Rep. Deborah Hudson

This Act requires that any student over the age of 16 who wishes to leave school prior to graduation must obtain the written consent of the parent or guardian, and attend an exit interview where information is supplied regarding the likelihood of diminished earning potential and the increased likelihood of unemployment associated with dropping out. The school is also directed to explore whether there are support services, interventions or programs that might assist the student in remaining enrolled. The intent is to lower the dropout rate and encourage students to complete high school.

This resolution continues to raise awareness that the month of May is Melanoma and Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month in Delaware and celebrates new research predicting lower melanoma rates.

This bill aligns requirements for initial licensure for school nurses to the unique role they play in Delaware public schools. It requires school nurses to hold a Bachelors Degree in Nursing (BSN) from an accredited college or university, maintain a registered nurse license, and be certified in CPR and in the use of an AED. It also requires school nurses to complete 90 clock hours of training approved by the Department of Education. And finally it requires schools nurses to complete three years of supervised clinical nursing experience and achieve a passing score on the NCLEX exam before a provisional or initial license can be granted.

This Act is the second leg of a constitutional amendment that will limit the ability of the State to appropriate Transportation Trust Fund moneys to a purpose other than (1) capital expenditures on the public transportation system, including the road system, grants and allocations for investments in transportation, the transit system, and the support systems for public transportation; (2) payment of the interest and principal on all bonds issued before or after the effective date of this Act and secured by moneys in the Transportation Trust Fund; and (3) other transportation-related purposes, including operating expenses funding the Delaware Department of Transportation, to which moneys in the Transportation Trust Fund are authorized on the effective date of this Act. The first leg, Senate Bill No. 166 of the 148th General Assembly, was adopted by two-thirds of the members elected to the General Assembly and publicized in accordance with Article XVI, § 1 of the Delaware Constitution. This Act essentially creates a lock box on the Transportation Trust Fund that can only be opened by the agreement of three-fourths of all the members of each House through a bill separate from an annual budget act, bond and capital improvement act, or grants-in-aid act. Additionally, if moneys in the Transportation Trust Fund cease to be appropriated for a transportation-related purpose, the moneys may not again be appropriated to such purpose except by the agreement of three-fourths of all the members of each House through a bill separate from an annual budget act, bond and capital improvement act, or grants-in-aid act.

This Act revises Delaware’s hate crime statute to make law enforcement, firefighters and emergency personnel protected classes. Nationwide we have seen unprecedented number of unprovoked attacks upon our first responders. This Act provides additional protection for those who serve to protect our communities.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also referred to as “the food stamp program,” assists eligible low-income individuals with the purchase of food. This Act, known as the Delaware Nutritional Improvement Act, seeks to bring the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in line with other state programs and initiatives aimed at improving the health and welfare of Delawareans. SNAP benefits are paid entirely with federal funds, but the costs to administer the program are split between the federal and state government. As is the case with another jointly administered state-federal program – the Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) – this Act seeks to require SNAP benefits to be used solely for the purchase of healthy foods identified by the Department of Health and Social Services as having beneficial nutritional value. This will not only improve the efficiency of such expenditures but it should also improve the well-being of recipients, as well as potentially reduce health care expenditures. Using the WIC guidelines as a starting point, this Act instructs the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) to draft a list of approved foods. The DHSS shall create the list with the goal of expanding on the WIC designations to improve selection and increase affordability. Under this Act, future SNAP benefits could be used only to purchase items designated as having beneficial nutritional value. Because the SNAP benefits are paid with federal funds, this Act would not become effective until the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture grants a waiver allowing its implementation. The status of this waiver may be obtained from the Director of the Department of Health and Social Services.

This concurrent resolution thanks the Career and Technical Student Organizations for their presentation of geraniums. This concurrent resolution also extends the General Assembly's best wishes for continued success to these exemplary students.

The intent of this act is to promote agritourism activities within this State by broadly defining what constitutes agritourism.

This act will be known as the Extreme Crimes Protection Act. This Act revises Delaware's death penalty statute to ensure its compliance with the United States Constitution, as interpreted by the United State Supreme Court in Hurst v. Florida, and by the Delaware Supreme Court in Rauf v. State. In accord with those cases, this Act will require that before a death sentence can be imposed, a jury (unless the Defendant waives their right to one) must first determine unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt: that at least 1 statutory aggravating circumstance exists; which (if any) statutory and non-statutory aggravating circumstances alleged by the State exist; and whether all of the aggravating circumstances found to exist outweigh all of the mitigating circumstances found to exist. This Act also revises Delaware's death penalty statute to comply with the United State Supreme Court's holding in Hall v. Florida, interpreting standards set forth in Atkins v. Virginia. This Act adopts the term "intellectual disability" used by the United State Supreme Court.

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes The Committee of 100 on the 50th anniversary of its founding.