BETHEL

Assisted Suicide Bill Clears House

The legislation squeaked through the chamber on Thursday with 21 votes, the minimum needed for passage.

Sponsored by State Rep. Paul Baumbach (D-Newark), House Bill 140 would create a multi-step process allowing Delawareans with a life expectancy of less than six months to obtain and self-administer a lethal dosage of a prescribed drug.

Under the bill, a designated medical professional must confirm that the patient seeking suicide could make an informed, rational, and voluntary decision. 

Individuals seeking this option must be presented with all available alternatives, including comfort care, hospice care, and pain control. Two waiting periods would also be built into the process. The bill would not allow anyone to request the fatal dosage on behalf of another. 

Speaking on the House floor before the vote on the bill, State Rep. Jeff Hilovsky (R-Long Neck, Oak Orchard) expressed multiple concerns with the legislation. He noted that it is not uncommon for advancements in medical research or new approaches to reverse a terminal diagnosis in a matter of months. Despite the bill’s safeguards, he said he also had reservations that terminal patients could have their judgments compromised by depression or other mental health issues.

“One of the oaths I’ve taken in my life included ‘doing no harm,’” said Rep. Hilovsky, a Doctor of Optometry. “I see enough questions in this bill to give me pause, and that is why I will not vote for it.”

State Rep. Rich Collins (R-Millsboro) also expressed his opposition to the proposal, saying the option could lead to seniors being coerced into prematurely ending their lives. “I was an insurance agent for 37 years, and I sold life insurance and investments,” he told his colleagues in the chamber. “I had situations during my career where…the children of an older person made it clear they wanted their parents to go because of the money. I have a lot of concerns about some people’s motives.”

Currently, ten states allow medically assisted suicide through statute or court decision: Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California, Colorado, Hawaii, New Jersey, Maine, Montana, and New Mexico.

“This is an issue about allowing adults facing a terminal illness to make critical decisions about their lives,” Rep. Paul Baumbach said. “Many people in the last stages of life wish to make their own choices regarding their life and their suffering.”

The Delaware Coalition of Nurse Practitioners supports the legislation. “We believe the bill allows dying people to have peace of mind and comfort in a location of their choice during a difficult time,” said a statement issued by the group. “Many nurse practitioners believe this treatment respects patients by allowing them to assert their values and priorities as death approaches. We believe HB140 demonstrates care that protects the autonomy of the dying person and demonstrates compassion during the most difficult time in the lives of the patient and their family.” 

The American Medical Association opposes physicians facilitating suicide, stating in its published opinions: “Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks. Instead of engaging in assisted suicide, physicians must aggressively respond to the needs of patients at the end of life.”

Before the bill’s passage, it was amended to change its potential implementation deadline to July 1, 2025. It has been placed in the Senate Executive Committee for consideration. Six of the Senate’s 21 members are sponsors or co-sponsors of the bill, including President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola (D-Newark, Pike Creek).

Bill Would Make Delaware a Major Consumer of Electricity from Offshore Wind Turbines

A bill filed in the State Senate yesterday (4/18) seeks to make Delawareans major consumers of offshore wind turbine energy.

Sponsored by State Sen. Stephanie Hansen, Senate Bill 265 (the Delaware Energy Solutions Act of 2024) would create a detailed framework for the solicitation, consideration, and potential approval of a future offshore wind project in Delaware Code.

“[This legislation] does not automatically give the green light for any offshore wind projects,” Sen Hansen said. “What it does do is establish the specific terms and conditions under which the State of Delaware will be willing to permit a qualified and experienced developer to move forward with a cost-effective offshore wind farm project.”

Under the measure, the State Energy Office would be authorized to develop and solicit single or multiple contracts to purchase between 800 and 1,200 megawatts of electricity produced by offshore wind turbines. The contracts would be for a minimum of 20 years and include pricing guidelines.

One megawatt is roughly enough electricity to serve 750 homes.

The new bill is part of a larger initiative by the Carney Administration to fundamentally change Delaware’s energy infrastructure. Last summer, Gov. John Carney signed the “Delaware Climate Change Solutions Act of 2023” into law, committing the state to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% over the next six years*. By 2050, the law calls for the state to have net zero emissions. Delaware’s Climate Action Plan will serve as the framework to guide all state agencies toward achieving these goals. 

“Delaware is the lowest-lying state in the country, and climate change is already affecting our communities,” Gov. Carney said. “Greenhouse gases need to be reduced, and we need to find cleaner ways to generate energy.”

David T. Stevenson, Director of the Caesar Rodney Institute Center for Energy & Environment, said the bill is the wrong legislation at the wrong time. “Offshore wind is in disarray,” he said.

According to published reports, at least five regional offshore wind projects were canceled last year in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. The problems cited included inflation, higher interest rates, rising capital costs, and supply chain issues.

Mr. Stevenson argues that carbon reductions in the energy sector could be more efficiently achieved through new nuclear power, hydrogen power, and carbon capture at existing coal and natural gas power plants. “All of these alternatives are less expensive than offshore wind,” he said. “The proposed act should not move forward until these recommendations are fully considered.

“Additionally, the original offshore wind working group recommended any future consideration of procurement should be a competition between all low-emission alternatives,” Mr. Stevenson said, adding that the state’s own contracted analysis indicated local offshore wind projects resulting from this act were unlikely to be operational before 2031. “Hydrogen, carbon capture, and possibly even nuclear projects could fit in that timeline,” he said.

There is also concern about the potential for negative impacts on Delaware’s billion-dollar coastal tourism industry caused by the visual clutter of offshore wind farms.

The bill has been assigned to the Senate Environment, Energy & Transportation Committee for consideration.

* – compared to 2005

Bill to Subsidize the Purchase and Installation of EV Chargers Passes House

A bill that would give Delawareans financial aid to buy and install home electric vehicle (EV) chargers passed the House Thursday by a vote of 21 to 13, with seven absent.

House Substitute 2 for House Bill 13 would allow the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility (DSEU) to issue assistance to offset state residents’ costs of financing EV charging equipment.

The Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation specializing in renewable and energy-efficiency programs. The organization is primarily funded through Delaware’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade program that auctions CO2 emissions credits to electricity producers using coal, oil, and natural gas. Those costs are passed along to residential and commercial ratepayers purchasing the power.

Under the bill, a low-income applicant could receive assistance for up to 90% of the cost of purchasing and installing an EV charger, with other applicants receiving up to 50% of the total cost.

The measure includes a generous interpretation of low-income as “applicants whose incomes are no more than 300% of the federal poverty level.” For a single-person household, an annual income under $45,000 would qualify. For a four-person household, that threshold would be anything under $93,600 annually.

The program created by the bill would be administered on a first-come, first-served basis contingent on available funds. However, the legislation does not include any eligibility criteria, how applications might be evaluated, or how much money would be earmarked for the effort each year.

The national average cost of buying and installing a home EV charger is generally reported at about $1,200, but the price tag can vary considerably depending on the home’s existing infrastructure, the type of charger, and the cost of labor.

The measure has been assigned to the Senate Environment, Energy & Transportation Committee for consideration.

The bill’s House approval follows the promulgation of regulations in December by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) mandating increased sales of new zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) — predominantly battery-electric vehicles.

Under the final regulations, starting with model year 2027 (Fall 2026), 43% of all new cars and trucks vehicle-makers ship to Delaware will be required to be ZEVs. That percentage will increase annually to 82% by model year 2032. The regulations will expire in model year 2033. 

The rules were initiated despite broad public opposition. Of the 4,426 individual public comments submitted to DNREC as part of the regulatory process, more than 94% opposed the restriction on selling new fuel-powered vehicles in The First State.

Bipartisan Legislation Seeks to Make Cabinet Secretaries More Accountable

Under legislation introduced Thursday by the Delaware General Assembly’s Republican and Democratic leaders, future cabinet secretaries, commissioners, and directors would need to be reconfirmed at the start of each governor’s term of office.

Sponsored by Senate President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola, House Speaker Valerie Longhurst, Senate Minority Leader Gerald Hocker, and House Minority Leader Mike Ramone, Senate Bill 15 and Senate Bill 16 would begin a two-year legislative process to give Delawareans a greater voice in the leadership and direction of the state’s largest agencies.

  “By requiring some of the most powerful, non-elected leaders of this state to essentially reapply for their jobs once every four years, the General Assembly – and the people who elect us – will have an opportunity to consider both the prospective qualifications of each new job candidate, as well as their actual performance once they have been on the job for a few years,” said Sen. Sokola. “That’s the same process each of us as elected leaders have to follow.”

Under current state law, members of the governor’s cabinet are required to be confirmed by the state Senate only when they are first nominated to the position. Cabinet members who remain in the same position entering a governor’s second term – or continue in the same job from one administration to the next – can do so without sitting for a subsequent public confirmation hearing.

SB 15 would change that process by amending the Delaware Constitution to require each holdover cabinet member to be reconfirmed at the beginning of each gubernatorial term. SB 15 also would enshrine residency requirements for cabinet-level positions in the Constitution rather than the Delaware Code.

Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority in each legislative chamber and must pass in identical forms in consecutive General Assemblies to become law. No signature from the governor is required.

A companion bill, SB 16, would change the Delaware Code to reflect the new requirement for 16 cabinet-level positions and reflect the long-standing practice of setting cabinet secretary salaries in the annual operating budget. The measure’s enactment would be contingent on SB 15 being successfully added to the state constitution during the 153rd General Assembly.

“Our tripartite government works best when the three branches – executive, legislative, and judicial – act as checks against the powers and competence of the others,” Rep. Ramone said. “Given the regulatory power many executive agencies wield, these bills represent a needed reform that promises to improve accountability to the citizens we all work for.”

Both SB 15 and SB 16 have been assigned to the Senate Executive Committee.