SB 196 DE Became Law
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES.
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Summary
Delaware Senate Bill 196 requires long-term care facilities to disclose ownership information to residents and provide notice of ownership transfers within 30 days of receiving Department approval. The bill aligns the definition of "facility owner" with federal regulations and requires ownership lists to be posted on facility websites with marketing materials directing people to the website for owner information. The bill limits disclosure of disciplinary actions to those affecting resident health, safety, or welfare, and exempts nonprofit corporations from certain disclosure requirements. The act applies only to ownership transfers that occur on or after the effective date of the bill.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill (from the OpenStates abstract — no full text available yet) — neutral, and may be imperfect.
Official abstract
This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 196. Like Senate Bill No. 196, this Act requires long-term care facilities to fully disclose ownership information for the facility and disclose ownership information to residents prior to the transfer of ownership of a facility. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 196 in the following ways: 1. It changes the definition of "facility owner" to align with federal regulations. 2. It modifies the requirements for a long-term care facility to include a list of facility owners on marketing and promotional materials, instead requiring that the list of facility owners be found on the long-term care facility's website, and that any marketing or promotional materials include a statement directing recipients of the materials to the facility's website for a list of owners. 3. It amends the timeline for a long-term care facility to disclose a proposed transfer of ownership to no more than 30 calendar days after receiving approval of required modification of ownership and control paperwork from the Department. 4. It clarifies the requirements of both current and proposed new facility owners in disclosing a transfer of ownership to residents and, if applicable, authorized representatives of residents of the long-term care facility. 5. It modifies the requirement that the disclosure of disciplinary actions against the facility to be limited to those actions resulting from incidents that threatened the health, safety, or welfare of a resident. 6. It removes an explicit statement of the Department's authority to delay or deny the transfer of a license due to previous disciplinary actions. 7. It exempts nonprofit corporations from having to disclose certain information. 8. It explicitly exempts the requirements of this Act from applying to certain actions that began prior to the effective date of this Act.
Sponsors (5)
- Spiros Mantzavinos Democratic · primary
- Ray Seigfried Democratic · primary
- Melanie Ross Levin Democratic · primary
- Dave G. Lawson Republican · primary
- Claire Snyder-Hall Democratic · primary
Action history (9)
- May 21, 2026 Adopted in lieu of the original bill SB 196, and Assigned to Health & Social Services Committee in Senate · upper
- Jun 9, 2026 Reported Out of Committee (Health & Social Services) in Senate with 5 On Its Merits · upper
- Jun 10, 2026 Amendment SA 1 to SS 1 - Introduced and Placed With Bill · upper
- Jun 11, 2026 Amendment SA 1 to SS 1 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT · upper
- Jun 11, 2026 Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT · upper
- Jun 11, 2026 Assigned to Health & Human Development Committee in House · lower
- Jun 17, 2026 Reported Out of Committee (Health & Human Development) in House with 10 On Its Merits · lower
- Jun 23, 2026 Passed By House. Votes: 39 YES 1 NO 1 ABSENT · lower
- Jul 23, 2026 Signed by Governor · executive
Full text
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