This Act promotes the expansion of licensure opportunities in Delaware while maintaining standards of competence and professionalism required for the protection of the citizens of Delaware. The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing professional licensure for engineers. It develops, administers, and scores the examinations used for engineering licensure in the United States. Most recently, NCEES has recommended that states broaden access to licensure subject to rigorous competency requirements. For example, Delaware has historically recognized EAC of ABET-accredited (Engineering Accreditation Commission of the former Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) programs as the gold standard for engineering education. NCEES has recommended that graduates of engineering programs accredited by signatories of the Washington Accord be afforded the same recognition as EAC of ABET graduates. The Washington Accord is an international agreement between bodies responsible for accrediting engineering degree programs. Signatories of the Accord mutually “recognize the substantial equivalency of participating organizations’ accreditation processes and their graduates’ preparedness to begin professional practice at the entry level.” ABET and Engineers Canada are signatories of the Accord among a total of 20 representing agencies from every continent. This Act will give holders of degrees from engineering programs accredited by Washington Accord signatories the same recognition as EAC of ABET graduates. The required engineering experience for such applicants will be four years. This Act also proposes modifications that would expand licensure comity. While many professions in Delaware use the term “reciprocity” to define the process whereby an individual licensed in one jurisdiction may become licensed in Delaware, the term “comity” is used in the licensing law for professional engineers. To promote international engineering licensure mobility, this Act provides that the Council may license an applicant who is an International Professional Engineer (IntPE), meaning that the applicant has been fully and rigorously evaluated and approved by the International Engineering Alliance (IEA). NCEES is a member of the IEA and the International Professional Engineers Agreement (IPEA). There are currently 15 other members of the IPEA including Engineers Canada. “The International Professional Engineers Agreement recognizes the substantial equivalency of standards establishing the competency of professional engineers for independent practice.” Engineers who are licensed by agencies that are members of IPEA undergo a rigorous application process for registration as IntPEs. NCEES is an IPEA member and maintains a registry of U.S. licensed engineers who have attained IntPE status. Engineers registered as IntPEs would be provided with the same eligibility for comity within the U.S. as would U.S. state-licensed engineers. This applicant will also need to present proof of five years of experience obtained after initial licensure. This Act further proposes that an applicant who has been designated as a Model Law Engineer by NCEES may be issued a license administratively on the basis that the applicant has already been vetted by the profession’s governing body. Other provisions pertaining to comity have been amended to make the Practice Act consistent with other statutes governing professional licensure. Specifically, the comity provision pertaining to licensure by experience has been revised to require five years of licensed experience rather than the current ten years. The standards for licensure by comity have been amended to ensure that the applicant has a current license in good standing from the originating jurisdiction. This Act clarifies the grounds for denial of an application to explicitly include discipline in another jurisdiction. This Act eliminates the requirement that licensees must acquire an embossing seal and allows them to choose a seal format, such as embossing, stamp or electronic. Finally, this Act strikes references to permits on the basis that compliance with temporary permit requirements is difficult for the Council to monitor. Further, as an alternative to the temporary permit, an expedited path to licensure will be available for applicants with the Model Law Engineer designation.
Sponsored bills
This bill creates a special license plate for Autism Awareness and Acceptance.
This Act creates a tuition reimbursement program for volunteer firefighters, similar to already existing programs for law enforcement officers and National Guard members. Pursuant to this program, active volunteer firefighters may be reimbursed for tuition for 2 undergraduate level courses or one masters level course per semester at any Delaware college or university. The State Fire Prevention Commission is charged with promulgating rules and regulations and administering the program.
This Act relates to the police and fire pension fund provisions of Chapter 7, Title 18 of the Delaware Code. The Act clarifies that an eligible retiree must be alive on July 1 of each biennial payout year in order to receive the payment provided for in Section 708 of Chapter 7.
This Act eliminates the ability of a candidate to change their candidacy to become a candidate for a different office after the deadline for notification of candidacy has passed. This Act takes effect on January 1 following its enactment into law. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act permits wedding venues and persons renting a premises for other social gatherings to allow customers to bring alcoholic beverages onto the premises, if licensed by the Commissioner as a bottle club. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Senate Joint Resolution creates a one-time, Toll Violation Amnesty Program (Amnesty Program) to provide a 3 month long opportunity for people to satisfy toll debt that is in collection from toll violations that occurred on I-95 and SR 1. The Amnesty Program will collect funds that the State would probably otherwise never receive. Each year, the Department of Transportation collects over $190 million from over 70,600,000 toll transactions on I-95 and SR 1. However, Delaware is owed over $143.4 million in toll debt from unpaid tolls, penalties, and fees from toll violations on these highways. The most recent 3-year average collection rate of toll debt is 8.4%. In addition, financial incentives can increase the voluntary payment of fines and high administrative fees and financial costs have a disparate impact on people who are poor and can discourage people from making payments towards their toll debt. Under state law, each toll violation results in an administrative fee of $25.00; a civil penalty of $25.00; and for violations that occurred after January 31, 2017, a $10.00 fee for the Volunteer Ambulance Company Fund and a $15.00 fee for the Fund to Combat Violent Crimes. In addition, a civil penalty surcharge of $12.50 is added for each toll violation that remains unpaid after 42 days. Thus, a driver who fails to pay a $1.00 toll is initially assessed $51.00 in toll debt, which increases to $88.50 if it is not paid within an additional 42 days. The Amnesty Program is structured to collect at least as much revenue as Delaware collects annually in toll debt that is in collections. Toll violations that occurred on I-95 and SR 1 between January 1, 2014 through April 30, 2020 are eligible for the Amnesty Program and notice of the Amnesty Program will be provided to each person with eligible toll debt. The Amnesty Program will operate for 3 months. The Amnesty Program will not apply retroactively. To satisfy toll debt under the Amnesty Program, a person must pay the full amount of the tolls owed and an amnesty fee. The amnesty fee reduces the amount due from fees and penalties and is established under this Senate Joint Resolution in amounts based upon the number of toll violations included in the toll debt. For example, a person with 9 toll violations can satisfy their $796.50 toll debt by paying $69.00 and a person with 496 toll violations can satisfy their $43,896.00 toll debt by paying $1,306.00. Instead of a flat fee per violation, the Volunteer Ambulance Company Fund and the Fund to Combat Violent Crimes will each receive a portion of each amnesty fee that is collected during the Amnesty Program, and it is anticipated that each fund will receive a total payment that is equal to or greater than the amount these funds would anticipate receiving through the regular collections process.
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 bill seeks to amend sections of Chapter 66 concerning the Delaware State Fire Prevention by: imposing a timeframe on the Delaware Volunteer Firefighters’ Association to recommend nominate Commission members to the Governor; imposing a presumption of neglect if a Commissioner misses three consecutive Commission meetings; adjusting the terms and term limits of the Commissioners; to prohibit a Commissioner from also serving in a politically elected or appointed position while serving as a Commissioner; and to eliminate the requirement for an Advisory Board. The Commission also creates an Executive Director position, which will be currently filled by a current Commission employee serving in that function. That bill makes clear that that person’s current merit status will remain, but will become an exempt position when the position next becomes vacant. The bill proposes to authorize the imposition of fines for violations of applicable Code and regulatory provisions and reasonable fees for Commission's certifications to help defray costs and expenses with the Commission’s administration and enforcement of its powers under the Code and its regulations. Finally, the bill proposes to make several amendments to clarify and synthesize language in other sections of Chapter 66.
This allows a policy to be purchased by the Insurance Coverage Office to cover cancer for active Volunteer Firefighters, Paid Firefighters, Fire Marshals, Fire Instructors, Fire Police, EMTs, and Paramedics of the State of Delaware exclusive of those in private sector. This policy will be funded by an assessment calculated based on reporting of gross premiums by insurers writing certain lines of insurance under § 705 of Title 18. The benefits will provide a lump sum for early and advance stages of cancer and monthly income benefits for 36 months.