Sen. Dave Wilson

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Delaware law to give the Department of Public Health (DPH) authority to approve supervised clinical training for mental health providers at school-based health centers. It directly affects mental health professionals seeking training placements within school health centers. The key provision establishes DPH as the official body responsible for approving these training rotations. This creates a formal process for integrating mental health provider training into school settings without altering existing center operations.

This bill removes the current specific tax rate and enrollment limitations placed on Sussex County Vocational-Technical High School District. Future tax rates shall be determined by the Sussex County Vocational-Technical High School District. The enrollment capacity limitations shall be established by the Certificate of Need determined by the Delaware Department of Education.

This is a Substitute for Senate Joint Resolution No. 7. Like Senate Joint Resolution No. 7, this Substitute directs the State Employees Benefits Committee (SEBC) to utilize specific strategies and policies when interacting and contracting with Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM) in order to achieve lower cost pharmaceutical drug benefit plans for the State. This Substitute differs from Senate Joint Resolution No. 7 by clarifying that the SEBC has a duty to consider all of the following strategies and policies when negotiating for pharmaceuticals: 1. Drug cost transparency. 2. Formation of an independent Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee. 3. Any other supply chain tactics such as a reverse auction or transparency committee. 4. Compacts with other states to negotiate directly with drug manufacturers. 5. Paying no higher price for all drugs negotiated by Medicare. 6. Requiring PBMs disclose administrative expenses for all pharmaceutical drugs. 7. Requiring PBMs bid based on lowest pricing sources, not average wholesale price. 8. Requiring the SEBC be provided all agreements between PBMs and pharmaceutical companies when those agreements are for drugs contracted for on behalf of the SEBC. 9. Performing audits when the SEBC believes it should be entitled to information to achieve transparency or clarity. This Substitute differs from Senate Joint Resolution No. 7 by directing the SEBC to prepare a report by August 1, 2026, to summarize any difficulties in implementing any of these policies and to submit the report to the Governor; the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives, for distribution to all members of the General Assembly; the Director and the Librarian of the Division of Legislative Services; and the Public Archives.

This Act would allow for Exceptional Care for Children (ECC) to continue receiving an exemption from the nursing facility quality assessment. It is intended to be a technical clean-up bill to continue ECC's exemption once the Bridge Unit is open. The Bridge Unit will allow ECC to help a small number of individuals, who turn 21 while in ECC's care, transition from a pediatric setting to an adult setting.

This Act updates the Board of Dietetics/Nutrition enabling act, requiring applicants to obtain a minimum of a master’s degree to obtain a license. This change would make Delaware consistent with the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), the credentialing agency of the American Dietetic Association. Beginning on January 1, 2024, CDR required a minimum of a master’s degree in order to become registered. Under the current law, holders of a CDR registration are considered to automatically meet the qualifications for licensure in Delaware, and applicants who are certified by the Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists must also acquire a minimum of a master’s degree. This Act ensures Delaware is consistent with the current national standards for licensure and registration as a Dietitian or Nutritionist. Finally, the Act eliminates an outdated application provision. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act expands the definition of the “practice of dental hygiene” under Title 24 (Professions and Occupations) to include the administration of local anesthesia under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist and directs the State Board of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene (“Board”) to establish the necessary requirements and standards. Currently, Delaware is the only state in the nation that does not allow dental hygienists to administer local anesthesia. Delaware also suffers from a shortage of dental care providers, leaving many Delawareans unable to access timely, quality, affordable dental care. Administering local anesthesia is a task that properly trained dental hygienists can do safely, as shown by the experiences of every other state. Expanding dental hygienists’ scope of practice to allow them to administer local anesthesia under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist will enable them to provide a broader range of services to patients and take some of the burden off the state’s limited supply of dentists. Section 4 of this Act requires the Board to adopt regulations setting the requirements and standards to allow dental hygienists to administer local anesthesia under direct supervision of a licensed dentist no later than January 1, 2026. Section 5 of this Act provides that Sections 1 through 3 of this Act are effective on either January 1, 2026, or when the State Board of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene publishes final regulations implementing the Act, whichever is earlier. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act amends the provisions of Title 29 of the Delaware Code § 7915 relating to the Council for Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities. This Act adds a Conflict of Interest Policy to § 7915 to ensure compliance with the Older Americans Act Final Rule and must be enacted into law by October 1, 2025.

This Joint Resolution directs the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to obtain an architectural report of Kingston-upon Hull to consider estimated costs to either restore or stabilize the property. The resolution further directs the report consider future use of the property and recommend a course of action for the property.

This Joint Resolution establishes the Driving Under the Influence Prevention Task Force, established for the goal of deterring drivers in Delaware from Driving Under the Influence. By January 1, 2026, the Task Force is to identify the number of convictions under the Driving Under the Influence Statute in the Code, as opposed to arrests, the reason for the lack of convictions of the arrested persons, and what reforms to Delaware laws and regulations could further help deter instances of Driving Under the Influence, and further topics aimed towards deterring drivers in Delaware from Driving Under the Influence.

Section 1 of this Act amends§ 3301(d) of Title 12 by adding to the definition of “fiduciary” enforcers of purpose trusts under § 3556 of Title 12 that are acting in a fiduciary capacity, by adding to the definition of "nonfiduciary" enforcers of purpose trusts under § 3556 of Title 12 that are not acting in a fiduciary capacity, and by clarifying that others that are not acting in a fiduciary capacity are also nonfiduciaries. Section 2 of this Act amends § 3315(b) of Title 12 so that the statute now states expressly the practical effect of a discretionary interest in a trust merely being an expectancy, which is that a beneficiary of such an interest cannot compel a distribution from the trust. The statute continues to provide, however, that the standard of review under § 3315(a) of Title 12 applies in a suit by a beneficiary for abuse of discretion. Section 2 of this Act also deletes in 2 instances the use of the word “trustee” as being redundant because “fiduciary,” as defined in § 3301 of Title 12, already includes a trustee. Section 3 of this Act amends § 3326 of Title 12 to state expressly within the statute that a modification of a trust by consent while the trustor is living (under§ 3342 of Title 12) may be used to effectuate the resignation of a trustee or other officeholder. Section 3 of this Act also amends § 3326 to state expressly within the statute that a nonjudicial settlement agreement (under§ 3338 of Title 12) may be used to effectuate the resignation of a trustee or other officeholder where the trust’s governing instrument is silent concerning both resignation and the appointment of successor trustees or other officeholders. It is intended that these express statements in § 3326 of Title 12 will reduce the need to resort to a court petition to effectuate the resignation and resulting appointment. Section 4 of this Act amends § 3556 of Title 12 so that the statute: (1) Expressly states that a person is not deemed to be a beneficiary of a purpose trust solely by virtue of receiving disbursements from the purpose trust. (2) Defines the term “enforcer” and permits the governing instrument of a purpose trust to grant the enforcer or some other person exclusive standing to enforce the terms of a purpose trust. (3) Provides that an enforcer will serve as a fiduciary of the purpose trust unless the governing instrument provides otherwise. (4) States that a person that accepts an appointment as enforcer submits to personal jurisdiction in Delaware. (5) If there are no identifiable beneficiaries of the purpose trust, authorizes the enforcer to act as an “interested person” in the context of a nonjudicial settlement agreement under§ 3338 of Title 12 or a nonjudicial modification under§ 3342 of Title 12. The changes in Section 4 of this Act were made to update Delaware law consistent with modern purpose trust statutes in other jurisdictions. Section 5 of this Act amends § 3580 of Title 12 to add to the definition of “trustee” for purposes of Subchapter VII of Chapter 35 of Title 12 by expressly including enforcers of purpose trusts under§ 3556 of Title 12. Section 6 of this Act amends § 1513 of Title 13 to address an ambiguity inherent in the situation where one spouse makes a gift in trust for the other spouse. This Section clarifies that in such circumstance, the donee’s interest in the trust is not marital property unless the trust agreement provides otherwise. Section 7 of this Act provides an effective date.