Rep. Larry Lambert

In 2009, New Hampshire was the first state to develop a statewide "Gun Shop Project," reaching out to gun shops regarding the role they can play in suicide prevention. In the years since, at least 21 other states have implemented similar campaigns. This Act establishes the Delaware Gun Shop Project. The Gun Shop Project's primary purpose is to develop, create, and provide suicide prevention education materials and training, to be made available for dealers and consumers of licensed deadly weapons in Delaware. The Delaware Suicide Prevention Coalition will oversee the Gun Shop Project and include the Project's annual report in the Coalition's annual report. The Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, which staff the Coalition, will staff the Gun Shop Project. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act revises the bureaus established within the Department of Correction. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing language to the standards of the Delaware Drafting Manual.

This Act authorizes the distribution of testing strips to determine the presence of fentanyl or fentanyl-related substances. Fentanyl testing strips could be distributed to the community along with opioid overdose reversal medication as a harm reduction strategy in the opioid addiction crisis. A number of states have authorized fentanyl testing strips distribution in recent years including Maryland, Rhode Island, the District of Columbia, and North Carolina. Twenty-seven states currently provide fentanyl testing strips through needle exchange programs. According to an April 2019 Delaware Health Alert published by the Department of Health and Social Services, fentanyl is a potent opioid that is increasingly being mixed into illicitly sold drugs, often without the buyer’s knowledge. In Delaware, fentanyl was involved in 72% of overdose deaths during 2018, up from 58% in 2017 according to the state’s Division of Forensic Science. During 2018, there were more fatal overdoses than any year on record with 400 deaths. This Act exempts fentanyl testing strips from the drug paraphernalia statute. This Act provides the limitations on liability for lay individuals and organizations in Section 1 of this Act because of the extraordinary epidemic of death that is occurring in Delaware as a result of fentanyl being mixed into illicit drugs. It is similar to liability exemptions under § 8135(b) of Title 10 and § 6801 of Title 16 of the Delaware Code for certain types of volunteers and Good Samaritans and is an exception to the general public policy against civil immunity.

This Act creates the position of Deputy Commissioner of Correction.

This Act clarifies that a lay individual who administers naloxone under the Community-Based Naloxone Access Program is protected from civil liability for rendering emergency care under § 6801 of Title 16, the general Good Samaritan law.

This Act elevates medication diversion out of the definition of abuse for the sake of clarity and is not intended to change existing reporting obligations for facilities under Subchapter III of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Delaware Code (“Subchapter III”). This Act ensures reporting requirements are triggered for facilities and hospitals covered by Subchapter III if medication diversion occurs in the facilities or hospitals. Reporting is essential to the Department of Justice’s ability to prosecute and recommend treatment, when appropriate, for the person committing medication diversion. Finally, this Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including standardizing the order of words in the phrase “abuse, neglect, mistreatment, financial exploitation, or medication diversion” to ensure consistency. Medication diversion poses a threat to patient and resident safety in long-term care facilities, psychiatric facilities, nursing facilities, and hospitals. Risks include patients and residents receiving inadequate pain relief, exposure to infectious diseases from contaminated needles and drugs, and potentially unsafe care. The Drug Enforcement Administration recognizes 5 classes of drugs that are frequently abused: opioids, depressants, hallucinogens, stimulants, and anabolic steroids. Opioid abuse is the major cause of medication diversion. Medication diversion is commonly underreported. The sooner medication diversion is reported, the sooner interventions can be made to protect the health and safety of a patient or resident and to provide drug treatment or other help to a healthcare worker.

This Act creates a special license plate for members of the nonprofit organization, atTAcK addiction. This Act requires a greater-than-majority vote for passage because Article VIII, § 11 of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of 3/5 of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly when a new tax or license fee is imposed. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act permits the extension of special education and related services to those students with a disability who turn 21 during the 2020-2021 school year to address unfinished learning as a result of the pandemic which resulted in the COVID-19 Declaration of a State of Emergency for the State of Delaware Due to a Public Health Threat declared by the Governor on March 12, 2020. The IEP for the child must be revised to reflect the specific basis for extending services and the specific education and related services that will be provided.

This bill creates the Public Employee Sexual Violence Act which allows public employees who have suffered sexual violence in the workplace the ability to file an action against the perpetrator and the employee even if the applicable statute of limitations has run. This Act defines sexual violence and provides when a public employee who suffered sexual violence by a supervisor may file suit against an employer. This Act will allow a public employee who was a victim of sexual violence 1 year from the effective date to file claims in Superior Court.

This Senate Concurrent Resolutions proclaims April 2021 as "Second Chance Month" in the State of Delaware.