Rep. Sherry Dorsey Walker

This Act results from the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's review of the Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act Fund (“HSCA Fund”). Section 1 of the Act, which will take effect on January 1, 2021, provides that the Fund's 15% cap on administrative costs expenditures must be based on the average of the moneys deposited into the Fund over a period of the previous 10 fiscal years. The HSCA Fund tax assessment is due to expire on January 1, 2022. Section 2 of this Act removes the expiration date to ensure continued funding for the Brownfields Development Program and to address environmental liabilities assumed by the State.

This Act modifies the impact of criminal history for applicants for licensure to the Board of Electrical Examiners (Board). Specifically, this Act: (1) Permits the Board to grant waivers for felony convictions for crimes committed against a person where more than 3 years have elapsed, and more than 2 years have elapsed for other felonies. (2) Permits the Board to grant waivers for felony and misdemeanor convictions if the applicant is on Level I or II probation. (3) Precludes the Board from considering a conviction where more than 10 years have elapsed since the date of conviction. (4) Requires an applicant to submit evidence that the applicant has not been convicted of a felony sexual offense. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Delaware is one of only 3 states that does not offer some form of adult dental coverage through Medicaid (alongside Tennessee and Alabama). Dental care is health care. And, studies have shown that poor dental health care can result in serious infections and abscess in the face, neck, and jaw areas requiring some individuals to go to the emergency room where they may spend days in intensive care or even die. This ultimately costs states more money through their Medicaid program that could be saved if dental care were covered. This Act expands Delaware's Public Assistance Code to provide dental care to all eligible adult Medicaid recipients. Payments for dental care treatments are subject to a $3 recipient copay and the total amount of dental care assistance provided to an eligible recipient may not exceed $1,000 per year, except that an additional $1,500 may be authorized on an emergency basis for dental care treatments through a review process established by the Department of Health and Social Services. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Substitute Act differs from Senate Bill No. 92 (150th General Assembly) because it changes the effective date of this Act to be April 1, 2020, and removes provisions made unnecessary by the change.

This Act revises Delaware Insurance Code provisions related to the individual and group health insurance markets to directly incorporate into Delaware law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s consumer protections related to the following: (1) The prohibition of preexisting condition provisions. (2) Guaranteed issue and availability of coverage. (3) Permissible rating factors. This Act also ties references in Delaware law to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to that law as it was in effect on January 1, 2018. This ensures the ACA’s core consumer protection provisions will remain in place during the uncertainty surrounding the ACA in light of recent court challenges. Finally, this Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act establishes standards for data security for Title 18 licensees and standards for the investigation of and notification to the Commissioner of a cybersecurity event affecting Title 18 licensees.

Section 1 of this Act amends Section 903 of Title 13 of the Delaware Code. Substantively, this Act allows persons who are not married but who are cohabitating to jointly adopt a child that is not theirs. The Act also rewrites the statute so as to be more clearly understandable. Section 2 of this Act amends Section 951 of Title 13 of the Delaware Code. It allows persons who are not married but who are cohabitating to jointly adopt a child that is not theirs. The Act also changes the phrase "husband and wife" to "married couple."

This bill expands upon the existing at-store recycling program regarding the use of single-use plastic bags. The existing requirements will continue, however stores subject to this program will now be limited from providing single-use plastic bags for only specific uses thereby encouraging a shift to reusable bags. The purpose of the bill, as detailed in the preamble, is to clean up Delaware’s communities and watersheds, reduce storm water and trash management costs to taxpayers, and promote the health and safety of watersheds, wildlife and humans, and the ecosystem’s food chain. On January 1, 2021 this bill enacts a ban on stores providing single-use plastic bags at check-out.

This bill enables a key component of the Take Care Delaware program, a partnership between law enforcement and schools to adopt a trauma-informed approach to children who have been identified at the scene of a traumatic event. The Take Care Delaware program, which will start as a pilot, operates by a police officer or emergency-care provider alerting a child’s school about the child’s presence at a traumatic event that the police officer or emergency-care provider responded to. In order to avoid violations of the State Bureau of Investigation’s dissemination statute and the Victim’s Bill of Rights in Title 11, this bill creates a narrow exception to both statutes that allows police officers and emergency-care providers to send the child’s name to their school district or charter school so that the child’s teachers can ensure the child is handled in a trauma-informed way. The Take Care Delaware program is based on the national “Handle With Care” model and includes training and other best practices for law enforcement and schools to prevent and mitigate the negative impact of childhood exposure to trauma.

This Act creates the Redding Consortium for Educational Equity ("Consortium"), which replaces the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission ("WEIC"). The Consortium has multiple purposes. First, it will recommend policies and practices to the Governor, General Assembly, and Secretary of Education regarding educational equity and educational outcomes in the City of Wilmington and northern New Castle County. Second, the Consortium will monitor educational progress and outcomes for students in the City of Wilmington and for all low-income, English learners and at-risk students in northern New Castle County and report on the same. Third, the Consortium will make recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly regarding improvement in public education in the City of Wilmington and northern New Castle County. Fourth, it will evaluate the need for additional or alternative educational facilities in the City of Wilmington. Fifth, it will develop policy proposals to be introduced through legislation to improve teaching and learning in district and charter schools in the City of Wilmington and northern New Castle County. Sixth, it will develop a proposal for redistricting in the City of Wilmington and northern New Castle County. Seventh, it will research the viability of the New Castle County Tax District and Tax Pool. The Act specifies who will be appointed to the Consortium and how it will be staffed. Its first meeting must occur on or before September 1, 2019.

The Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee approved a project to work with the Governor's Office throughout 2018 and 2019 to identify antiquated boards, commissions, and councils that need statutory updates or outright repeals. The Architectural Accessibility Board was identified as needing updates to make it easier to fill vacancies and generally update language to modern legislative drafting standards. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.