HB 375 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PAYMENT OF PREMIUM OR SUBSCRIPTION CHARGES BY ELIGIBLE PENSIONERS.
Last action — Signed by Governor
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✓Introduced
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✓In Committee
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✓Passed House
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✓Passed Senate
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✓To Executive
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6Enacted
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced May 16, 2024. Enacted.
Prognosis
Where this bill stands today.
Odds of enactment
HighHow often bills like it became law.
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Enacted
Current position in the legislative process.
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17 sponsors
17 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.
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Bipartisan support
Sponsored across 2 parties (10 D · 2 R) — cross-party backing.
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Cleared a recorded vote
Passed 2 recorded votes so far.
Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.
Summary
This Act implements a recommendation from the December 31, 2023, Report of the Retiree Healthcare Benefits Advisory Subcommittee. Under this Act, the amount of the premium for a health-care insurance plan that this State will pay on behalf of eligible pensioners who were first employed as a regular officer or employee on or after January 1, 2025, and who are not subject to mandatory retirement, is changed as follows: 1. For eligible pensioners employed by the State for at least 15 years but less than 20 years at the time of retirement, 50% of the of the premium. 2. For eligible pensioners employed by the State for at least 20 years but less than 25 years at the time of retirement, 75% of the of the premium. 3. For eligible pensioners employed by the State for 25 or more years at the time of retirement, 100% of the of the premium. All other revisions to current law under this Act are technical changes to improve clarity and conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. These technical changes include the addition of new defined terms and the reorganization of existing law. In § 5201 of Title 29, this Act makes the following technical changes: 1. Revises the definitions of “eligible pensioner”, “plan”, and “regular officer or employee” to remove inconsistent language and align with each other and current law. 2. To avoid repeating phrases in § 5202 of Title 29, clarifies that only for purposes of the amount of the premium paid by the State for health-care insurance plans, the term “eligible pensioner” includes the eligible pensioner’s eligible spouse and dependents and defines the following terms: • “First employed” means the date when the eligible pensioner began work as a regular officer or employee. • “Mandatory retirement” means mandatory retirement for members of the State Police under § 8361 of Title 11. • “Maximum state share" means the amount of the premium that the State pays for a plan before the proration ratio is applied. • “Premium” means the total premium or subscription charge for a health-care insurance plan provided under Chapter 52 of Title 29. In § 5202 of Title 29, this Act makes technical changes to clarify current law regarding the amount of the premium for a health-care insurance plan that this State will pay on behalf of a regular officer or employee or an eligible pensioner by doing the following: 1. Creates the following terms: • “Proration ratio”, which means the percentage applied to the maximum state share. For eligible pensioners, the “proration ratio” is based on when the eligible pensioner was first employed and the number of years the eligible pensioner had been employed as a regular officer or employee at the time of retirement. • “Prorated state share”, which means the dollar amount that the State pays for a plan on behalf of a regular officer or employee or an eligible pensioner. The “prorated state share” is the product of multiplying the proration ratio with the maximum state share. 2. Revises subsection (a) to use the new terms defined under this Act. 3. Transfers the current provisions in paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) that provide the maximum state share for eligible pensioners to subsection (a), so they are with the maximum state share for regular officers and employees. 4. Revises subsection (b) so that the proration ratio and how it is used to determine the prorated state share is explained in paragraph (b)(1) and the proration ratios are provided in paragraphs (b)(2) and (b)(3). • Paragraph (b)(2) lists all groups for whom the proration ratio is 100% because there are no deductions to the maximum state share. • Paragraph (b)(3) provides the proration ratios for eligible pensioners based on the date the eligible pensioner was first employed and years of employment as a regular officer or employee. These ratios clarify that for eligible pensioners who worked for less than the minimum number of years for the 50% proration ratio, the State does not pay anything towards the maximum state share.
Bill Text
- Bill Text View text Current pdf
Action History
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Signed by Governor
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Passed By Senate. Votes: 17 YES 4 ABSENT
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Reported Out of Committee (Executive) in Senate with 7 On Its Merits
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Assigned to Executive Committee in Senate
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Passed By House. Votes: 40 YES 1 ABSENT
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Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 1 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits
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Introduced and Assigned to Administration Committee in House
Sponsors
- S. Elizabeth Lockman · Primary
- Laura V. Sturgeon · Primary
- David P. Sokola · Primary
- Lyndon D. Yearick · Primary
- Trey Paradee · Primary
- Kerri Evelyn Harris · Primary
- Cyndie Romer · Primary
- Eric Morrison · Primary
- Spiros Mantzavinos · Primary
- Darius J. Brown · Primary
- Brian Pettyjohn · Primary
- Bryan Townsend · Primary
- Paul S. Baumbach · Primary
- Michael Ramone · Primary
- Sherry Dorsey Walker · Primary
- Peter C. Schwartzkopf · Primary
- Sarah McBride · Primary
Sponsorship breakdown
Export CSV (upgrade) →17 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 45 not signed on
Sponsors (17)
- S. Elizabeth Lockman Democratic
- Laura V. Sturgeon Democratic
- David P. Sokola Democratic
- Lyndon D. Yearick Republican
- Trey Paradee Democratic
- Kerri Evelyn Harris Democratic
- Cyndie Romer Democratic
- Eric Morrison Democratic
- Spiros Mantzavinos Democratic
- Darius J. Brown Democratic
- Brian Pettyjohn Republican
- Bryan Townsend Democratic
- Paul S. Baumbach
- Michael Ramone
- Sherry Dorsey Walker
- Peter C. Schwartzkopf
- Sarah McBride
Co-sponsors (0)
None.
Not signed on (45)
45 members have not signed on to this bill.
Show all 45 →"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.
Votes
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Republican | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Unaffiliated | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 17 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| % of votes cast | 81% | 0% | 0% | 19% |
How each member voted (21)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Kyle Evans Gay | — | Not Voting |
| Sarah McBride | — | Yea |
| Bryan Townsend | Democratic | Yea |
| Darius J. Brown | Democratic | Yea |
| David P. Sokola | Democratic | Yea |
| John "Jack" Walsh | Democratic | Yea |
| Kyra L. Hoffner | Democratic | Not Voting |
| Laura V. Sturgeon | Democratic | Yea |
| Marie Pinkney | Democratic | Yea |
| Nicole Poore | Democratic | Yea |
| Russell Huxtable | Democratic | Yea |
| S. Elizabeth Lockman | Democratic | Yea |
| Spiros Mantzavinos | Democratic | Yea |
| Stephanie L. Hansen | Democratic | Yea |
| Trey Paradee | Democratic | Yea |
| Brian Pettyjohn | Republican | Not Voting |
| Bryant L. Richardson | Republican | Yea |
| Dave G. Lawson | Republican | Not Voting |
| David L. Wilson | Republican | Yea |
| Eric Buckson | Republican | Yea |
| Gerald W. Hocker | Republican | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unaffiliated | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Republican | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 40 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| % of votes cast | 98% | 0% | 0% | 2% |
How each member voted (41)
Subjects
Frequently asked questions
- What does HB 375 do?
- This Act implements a recommendation from the December 31, 2023, Report of the Retiree Healthcare Benefits Advisory Subcommittee. Under this Act, the amount of the premium for a health-care insurance plan that this State will pay on behalf of eligible pensioners who were first employed as a regular officer or employee on or after January 1, 2025, and who are not subject to mandatory retirement, is changed as follows: 1. For eligible pensioners employed by the State for at least 15 years but less than 20 years at the time of retirement, 50% of the of the premium. 2. For eligible pensioners employed by the State for at least 20 years but less than 25 years at the time of retirement, 75% of the of the premium. 3. For eligible pensioners employed by the State for 25 or more years at the time of retirement, 100% of the of the premium. All other revisions to current law under this Act are technical changes to improve clarity and conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. These technical changes include the addition of new defined terms and the reorganization of existing law. In § 5201 of Title 29, this Act makes the following technical changes: 1. Revises the definitions of “eligible pensioner”, “plan”, and “regular officer or employee” to remove inconsistent language and align with each other and current law. 2. To avoid repeating phrases in § 5202 of Title 29, clarifies that only for purposes of the amount of the premium paid by the State for health-care insurance plans, the term “eligible pensioner” includes the eligible pensioner’s eligible spouse and dependents and defines the following terms: • “First employed” means the date when the eligible pensioner began work as a regular officer or employee. • “Mandatory retirement” means mandatory retirement for members of the State Police under § 8361 of Title 11. • “Maximum state share" means the amount of the premium that the State pays for a plan before the proration ratio is applied. • “Premium” means the total premium or subscription charge for a health-care insurance plan provided under Chapter 52 of Title 29. In § 5202 of Title 29, this Act makes technical changes to clarify current law regarding the amount of the premium for a health-care insurance plan that this State will pay on behalf of a regular officer or employee or an eligible pensioner by doing the following: 1. Creates the following terms: • “Proration ratio”, which means the percentage applied to the maximum state share. For eligible pensioners, the “proration ratio” is based on when the eligible pensioner was first employed and the number of years the eligible pensioner had been employed as a regular officer or employee at the time of retirement. • “Prorated state share”, which means the dollar amount that the State pays for a plan on behalf of a regular officer or employee or an eligible pensioner. The “prorated state share” is the product of multiplying the proration ratio with the maximum state share. 2. Revises subsection (a) to use the new terms defined under this Act. 3. Transfers the current provisions in paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) that provide the maximum state share for eligible pensioners to subsection (a), so they are with the maximum state share for regular officers and employees. 4. Revises subsection (b) so that the proration ratio and how it is used to determine the prorated state share is explained in paragraph (b)(1) and the proration ratios are provided in paragraphs (b)(2) and (b)(3). • Paragraph (b)(2) lists all groups for whom the proration ratio is 100% because there are no deductions to the maximum state share. • Paragraph (b)(3) provides the proration ratios for eligible pensioners based on the date the eligible pensioner was first employed and years of employment as a regular officer or employee. These ratios clarify that for eligible pensioners who worked for less than the minimum number of years for the 50% proration ratio, the State does not pay anything towards the maximum state share.
- Who sponsors HB 375?
- HB 375 is sponsored by S. Elizabeth Lockman (Democratic), Laura V. Sturgeon (Democratic), David P. Sokola (Democratic), Lyndon D. Yearick (Republican), Trey Paradee (Democratic), Kerri Evelyn Harris (Democratic), Cyndie Romer (Democratic), Eric Morrison (Democratic), Spiros Mantzavinos (Democratic), Darius J. Brown (Democratic), Brian Pettyjohn (Republican), Bryan Townsend (Democratic), Paul S. Baumbach, Michael Ramone, Sherry Dorsey Walker, Peter C. Schwartzkopf, and Sarah McBride.
- What is the current status of HB 375?
- This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced May 16, 2024. Enacted.
- Where can I track HB 375?
- Track HB 375 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.
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