Delaware 151st General Assembly (2021-2022) Status: Enacted 5 D cosponsors

SB 315 — AN ACT TO AMENT TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION.

Last action — Signed by Governor

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Senate
  4. ✓
    Passed House
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced June 07, 2022. Enacted.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 82% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 9 sponsors

    2 primary, 7 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (5 D).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

This Act makes substantial changes to clarify and modernize § 2347 of the Workers’ Compensation Act, Chapter 23 of Title 19 of the Delaware Code, as follows: (1) Subsection (a) incorporates recent Industrial Accident Board rulings governing the frequency with which petitions to modify workers’ compensation agreements may be raised. (2) Subsection (e) clarifies pleading requirements for petitions to review, which helps the Department of Labor in docketing of Petitions and attorneys in preparing pleadings for filing. (3) Subsection (h) expands methods of service of process of petitions to permit utilization of private mail services, traditional process servers, and electronic service to respondents who are attorney represented. This subsection also explicitly defines what must be submitted to the Department of Labor as proof of service. (4) Subsection (j) codifies the process by which default or “read-in” hearings have proceeded before the Industrial Accident Board under § 2347 for over 30 years. (5) Subsection (k) clarifies whether and to what extent Workers’ Compensation Fund wage replacement benefits are available to injured workers during the pendency of petitions to review. The clarifications provided for both the Department of Labor and the claimant’s bar will streamline the process so that injured workers will experience fewer interruptions or delays in the payment of benefits than under the current law. Also included are protections for the Workers’ Compensation Fund to ensure that there are not overpayments. This Act is the product of the work of the workers’ compensation claimants bar, defense bar, and the Department of Labor, and the underlying intent of this Act is to streamline processes and limit unnecessary litigation that has occurred in recent years as a result of lack of clarity in § 2347. This Act furthers the public policy behind various changes to the Workers’ Compensation Act in the last 15 years to mitigate insurance rates for Delaware businesses while simultaneously ensuring that the interests of the State’s injured workers are protected.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Signed by Governor

  2. Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES

  3. Reported Out of Committee (Labor) in House with 1 Favorable, 6 On Its Merits

  4. Assigned to Labor Committee in House

  5. Passed By Senate. Votes: 19 YES 2 ABSENT

  6. Reported Out of Committee (Labor) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits

  7. Introduced and Assigned to Labor Committee in Senate

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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2 sponsors · 7 co-sponsors · 53 not signed on

Sponsors (2)

Co-sponsors (7)

Not signed on (53)

53 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 53 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

SM

Passed 41 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 13000
Democratic 16000
Republican 12000
Total 41000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (41)
Member Party Vote
Andria L. Bennett — Yea
Charles "Bud" M. Freel — Yea
David Bentz — Yea
John A. Kowalko — Yea
John L. Mitchell — Yea
Michael Ramone — Yea
Paul S. Baumbach — Yea
Peter C. Schwartzkopf — Yea
Ruth Briggs King — Yea
Sean Matthews — Yea
Sherry Dorsey Walker — Yea
Stephen Smyk — Yea
Valerie Longhurst — Yea
Debra Heffernan Democratic Yea
Edward S. Osienski Democratic Yea
Eric Morrison Democratic Yea
Franklin D. Cooke Democratic Yea
Kendra Johnson Democratic Yea
Kimberly Williams Democratic Yea
Krista Griffith Democratic Yea
Larry Lambert Democratic Yea
Madinah Wilson-Anton Democratic Yea
Melissa Minor-Brown Democratic Yea
Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha Democratic Yea
Sean M. Lynn Democratic Yea
Sherae'a Moore Democratic Yea
Stephanie T. Bolden Democratic Yea
William Bush Democratic Yea
William J. Carson Democratic Yea
Bryan W. Shupe Republican Yea
Charles S Postles Jr. Republican Yea
Daniel B. Short Republican Yea
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman Republican Yea
Jesse R. Vanderwende Republican Yea
Kevin S Hensley Republican Yea
Lyndon D. Yearick Republican Yea
Michael F. Smith Republican Yea
Richard G. Collins Republican Yea
Ronald E. Gray Republican Yea
Shannon Morris Republican Yea
Timothy D. Dukes Republican Yea

Official roll call →

3/5

Passed 19 Yea · 0 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 4001
Democratic 10001
Republican 5000
Total 19002
% of votes cast 90%0%0%10%
How each member voted (21)
Member Party Vote
Bruce C. Ennis — Yea
Colin Bonini — Yea
Ernesto B Lopez — Yea
Kyle Evans Gay — Yea
Sarah McBride — Not Voting
Bryan Townsend Democratic Yea
Darius J. Brown Democratic Yea
David P. Sokola Democratic Yea
John "Jack" Walsh Democratic Yea
Laura V. Sturgeon Democratic Yea
Marie Pinkney Democratic Not Voting
Nicole Poore Democratic Yea
S. Elizabeth Lockman Democratic Yea
Spiros Mantzavinos Democratic Yea
Stephanie L. Hansen Democratic Yea
Trey Paradee Democratic Yea
Brian Pettyjohn Republican Yea
Bryant L. Richardson Republican Yea
Dave G. Lawson Republican Yea
David L. Wilson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

labor
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 315 do?
This Act makes substantial changes to clarify and modernize § 2347 of the Workers’ Compensation Act, Chapter 23 of Title 19 of the Delaware Code, as follows: (1) Subsection (a) incorporates recent Industrial Accident Board rulings governing the frequency with which petitions to modify workers’ compensation agreements may be raised. (2) Subsection (e) clarifies pleading requirements for petitions to review, which helps the Department of Labor in docketing of Petitions and attorneys in preparing pleadings for filing. (3) Subsection (h) expands methods of service of process of petitions to permit utilization of private mail services, traditional process servers, and electronic service to respondents who are attorney represented. This subsection also explicitly defines what must be submitted to the Department of Labor as proof of service. (4) Subsection (j) codifies the process by which default or “read-in” hearings have proceeded before the Industrial Accident Board under § 2347 for over 30 years. (5) Subsection (k) clarifies whether and to what extent Workers’ Compensation Fund wage replacement benefits are available to injured workers during the pendency of petitions to review. The clarifications provided for both the Department of Labor and the claimant’s bar will streamline the process so that injured workers will experience fewer interruptions or delays in the payment of benefits than under the current law. Also included are protections for the Workers’ Compensation Fund to ensure that there are not overpayments. This Act is the product of the work of the workers’ compensation claimants bar, defense bar, and the Department of Labor, and the underlying intent of this Act is to streamline processes and limit unnecessary litigation that has occurred in recent years as a result of lack of clarity in § 2347. This Act furthers the public policy behind various changes to the Workers’ Compensation Act in the last 15 years to mitigate insurance rates for Delaware businesses while simultaneously ensuring that the interests of the State’s injured workers are protected.
Who sponsors SB 315?
SB 315 is sponsored by John "Jack" Walsh (Democratic), Edward S. Osienski (Democratic), Trey Paradee (Democratic), David P. Sokola (Democratic), Kimberly Williams (Democratic), John L. Mitchell, John A. Kowalko, Valerie Longhurst, and Bruce C. Ennis.
What is the current status of SB 315?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced June 07, 2022. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 315?
Track SB 315 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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