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.
Sponsored bills
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.
This Act requires all public schools that serve pupils in grades 7-12 that issue pupil identification cards to have printed on the identification cards the telephone or text numbers for the National Suicide Prevention and National Domestic Violence Hotlines and allows them to add the National Sexual Assault, Teen Dating Violence and Bullying Hotlines. The Act requires all public institutions of higher learning in Delaware, which issue student identification cards, to print on the student identification cards the telephone or text numbers for National Suicide Prevention, Domestic Violence Hotlines and local campus police or campus security telephone numbers and allows the institutions to add the National Sexual Assault Hotline number. This Act will be implemented for the 2022-2023 school year.
This bill provides unit funding for full time employees who shall be hired to provide permanent substitute teaching support in Delaware schools. The bill also provides professional development requirements for those hired into these positions and creates a pathway to teaching to those individuals who meet the requirements for an emergency certificate.
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.
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.
This bill amends Chapter 33, Title 18 of the Delaware Code by adding a new § 3370E to require coverage of an annual behavioral health well check. This bill also amends Chapter 35, Title 18 of the Delaware Code by adding a new § 3571Z to require coverage of an annual behavioral health well check. This bill also amends Chapter 5, Title 31 of the Delaware Code by adding a new § 530 to require coverage of an annual behavioral health well check. This bill also amends Chapter 52, Title 29 of the Delaware Code by adding a new § 5215 to require coverage of an annual behavioral health well check. Finally, the bill creates an advisory committee of health professionals tasked with creating recommendations for implementation of the Act. The requirement for coverage of the behavioral health well check is effective January 1, 2023.
This bill establishes the pilotage rates for the Pilots’ Association for the Bay and River Delaware for 2023, 2024, and 2025.
This bill creates a special license plate for Suicide Prevention, Awareness, and Support in honor of Jason Staley.
This Act creates a process for the Commissioner of Elections to determine if a candidate or an incumbent elected official for a State or county elected office are residents of the district or area they represent or seek to represent. This Act does not apply to municipalities. The purpose of this Act is to require all candidates for State or county elected offices and incumbent elected officials to have their primary residential address in the area or district they represent or seek to represent.