delaware Artificial Intelligence ("AI") Commission which will be tasked with making recommendations to the General Assembly and Department of Technology and Information on AI utilization and safety within the State.
  • Status: Released from Committee and now placed on House Ready List | Position: Monitoring

 
Please let us know if you have any comments or questions regarding any of these items. The State Chamber will continue to follow these bills along with others.

​One bill of note which is scheduled to be heard in Committee next week is HB17 (paid sick and safety leave). The bill requires all employers in the State to provide employees with a minimum of 1 hour of earned sick time and safety leave for every 30 hours worked. The State Chamber is opposed to the bill and will be testifying at the hearing on Tuesday, March 19 at 12:45pm (Note: the timing of this meeting has changed as of 3/15). You can view the meeting notice and sign up to listen or comment here. If you’re a business owner, please consider signing up to testify how this policy will impact you. 

The General Assembly returned to session this week from the Joint Finance Committee break. The week kicked off with Governor Carney delivering the State of the State Address on Tuesday. Some topics he touched on included strengthening the economy, protecting the environment, and responsibly managing the state budget. You can learn more and watch the full address here. In addition, several bills were introduced recently that the State Chamber is engaged with. 
 
Those bills included:

• HB17 (Sick and Safety Leave) – Introduced and assigned to House Labor Committee
• HB317 (Notice Involving Gift Cards) – Introduced and assigned to House Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce Committee
• SB222 (Electrician Apprenticeship Ratios) – Introduced and assigned to Senate Legislative Oversight & Sunset Committee
• SB229 (Employees Right to Inspect Personnel Files) - Introduced and assigned to Senate Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology Committee
• SB233 (Service Worker Protection Act) – Introduced and assigned to Senate Labor Committee

 
The State Chamber is looking for feedback from our members on these bills. Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback regarding any of these items.
 
One bill of note that saw movement this week was SS1 for SB147 (Computer-Related Crimes). The bill creates an exception to the computer crimes under §§ 932, 933, and 935 of Title 11. The bill passed in the Senate and now moves to the House for consideration. The State Chamber is going to be seeking amendments for this bill.