This Act eliminates the Delaware Compensation Commission in its entirety and makes necessary changes to the Delaware Code as a result.
This Act is designed to create procedures in Delaware for making sure firearms are not in the hands of dangerous people while protecting due process and not creating a barrier to care for those suffering from mental illness. This Act intends to put Delaware at the forefront of this important issue by not simply looking narrowly for mental illness. Statistically, mental illness has little to do with homicide perpetration but conversely increases the chance of being a victim of violence. This bill looks instead for propensities of violence, a much more reliable and evidence-based metric. This metric will also ensure that we can provide care to those more likely to commit violent acts and help destigmatize mental illness here in Delaware. Specific components of this Act are set forth below. This Act applies when a person who has been committed to a hospital for treatment of a mental condition by a judge shall be deemed a person prohibited. The current law appears to apply to “any person who has ever been committed for a mental disorder,” but in reality this only applies to persons who have been involuntarily committed and subject to adjudication such as a hearing. It also clarifies that perpetrators of violent crimes who have been found Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity, Guilty But Mentally Ill, or Mentally Incompetent to Stand Trial are persons prohibited, including juveniles who fall into those categories. The provisions of § 1448B will not retroactively apply to any persons adjudicated in the past, which would create undue burden. This Act expands the definition of “persons prohibited” to include those persons who are prohibited from possessing firearms pursuant to a court order under the procedures set forth in § 1448B of Title 11. Newly created § 1448B sets forth a procedure whereby law enforcement, upon receiving a report of a violent person and who is demonstrating behaviors that the provider believes are dangerous can refer the matter to the Department of Justice to petition the Superior Court for an order requiring such person to relinquish the person’s firearms or ammunition. This Act revises and clarifies an existing statute, 11 Del C. § 5402, which currently solidifies the need for mental health professionals to report those with mental illness who may be a threat to others. Currently, the section contains a limited duty of a treating hospital to warn law enforcement of a specific threat, but this clarifies the original intent of the section and requires that to avoid liability that all treating mental health professionals must report dangerous persons to law enforcement. The appropriate law enforcement agency must then determine whether a civil action should be initiated under newly created § 1448C of this Title, to relinquish the person’s firearms or ammunition and to take appropriate investigative action. Pursuant to § 1448C, the Court may order dangerous persons to relinquish to a law enforcement officer, voluntarily or otherwise, any firearms or ammunition owned, possessed, or controlled by such person. The Court may also, in its discretion, issue an order directing any law enforcement agency to forthwith search for and seize firearms and ammunition of any such person prohibited upon a showing of good cause by the petitioner. The court order to relinquish firearms would issue upon a finding that the person was prohibited, without further showing. The order authorizing police to search for and seize weapons would require a further showing, akin to an affidavit in support of a warrant, of “good cause” that the prohibited weapons would be found in a particular place or in the possession of the person prohibited. Any person subject to an order of the Court pursuant to § 1448C may petition the Court for an order to return firearms or ammunition by establishing to a preponderance of evidence that he or she is not a danger to self or others. In addition, as is the case under the current law, any person who is adjudicated to be a person prohibited pursuant to this Act has the opportunity to demonstrate, pursuant to § 1448A of Title 11, that he or she is no longer prohibited from possessing a firearm and therefore is no longer a person prohibited.
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 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 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 bill dissolves the Human Trafficking Coordinating Council and reestablishes it as the Human Trafficking Interagency Coordinating Council. The bill establishes the members of the Council and the chair and vice-chair. The bill also requires that a public awareness sign must be displayed at locations designated by the Council.
This bill provides greater protection to correctional officers and other state employees who are assaulted in detention facilities by prohibiting assaults committed with a reckless state of mind.
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.
As a result of the passage of the in Inland Bays Aquaculture Act, numerous ongoing concerns have been raised during subsequent public meetings and a public hearing. As a result of those meetings, the Secretary's Order No. 2016-W-0049 reduced the number and location of leasable sites, and eliminated oyster aquaculture in the Little Assawoman Bay. This Act seeks to ensure the following: sites eliminated in the Secretary's Order cannot be considered for leasing for aquaculture; the elimination of poles as a form of markings of any and all leased sites within the Little Assawoman Bay; and limiting all aquaculture leased sites in the Little Assawoman Bay to hard clams only.
