Sen. Dave Wilson

This Act regulates the practice of art therapy placing control of the profession under the Board of Mental health and Chemical Dependency Professionals and amending Chapter 30 of Title 24 by adding Subchapter V. Professional Art Therapists. The Art Therapy Practice Act will serve and protect the public by defining the scope of practice of art therapy; setting minimum standards of qualification, education, training, and experience for art therapists; and maintaining certain standards in the delivery of art therapy services. This Act also requires the Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency to appoint one or more credentialed volunteer art therapists to advise and assist the Board in matters pertaining to art therapists.

This bill expands the list of felony-level contraband to include narcotics, prescription drugs, and items used to facilitate escape.

The “Advanced Wireless Infrastructure Investment Act” creates a new Chapter 16 of Title 17 that will accelerate investment in mobile broadband infrastructure and ready the State for the next wave of economic development in the digital economy. In recognition of the shift from landline to wireless communications, the Act authorizes wireless providers access to the State’s rights of way and establishes a Statewide policy for deployment of small wireless cells to meet the growing demand for wireless services which provide Delaware citizens with access to advanced technology, information and 911 services.

This Act allows the Division of Motor Vehicles to issue a conditional license at the request of the Justice of the Peace for a Driving Under the Influence offender whose charge is still pending, but whose license has been suspended by the Division of Motor Vehicles. The conditional license can only be issued on the condition that the offender submit to continuous sobriety monitoring. This Act ensures that a person can enter a sobriety monitoring program, but not face the loss of full licensure that would negate the benefits of entering and participating in such a program.

Under current educational standards, students are no longer required to be taught cursive writing and many schools have abandoned teaching cursive writing to students. As cursive writing is still an imperative skill in many professions, this bill makes teaching cursive writing a requirement for all public schools in Delaware.

This legislation eliminates front footage calculations as the sole method of collecting sewer assessments for county sewer users. It provides a broad list of possible methods of determining the amount of the sewer assessment for each property, including, but not limited to front footage, usage, fixtures, Equivalent Dwelling Units (EDUs) or other factors. The methods are the same as those currently in Chapter 67 of the Delaware Code for sewer charges.

This Act clarifies that the reviews of child and maternal deaths are confidential and may not be used in any proceedings. It ensures that the committees and panels who do the work on behalf of the Child Death Review Commission are protected.

For purposes of clarity regarding Delaware's commitment to supporting Delawareans with disabilities, including military service-related disabilities, this Act codifies existing county-level tax exemptions. Absent this Act, Delaware will continue to be one of the only states, if not the only state, that is silent at the state level with regard to exemptions for service-related disabilities. This Act requires a county government to provide exemptions to real property taxes for individuals with a disability that are at least as generous as the exemptions currently provided by the county government. In addition, if a county government provides an additional exemption to real property taxes for individuals with a disability who became disabled as a result of service in and while in the service of any branch of the United States armed services, the county government must provide exemptions that are at least as generous as the exemptions currently provided by the county government.

This Act amends the Milford City Charter. The changes are comprehensive in nature and designed to amend and revise many of the outdated provisions dating back to the Act reincorporating the City of Milford in 1970. Many of the changes are technical in nature, including updated terminology and re-organization. There are substantive changes to certain procedures including annexation, tax collection, voting, and vacancies. Some provisions are being removed due to their current inapplicability, such as those relating to the City Alderman. There are also changes updating the powers and authority of city officials along with new provisions relating to ethics and the code of conduct.

This Act makes updates to how reports of child abuse and neglect are handled by the various members of the multidisciplinary team. The Act codifies the multidisciplinary team and case. The Act adds additional duties to the Investigation Coordinator, law enforcement, the Department of Justice and the Division of Family Services that are current best practices but not required by law. The Act reorganizes the section pertaining to the Division of Family Services to reflect current best practices. The Act allows nurse practitioners to take emergency protective custody. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.