Rep. Krista Griffith

This Act updates the Delaware Code relating to the Delaware Board of Examiners of Psychologists by amending the qualifications for licensure for reciprocity applicants. Currently reciprocity applicants, even those who have practiced many years in another state without blemish, are required to possess the same type of psychology doctoral degree as a new graduate. This bill would grant the Board greater flexibility when evaluating reciprocity applicants by allowing the Board to use an applicant’s years of experience and training while licensed in another jurisdiction to compensate for any deficiencies in their education. If passed, the bill would align Delaware more closely with surrounding jurisdictions.

This Act permits an officer to refer a juvenile who is in possession of alcohol or marijuana to the Juvenile Civil Citation Program rather than issue an assessment for a monetary civil penalty. Pursuant to the Juvenile Civil Citation Program, a juvenile may be referred to counseling, treatment, or other appropriate interventions. The bill also removes a provision requiring monetary marijuana penalties to double if unpaid within 90 days.

This Act amends the Delaware Energy Act to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles in the State by creating more accessible electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Specifically, this Act permits State agencies to charge a fee for public or employee use of electric vehicle supply equipment installed by the agency so long as the fees do not exceed the agency’s costs. “Costs” means the costs associated with electricity used by the agency’s electric vehicle supply equipment, installation of the agency’s electric vehicle supply equipment, and maintenance of the infrastructure and equipment of the agency’s electric vehicle supply equipment. This Act limits the locations where the charging infrastructure may be placed by the State to state-owned or state-leased properties used by state employees or visitors.

This Act provides a senior discount for residents and non-residents 62 years of age and older, for a conservation access pass, and a life-time conservation access pass for Delaware residents, 65 years of age and older, consistent with current senior discounts for access fees to Delaware State Parks.

In order to lower the cost of energy and accelerate the adoption of community-based solar photovoltaic systems in the State, this bill eliminates current barriers to such systems and sets up a regulatory process to be implemented by the Public Service Commission with consumer protection provided by the Department of Justice. More specifically, this bill: 1. Allows for multiple types of ownership models, defined as “community-owned energy generating facilities," to exist and compete in the marketplace; 2. Increases the maximum size of these systems to 4 megawatts (MW); 3. Eliminates the requirement that all customers of a system must be located on the same distribution feeder; 4. Eliminates the requirement that all customers of a system must be identified before the system can be built; 5. Provides for the regulation of these systems by the Public Service Commission and sets forth the fee and requirements for a Certificate to Operate; 6. Provides compensation to the system owner for 10% or less of unsubscribed energy; 7. Requires each system owner to certify that it serves at least 15% low income customers; and 8. Provides that the Public Service Commission will engage in rule-making in consultation with the Consumer Protection Unit of the Delaware Department of Justice and promulgate rules and regulations by March 11, 2022.

This Act requires the Delaware Health Information Network (“DHIN”) to provide the Gift of Life program – the State’s approved organ procurement organization, or “OPO” – with access to data on potential anatomical donors when the data is needed to determine the suitability for organ, tissue and eye donation for any purpose identified in Delaware’s Uniform Anatomical Gift Act. This Act is the result of the 2019 report of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's task force under Senate Resolution No. 9 of the 150th General Assembly.

Chiropractic care is a drugless system of health care. It is uniquely positioned as a treatment for back pain and chronic headaches, which a peer-reviewed medical journal has indicated are alarming drivers of opioid-related deaths. Other peer-reviewed studies have indicated that chiropractic physician care reduces opioid usage rates, costs significantly less than the opioid treatment path, and contributes to preventing addiction and overdose death. In Delaware, back problems are a top-three cost driver and are among the most common conditions resulting in disability and lost productivity. This Act helps to address these issues in Delaware and improves access for Delawareans seeking opioid-free treatment by ensuring chiropractors are reimbursed at least at the level of Medicare and not at historically persistent lower rates.

This Act is a result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee’s (“JLOSC”) 2019 review of the Delaware Advisory Council on Career and Technical Education (“DACCTE”), and adds a requirement to DACCTE’s annual report to provide students and families access to information regarding educational, employment, and training opportunities.

This Act is the result of the 2019 report of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee’s task force under Senate Resolution No. 9 of the 150th General Assembly, which recommended permitting the Delaware Health Information Network (“DHIN”) to use clinical healthcare data in its possession for appropriate analytic and public health purposes. This Act largely tracks current law regarding the use of health care claims data that DHIN holds. It requires DHIN to promulgate regulations to permit appropriate health-care payers, providers, purchasers, or researchers to access clinical data in DHIN’s possession under terms and conditions that DHIN and its Board of Directors establish. This Act maintains and enhances language that requires DHIN to disclose individually-identifiable patient information only with direct patient consent or for purposes permitted by the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and associated regulations (“HIPAA”). This Act also provides additional protections to consumers, by codifying DHIN’s general practice of providing Delaware residents with access to their own health information and requiring DHIN to promulgate regulations giving residents the ability to require DHIN to provide that health information to third parties under appropriate terms and conditions. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act is the result of the 2019 report of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's (“JLSOC”) task force under Senate Resolution No. 9 of the 150th General Assembly, which recommended amending the Delaware Health Information Network's ("DHIN") chapter to conform existing law with the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act makes technical corrections to the DHIN chapter, including the following: - Using active voice where possible. - Using the singular where appropriate since, under § 304 of Title 1, “words used in the singular include the plural.” - Converting block paragraphs into lists where possible, without changing the substance of the existing law, to enhance clarity and readability. - Replacing “party” with “person” for consistency since, under § 302 of Title 1, “person” is defined as including “corporations, companies, associations, firms, partnerships, societies and joint-stock companies, as well as individuals.” This Act makes one substantive change to DHIN's chapter, in clarifying the circumstances under which the Governor may suspend or remove a member or otherwise consider a member as having resigned from the DHIN Board of Directors. Under this Act, the provision relating to suspension, removal, or resignation of a DHIN Board member is updated to be consistent with similar provisions for other boards. Section 8 of this Act does not take effect if Senate Bill No. 88 of the 151st General Assembly is enacted into law before January 1, 2023, and § 10312(3), Title 16 of Section 11 of this Act does not take effect if Senate Bill No. 119 of the 151st General Assembly is enacted before January 1, 2023. Both SB 88 and SB 119 are also the result of JLOSC’s review of DHIN, and both address substantive matters. The enactment of SB 88 or SB 119 override the technical corrections made in this Act, and the effective date clauses in Sections 15 and 16 of this Act reflect that policy. This Act takes effective the January 1 after its enactment, to accommodate the enactment of the other bills currently pending before the 151st General Assembly relating to JLOSC’s review of DHIN.