Delaware Bills

signed · Delaware · Senate Aug 25, 2022

SB 263: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE CULTURAL RESOURCE INCENTIVE PROGRAM.

This Act establishes a cultural resources professional scholarship for the purpose of enabling and encouraging academically talented Delawareans to pursue careers as cultural resource professionals. The scholarship is also available to persons already serving in positions with cultural resource agencies, such as the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs or with organizations that are institutional members of the Delaware Museum Association, among others, further their education. This scholarship would strengthen Delaware’s ability to both recruit and retain a more diverse workforce and would help the state meet federal credentialing requirements for federally-funded projects. The scholarship is named for the late Lewis M. “Skipper” Purnell, one of Delaware’s leading historical preservationists and husband of Mrs. Matilda “Til” Purnell, a great Delaware environmentalist in her own right. This Substitute Bill differs from the original in that it makes this a scholarship rather than a loan reimbursement program. It is written to be placed in the code after the significant changes to Chapter 34 made by House Bill 480. Because it is designed to exist under the new Delaware Higher Education Office’s role, enactment is contingent on the passage and enactment of HB 480. It also is a different section number than the original bill based on the changes being made to the chapter by HB 480.

signed · Delaware · Senate Aug 19, 2022

SB 290: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ADULT SEXUAL MISCONDUCT IN SCHOOLS.

This Act expands Erin's Law to require training and education on issues related to inappropriate relationships between adults and children, such as grooming. Erin's Law requires the Child Protection Accountability Commission and the Division of Family Services of the Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families to develop and maintain a curriculum to be used by Delaware's public schools to educate public school employees about personal body safety and child sexual abuse. Erin's Law is named in honor of Erin Merryn, a victim of child sexual abuse, who is working to enact legislation on this subject throughout the country. This act expands Erin's Law in several respects. The Act expands the range of grades that Erin's Law applies to from pre-kindergarten to grade 6 to pre-kindergarten to grade 12. In addition, the Act expands Erin's Law to require training for school employees on the prevention of inappropriate sexual misconduct, the establishment of appropriate adult and student interactions, and the warning signs of suspected adult sexual misconduct, with an emphasis on sexual grooming. It also expands the information available to parents and students to include information on the warning signs of adult sexual misconduct, including the derivative grooming of parents, methods for discussing adult sexual misconduct with students, resources for reporting suspected abuse, and counseling available to students and parents. Finally, the Act requires training and education for school administrators, school nurses, and school counselors on issues relating to inappropriate sexual relationships and grooming, such as strategies for the prevention of such misconduct, skills for responding to student disclosures of such misconduct, and measures to promote school recovery after an incident of such misconduct.

signed · Delaware · House Aug 19, 2022

HB 442: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE HEALTH CARE COMMISSION AND STATE OF DELAWARE HEALTH CARE SPENDING AND QUALITY BENCHMARKS.

Delaware’s per capita health care spending consistently ranks in the top ten highest spending states and has historically outpaced economic growth in Delaware. Enhanced transparency and shared accountability for spending and quality targets have been used to accelerate changes in our health care delivery system, creating benefits for employers, state government and health care consumers. House Joint Resolution 7 of the 149th General Assembly and Executive Order Nineteen tasked the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) with the establishment of annual health care spending and quality benchmarks as a strategy to address the unsustainable growth in health care spending while also measuring aspects of health care quality. This Act serves to replace Executive Order Twenty-Five which established Delaware’s Spending and Quality Benchmark initiative in 2018. The codification of these benchmarks supports the continuation of Delaware’s Road to Value by improving the transparency of health care spending and quality, as well as providing attainable goals needed to achieve better health care, lower costs, and healthier communities.

signed · Delaware · House Aug 4, 2022

HB 309: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE PROVISION OF INFORMATION ABOUT LYME DISEASE.

This Act, modeled on similar laws in Virginia and Maryland, requires a health-care provider to provide notice to a patient at the time blood is drawn to perform a laboratory test for Lyme disease that explains the limitations of the test and instructs the patient to see their health-care provider if the patient continues to experience unexplained symptoms. This Act was previously passed by the 150th General Assembly in Senate Bill 15, and is the same except for the removal of the sunset provision.

signed · Delaware · Senate Aug 4, 2022

SB 247: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS AND THE INTERSTATE OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY LICENSURE COMPACT.

By this Act, Delaware would join the Interstate Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact (OT Compact). The OT Compact is an interstate compact, or a formal agreement among states, to facilitate the interstate practice of occupational therapy. Under the OT Compact, Occupational Therapists (OTs) and Occupational Therapy Assistants (OTAs) who are licensed and in good standing in a Compact member state may practice in other Compact member states via a “compact privilege,” which is equivalent to a license. This will remove the need for practitioners to get an individual license in each state where they want to practice. The OT Compact is the same in form and function as other occupational licensure compacts like the Nurse Multistate Licensure Compact (adopted by Delaware, 24 Del. C. Ch. 19A), the Physical Therapy Compact (adopted by Delaware, 24 Del. C. Ch. 26C) and the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (adopted by Delaware, 24 Del.C. Ch. 17A). The OT Compact authorizes in person practice and telepractice based on a valid, unrestricted home state license in other Compact member states for both Occupational Therapists (OTs) and Occupational Therapy Assistants (OTAs) The American Occupational Therapy Association is leading the initiative in collaboration with the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy. The National Center for Interstate Compacts at the Council of State Governments facilitated the development of the OT Compact and is providing technical assistance. The OT Compact has been adopted by ten states: Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The OT Compact is pending before the legislatures of thirteen other states. The OT Compact establishes a licensure data system allowing for instantaneous verification of licensure information. The Compact also establishes an interstate commission, composed of member state officials, to carry out the Compact’s purposes.

signed · Delaware · Senate Aug 4, 2022

SB 259: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE INVESTOR PROTECTION FUND.

This bill increases the amount of funds deposited into the Investor Protection Fund from money collected by the Investor Protection Unit from $100,000 to $550,000. In addition, it increases the retention cap of the Investor Protection Fund from $300,000 to $750,000. Lastly, it expands the permissible uses of the Investor Protection Fund to include expenses of the Fraud and Consumer Protection Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) related to consumer protection and financial fraud. The Investor Protection Fund receives revenues from fees collected by the Unit, as well as any settlement recoveries of the Unit. It is largely used to pay the non-personnel expenses of DOJ’s Investor Protection Unit, which is a part of DOJ’s Fraud and Consumer Protection Division.

signed · Delaware · House Aug 4, 2022

HB 446: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO KENT COUNTY BOARD OF ASSESSMENT REVIEW.

The Kent County Levy Court sets equal compensation for the members and chairpersons of all Kent County boards and commissions in the annual operating budget ordinance. Currently all members of the other boards and commissions are compensated at a rate of $150.00 per meeting attended. Chairpersons are compensated at a rate of $175.00 per meeting attended. This Act will allow the members and Chairperson of the Board of Assessment Review to receive the same compensation as those appointed to all other boards and commissions by the Kent County Levy Court.

signed · Delaware · Senate Aug 4, 2022

SB 257: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO A MULTISTATE PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR LICENSURE COMPACT.

This Act is an interstate compact called the Multistate Professional Counselor Licensure Compact, and it facilitates the interstate practice of licensed professional counseling. The Counseling Compact allows a counselor who is licensed in their home state and has not had any encumbrances on their license within the last 2 years to obtain the ability to practice counseling in other states participating in the Compact if the counselor satisfies the requirements, including completion of a criminal background check. A counselor must comply with the rules of any state in which they are practicing. Any state in which the counselor practices has the authority to remove the counselor's ability to practice in their state for a specific period of time, impose fines, and take other actions necessary to protect the health and safety of its citizens. If the counselor's home state license becomes encumbered, the counselor will lose the ability to practice interstate under the Compact until their home state license is no longer encumbered and at least 2 years have passed. Additionally, the Compact establishes protections, including data sharing requirements between participating states to enhance the exchange of licensure, investigative, and disciplinary information among participating states. The Compact establishes a commission to administer the Compact, and establishes that each participating state will have one delegate that serves on the Commission. The Compact also has a special provision to make it easier for active duty military personnel or their spouses who are counselors to practice counseling despite frequent moves. Counselors do not have to participate in the Compact to practice; counselors may choose to only apply for their state's license or to apply for licenses in other states without going through the Compact. The Counseling Compact must be enacted in 10 states to become effective. As of March 26, 2022, the Counseling Compact has been enacted in 6 states. The Compact is pending in 16 other states.

signed · Delaware · Senate Aug 4, 2022

SB 319: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES.

This bill creates a special license plate for atTAcK addiction.

signed · Delaware · Senate Aug 4, 2022

SB 272: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS AND THE AUDIOLOGY AND SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY INTERSTATE COMPACT.

By this Act, Delaware would join the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact (the “Compact”). The Compact is an interstate compact, or a formal agreement among states, to facilitate the interstate practice of audiology and speech language pathology. Under the Compact, audiologists and speech-language pathologists (collectively, “practitioners”) who are licensed and in good standing in a Compact member state may practice in any other Compact member states via a “compact privilege,” which is equivalent to a license. This will remove the need for practitioners to get an individual license in each state where they want to practice. The Compact is the same in form and function as other occupational licensure compacts such as the Nurse Multistate Licensure Compact (adopted by Delaware, 24 Del. C. Ch. 19A), the Physical Therapy Compact (adopted by Delaware, 24 Del. C. Ch. 26C) and the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (adopted by Delaware, 24 Del. C. Ch. 17A). The Compact authorizes in-person practice and telepractice based on a valid, unrestricted home state license in Compact member states. The Compact has been adopted by 17 states: Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The Compact is pending before the legislatures of 9 other states. The Compact establishes a licensure data system allowing for instantaneous verification of licensure information. The Compact also establishes an interstate commission, composed of member state officials, to carry out the Compact’s purposes.

signed · Delaware · Senate Jul 29, 2022

SB 300: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MEDICAL PRACTICE.

This Act updates the mandatory reporting requirements for Delaware physicians with anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges. These changes are necessary to ensure that physicians are able to seek treatment without undue stigma or fear of loss of medical licensure. The recommended changes to the statutory reporting requirements are aligned with national best practices recommendations of leading experts including the Joint Commission on Healthcare Accreditation and the Federation of State Medical Boards. The mandatory reporting changes in this Act are also aligned with the language of the current Delaware application for medical licensure, which appears to be more aligned with best practices and compliance with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-336. 26 July 1990). These changes are designed to appropriately balance the need to continue to maintain proper safeguards for patients in accessing safe, high quality health care services without causing undue stigma and negative licensure consequences for physicians. Finally, this Act deletes language in § 1731(c) of Title 24 of the Delaware Code that references the other professions or occupations regulated under Chapter 17 of Title 24 because these professions or occupations have their own requirements in other provisions of Chapter 17.

signed · Delaware · Senate Jul 27, 2022

SB 213: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY.

This bill adds representation from the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance (DMMA) to the Delaware Healthy Mother and Infant Consortium and the Overdose System of Care Committee.

Bill results