Sen. Trey Paradee

This Act codifies a juvenile's right to counsel in Family Court delinquency proceedings. The bill outlines certain circumstances where a juvenile may not waive the right to counsel: where the juvenile is accused of a felony, where the juvenile is in the custody of the Division of Family Services, where the juvenile is under the age of 16, or where the victim of the alleged delinquent act is a family member or guardian or where the family member or guardian has an interest adverse to the juvenile. The bill also codifies a right to counsel in criminal contempt proceedings related to truancy in the Justice of the Peace Court. The procedures for appointment and waiver are the same as set forth for Family Court.

This Act will allow a retired Delaware attorney to satisfy a mortgage that the attorney paid off while in practice. Currently only attorneys still in active practice are permitted to satisfy mortgages under Section 2120. This limitation can leave no practicable way to satisfy a mortgage for which the lender fails to record a satisfaction as required by State law if the attorney who paid off the mortgage subsequently retires. This Act will also expand the scope of Section 2120 to include partial releases of a mortgage where a Delaware attorney made a partial payment to release a portion of the mortgaged property.

This resolution honors our Gold Star Mothers and Gold Star Families by designating Delaware Route 202 to, “Gold Star Highway Honoring Families of Fallen Service Members.”

This bill creates a requirement that all public high schools, including charter schools, shall offer at least one computer science course at the high school level by the 2020-2021 school year. Also, this bill creates a requirement that, by the 2018-2019 school year, a computer science course may satisfy one year of the total credit requirement in mathematics, excluding Algebra I, Geometry, or Algebra II or the equivalent courses. The State Board of Education shall develop guidelines addressing how computer science courses can satisfy graduation requirements.

This bill allows Delaware Department of Transportation authorized vehicles to be able to use the shoulder of the road when responding to emergencies. Department of Transportation staff must respond to emergencies along the road to assist police, fire and paramedics with establishing maintenance of traffic. By allowing the use of the shoulder of the road staff will be able to respond in a timely manner.

This bill will remove the requirement for signatures to be in pen and ink when provided for driver license, identification card, or registration application processes. Removing this provision enables the Division of Motor Vehicles to develop more efficient means of serving customers including expanding online services.

This Act requires health insurance policies to cover any medically appropriate drug approved by the FDA for the treatment of stage 4 metastatic cancer without requiring a patient to first prove that the patient failed to respond to a different drug or drugs. This Act is based on a similar bill in Georgia that was inspired by President Jimmy Carter’s recent battle with cancer.

This Act enacts the Recognition of Emergency Medical Services Personnel Licensure Interstate Compact Act ("REPLICA"). With REPLICA, EMS personnel will be able to respond across state borders within the provision of their duties on a short term, intermittent basis on a privilege to practice under approved circumstances. REPLICA promotes compliance with the laws governing EMS personnel practice in each member state, home and remote, and gives states the ability to hold providers accountable from both. EMS personnel covered by REPLICA include those responding to calls for assistance across state lines as part of their duty, covering large scale planned events such as staffing concerts, sporting events, or large scale unplanned events where federal agencies are dispatched to support details, for example, wildland firefighting teams. REPLICA comes into effect on the date on which the compact statute is enacted into law in the 10th member state. Seven states have enacted REPLICA, including Virginia. Benefits of REPLICA include: REPLICA extends the privilege to practice under authorized circumstances and on a limited basis to EMS Providers; REPLICA enables the ready exchange of information between states through a Coordinated Database regarding EMS personnel licensure, adverse actions, and significant investigatory information; REPLICA promotes the highest level of public protection to patients and to EMS personnel in our state’s EMS System. State EMS Offices will now know who is coming into their state; and REPLICA provides a unique opportunity to support members of the military and their spouses with a clear and timely pathway by which to become licensed.

This legislation modernizes Delaware's Self-Service Storage Facility Act to account for the wide proliferation of online news and auction sites, as well as to establish frameworks for: (1) towing of certain property for which rent and other charges are in default; (2) use of information contained within property sold or otherwise disposed of; and (3) contractual provisions relating to limits on the value of stored property and to late fees, as well as transparency related to both.

This bill will add 4 new check-off donation boxes on the Delaware personal income tax return whereby individuals may choose to donate a portion of their tax refund, or designate an amount in addition to the tax they owe that will be transferred by the Division of Revenue to one of the following organizations: Food Bank of Delaware, Sussex County Habitat for Humanity, Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity, or Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County.