Rep. Kerri Harris

Due to continuing concerns over the negative health effects secondhand smoke will have on the youth of Delaware, this bill adds Smoking Restrictions within vehicles if a person under the age of eighteen (18) is in the vehicle. Also, it makes clear that a police officer will not stop or detain a car solely on suspicion of having violated this Statute.

Since its creation the Water Supply Coordinating Council (the Council) has provided critical guidance to proactively address identified water supply issues. However, the actions of the Council have largely focused on recommendations and implementation associated with water supplies in the drought-prone portions of Northern New Castle County. While the water supplies in that area remain critical to the State, additional focus is needed on similar water supply coordination in other portions of the State as well. Many of the Council’s reports have made recommendations for other actions in these areas, however, it is critical that appropriate local/regional representation be included to receive the necessary input and feedback that made the New Castle County implementation successful. Therefore, this Act is intended to reconstitute the Council to provide for a smaller more consistent quorum for state-wide coordination while establishing the structure for direct regional (County-level) contributions and implementation. It is intended that the preliminary charge of each County-level subcommittee will be to establish the appropriate memberships to best address their prioritized concerns.

This Act adds the Senate Minority Leader and the House Minority Leader as members of the Public Health Emergency Planning Commission (Commission). This Act also requires the Commission to meet within 30 days of the initiation a state of emergency due to a public health emergency for the purposes of discussing and evaluating, in an advisory capacity to the Governor, the response to the public health emergency. The Commission would be required to continue meeting at least every 30 days until the termination of the state of emergency due to a public health emergency. This Act also defines the term “Commission” in the subchapter-level definition section since the term “Commission” is used in multiple places within Subchapter V of Chapter 31 of Title 20. This Act also adds Commission governance procedures, including length of terms, filling vacancies, and defining quorum. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including updating agency names.

This Act makes changes to provisions related to behavioral health and the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health to reflect current practices.

This bill creates the Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act. The Act delineates a consumer’s personal data rights and provides that residents of this State will have the right to know what information is being collected about them, see the information, correct any inaccuracies, or request deletion of their personal data that is being maintained by entities or people. This Act is modeled after existing frameworks for data privacy in other jurisdictions. This Act will apply to entities that conduct business in the State of Delaware who controlled or processed the personal data of not less than 35,000 consumers or controlled or processed the personal data of not less than 10,000 consumers and derived more than 20 percent of their gross revenue from the sale of personal data. This Act requires Delaware Department of Justice to engage in public outreach to educate consumers and the business community about the Act beginning at least 6 months prior to the effective date of the Act.

This Act expands the rights of long-term care facility residents by ensuring that long-term care facility residents are entitled to care that recognizes cultural differences and preferences and that long-term care facility residents are made aware of their rights in a language and format that is accessible to the resident. This Act also requires the Department of Health and Social Services to prepare a standardized notice listing all rights detailed in § 1121 of Title 16 in a language and format that is accessible to each resident or their authorized representative. This bill also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Senate Joint Resolution directs the Department of Services for Children, Youth & Their Families to explore participating in the federal title IV-E Guardianship Assistance Program to increase support to relative guardians and facilitate permanency solutions for Delaware youth in foster care.

This Act allows Dental Clinicians possessing a DDS or DMDS to participate in the Health Care Provider Loan Repayment grant program. The Act also extends the time in which providers may apply for a Health Care Provider Loan Repayment grant from six months to two years following completion of their graduate education.

This Act makes various amendments to the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act to improve compliance with its testing and reporting requirements. First, this Act requires physicians to take a training program every 2 years relating to the provisions of the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act. Second, it requires the Division of Public Health to develop electronic forms to be used at a child’s 12 and 24 month well visit that record lead screening results and are shared with the Divison. Third, it clarifies that laboratories and health care professionals involved in blood lead level analysis must report results to the the Division of Public Health. Finally, it requires the Division of Public Health to share data with school nurses relating to whether an enrolled student has been screened for lead poisoning.

Under this bill, when the State incurs costs for impounding an animal and the owner fails to pay the costs, the time in which ownership of the animal reverts to the State is reduced from 30 days to 15 days.