| HB 334 w/ HA 1 | Committee | Osienski | This Act makes several technical and logistical corrections to the Delaware Marijuana Control Act.
Section 1 of this Act authorizes the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement to conduct administrative inspections of premises licensed under Title 4 for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the provisions of Title 4, the rules and regulations of the Alcohol Beverage Control Commissioner, or the rules and regulations of the Marijuana Commissioner.
Section 2 of this Act creates definitions for the terms “conditional license” and “flowering plants.”
Section 3 of this Act changes the permissible hours of operation of a marijuana facility from 9 a.m. through 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. through 10 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays.
Section 4 of this Act gives enforcement powers to the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement and permits administrative inspections of premises licensed under Chapter 13 of Title 4.
Section 5 of this Act removes the power of the Commissioner to create rules and regulations to gather consumer data to track compliance with possession limits.
Section 6 of this Act makes the following changes to the application selection process: (1) it removes the requirement that the process be varied to account for geographic distribution or population density; (2) it removes a requirement for an applicant to provide information as to the suitability of the proposed location for the facilities; (3) it removes the requirement for an attestation signed by a bona fide labor organization that the applicant has entered a labor peace agreement with the organization (this requirement is instead moved to the criteria for conditional licensure in Section 13 of this Act); (4) it moves the requirement for the creation of identification badges from marijuana establishments to the Commissioner and permits the Commissioner to require a fee for each badge; (5) requires that employees complete training approved by the Commissioner in recognizing valid identification cards; and (6) specifies that agents of a marijuana establishment are subject to all standards and requirements of regulations adopted by the Commissioner.
Section 7 of this Act removes a provision for retail store licenses that specifies that a properly registered compassion center that is issued a retail marijuana store license is considered a business registration separate and distinct from the compassion center registration. It also removes the ability for a licensee or employee of a retail marijuana store to detain and question an individual that the employee believes is under 21 years old and is believed to be exhibiting fraudulent identification to attempt to obtain retail marijuana or a retail marijuana product.
Section 8 of this Act corrects a typographical error and clarifies the definition of a cannabis plant grow canopy area.
Section 9 of this Act changes the criteria for social equity applicants to remove a Delaware residency requirement and add that a marijuana-related conviction or adjudication of delinquency must have been under the laws of Delaware.
Section 10 adds a source of funding that the Commissioner is to investigate that may support social equity applicants.
Section 11 of this Act removes a prohibition on microbusiness applicants from possessing more than 1,000 marijuana plants each month and a Delaware residency requirement.
Section 12 of this Act repeals a provision allowing for the grant of a conditional license to microbusiness applicants, as in Section 13 of this Act, a new section 1345 of Title 4 authorizes the grant of conditional licenses to applicants who meet specified criteria for licensure.
Section 13 of this Act makes technical corrections to conform to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, prohibits the grant of multiple licenses of any type where the grant would result in the applicant or other person with a financial interest in the application owning more than one business entity of the license type, authorizes the Commissioner to grant a conditional license to any applicant, specifies criteria that must be met for the Commissioner to grant an active license, details requirements for background checks, and makes information received by the Commissioner during the application or background check process confidential and exempt from the Delaware Freedom of Information Act.
Section 14 of this Act limits the prohibition on the transfer of social equity licenses to people who would not meet the criteria for the issuance of a social equity license so that licensees may transfer such licenses after three years.
Section 15 of this Act adds support for social equity applicants with select business-related expenses to the list of areas for which funding from the Justice Reinvestment Fund is to be appropriated to administer grants, contracts, services, or initiatives.
Section 16 of this Act makes changes to Title 30 relating to taxes on retail marijuana establishments.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act requires passage by a 3/5 majority because it authorizes the Commissioner to charge a fee for identification badges.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 4 AND 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MARIJUANA. |
| HS 2 for HB 273 | Committee | Dorsey Walker | This Substitute bill adds 5 additional speech-language diagnosis to the 2 diagnoses listed in H.B. 273 and references that all 7 speech-language diagnoses are classified in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) for billing purposes. This Substitute bill broadens the definition of “child” from 1 year to first grade to include all children from birth to age 18. This Substitute bill deletes the definition of carrier since the term is not referred to in these new sections and clarifies that Section 2 refers to group and blanket health insurance policies not individual health policies. This Substitute bill also clarifies that the Act applies to all health insurance contracts delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed after December 31, 2024. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO HEALTH COVERAGE FOR SPEECH THERAPY. |
| HS 1 for HB 286 w/ HA 1 | Committee | Spiegelman | Like House Bill No. 286, House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 286 prohibits discrimination in life insurance based on genetic characteristics, genetic information, or the result of any genetic test.
House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 286 differs from House Bill No. 286 as follows:
1. Provides a definition of “direct-to-consumer genetic testing”.
2. Allows the use of any genetic information that is in an individual's medical record or application for life insurance.
3. Allows a person engaged in the business of life insurance to request that an individual share genetic information from a direct-to-consumer genetic testing or to request that an individual provide written consent for entity to provide that information.
4. Allows an entity that provides direct-to-consumer genetic testing to share information with a person engaged in the business of life insurance but only with the written consent of the individual.
5. Clarifies that a person engaged in the business of life insurance may not do any of the following:
a. Require that an individual take a genetic test.
b. Require that an individual provide genetic information received from an entity providing direct-to-consumer genetic testing or provide written consent for the entity to provide that information.
c. Take into consideration the refusal by an individual to take a genetic test, provide genetic information received from direct-to-consumer genetic testing, or provide written consent to share information from direct-to-consumer genetic testing.
Like HB 286, HS 1 for HB 286 also does all of the following:
1. Makes corresponding corrections to § 2317 of Title 18 by revising the heading for clarity and the definition of "insurance" to conform with the terms and definitions used in Title 18.
2. Is known as "The Ericka Byler Act”. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO GENETICS BASED DISCRIMINATION. |
| HA 1 to HB 15 | Passed | Longhurst | This amendment adds having a family history of breast cancer in a male relative or a personal history of polycystic ovarian cancer to the definition of “at risk for ovarian cancer.” It also strikes references to experimental or investigative services. | |
| HA 1 to HS 1 for HB 286 | Passed | Spiegelman | This Amendment aligns the restrictions and exceptions in this Act so they apply to genetic information from direct-to-consumer genetic testing but not to genetic information that is in an individual's medical record or pertinent family history. This Amendment also revises the requirement for written informed consent for information from direct-to-consumer genetic testing so it applies to persons engaged in the business of life insurance so that the Department of Insurance can enforce this requirement. | |
| SB 241 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Lawson | This bill expands the timeframe in which a candidate may withdraw from the presidential primary election, including the option of not holding such an election in the event of only one remaining candidate. The approximate cost of a Presidential Primary election for the State is $1.5 million. This Act expires on December 31, 2024. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 15 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY ELECTIONS. |
| SCR 127 | Passed | Huxtable | This resolution recognizes the week of March 17 through March 23, 2024, as “National Agriculture Week” in Delaware | RECOGNIZING THE WEEK OF MARCH 17 THROUGH MARCH 23, 2024, AS “NATIONAL AGRICULTURE WEEK” IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE. |
| HA 1 to HB 334 | Passed | Dorsey Walker | This Amendment changes the qualifying residency requirement for a social equity applicant from an individual who has resided for at least 5 of the preceding 10 years in a disproportionately-impacted area to one who has so resided for 5 of the preceding 15 years. | |
