Sen. Gerald Hocker

Many of the State’s waters do not meet water quality standards to support their designated uses, such as for drinking, swimming or supporting aquatic life. The Clean Water for Delaware Act establishes a framework for assessing needs and planning and implementing projects that support Delaware’s efforts to improve the quality of the State’s water supply and waterways. A Delaware Clean Water Trust account is created as a funding source for executing projects highlighted by this framework. The Trust account will have oversight from the Clean Water Trust Oversight Committee (the “Committee”). The Committee will draw upon recommendations from the Water Infrastructure Advisory Council, (WIAC), the county Conservation Districts’, experts in the effected Cabinet agencies and other public input with the goal of assisting municipal and county governments and others in implementing affordable water quality projects. The Committee is required to develop and publish an Annual Report and multi-year Strategic Plan for Clean Water with annual updates.

This Act clarifies the circumstances in which it is appropriate to grant a person a driver education learner’s permit and what is required for a person to obtain a driver education learner’s permit. Specifically, this Act clarifies that a driver education learner’s permit is intended to be issued to those individuals who have met all of the requirements for a level 1 learner’s permit, but have not yet successfully completed a road skills test. This permit allows the individual to gain additional supervised driving experience needed to successfully complete the road skills test. This Act also establishes a clear connection between § 4125 of Title 14 and the requirements to obtain a driver education learner’s permit or a level 1 learner’s permit. Finally, this Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Senate Concurrent Resolution requests that the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance study the extension of Medicaid coverage through the first year postpartum. Insurance coverage is a critical factor in determining women's access to affordable postpartum care and is a key strategy for reducing preventable maternal mortality and to close the disparity in the maternal mortaility rate among black women and women of other races.

This Concurrent Resolution provides for a Joint Session of the House of Representatives and the Senate to be convened for the purpose of hearing an address by the Honorable John C. Carney, Governor of the State of Delaware.

This Act clarifies that a person with a special license plate or permit for persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk may park for an unlimited period where the length of time is otherwise limited and must be able to park in a metered parking space for at least 1 hour. This Act clarifies that it is a violation of the state equal accommodations law to prohibit parking as authorized for a person with a special license plate or permit for persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act makes children with disabilities who attend homeschools eligible to receive speech language pathology and audiology services in the same manner as students who attend private schools. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

The National League of Families POW/MIA flag, is "a symbol of our Nation's concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoners, missing, or unaccounted for in all U.S. wars" 36. U.S.C. 902. In 1989 the United States required the National League of Families POW/MIA flag be flown on Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, National POW/MIA Recognition Day, and Veterans Day. In 2012, Delaware required the National POW/MIA flag to be flown on National POW/MIA Recognition Day. This bill expands the dates on which the flag shall be flown, consistent with federal law and Delawareans' commitment to our veterans.

This bill addresses an on-going problem relating to background checks for employees, volunteers, and contractors of child-serving entities. Currently, a person working a child-serving entity who obtains the required background check must undergo another background check when that person obtains employment at another child-serving entity even if that background check had recently been completed. This put an undue burden on the employee and the State Bureau of Identification who run the background checks. This bill would allow an employee, volunteer, or contractor who is required to obtain a background check to authorize a child-serving entity to share the results of a background check with another child-serving entity so long as the authorization is in writing and provided to the Office of Child Care Licensing. This bill also requires the Department of Education to establish a procedure to allow employees, volunteers and contractors to authorize the sharing of background checks between child-serving entities.

This bill expands the Employment First Oversight Commission by adding the Director of the Division for the Visually Impaired as a member, the Director of the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, and other councils, committees, agencies, organizations and individuals as approved by both the Employment First Oversight Commission and the affected council, committee, agency, organization or individual. This bill further expands the officer’s services from 1 year to 2 years and allows them to be reelected for an additional consecutive term.

This Substitute differs from Senate Bill No. 24 by requiring a patient to apply for a compassionate use medical marijuana card when a doctor recommends medical marijuana to a patient who does not have a qualifying debilitating medical condition. To apply for a compassionate use card, this Substitute requires: 1. The patient, or it under age 18, the patient’s parent or legal guardian, submit a signed statement attesting to the patient's informed consent to try a treatment that does not have medical evidence of effectiveness. 2. The patient’s physician certify that the patient has a severe and debilitating condition, current standard care practices and treatments have been exhausted, and there are grounds to support that the patient may benefit from this treatment. The physician must periodically re-evaluate the efficacy of the medical marijuana treatment. This Substitute also requires that a registry identification card state the type of card that is issued to clearly identify qualifying adult patients, qualifying pediatric patients, designated caregivers, and compassionate use patients. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.