Sen. Bryant Richardson

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 bill sets a minimum reimbursement rate for home health care nursing services paid for by Medicaid-contracted organizations. The rate shall be at least equal to the rate set by the Division of Medicaid for equivalent services. Home care nurses and aides give Delawareans with disabilities the option to remain at home with their families and prevents unnecessary use of higher-cost hospitals, nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities.

This act amends the Charter of the Town of Laurel so that the Mayor and members of the Town Council are only paid for meetings which they attend.

This Act consolidates Delaware law related to child abuse and child sexual abuse training and detection, suicide prevention, bullying, criminal youth gang detection, and teen dating violence and sexual assault into one subchapter of Chapter 41, Title 14 of the Delaware Code and develops a non-academic training program that coordinates the trainings school district and charter school employees are required to receive. In addition to streamlining non-academic trainings, this Act provides school districts and charter schools with flexibility to meet current and future non-academic training needs of school district and charter school employees, students, and parents. This Act applies to all public schools, including charter schools and vocational technical schools. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, ensure consistency within the new subchapter, and make references throughout the Code consistent based changes to certain Code designations made by this Act.

This Act updates Delaware's human trafficking crime to prohibit the same acts that are included in the federal Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015.

This bill sets forth a framework for the licensing, regulation and inspection of business establishments that provide massage and bodywork services. This bill places oversight of any business offering massage services in the hands of the Board of Massage and Bodywork. Specifically, it defines “massage establishment,” and grants authority to the Board of Massage and Bodywork to grant or deny licensure of such establishments and adopt regulations pertaining to the licensure, maintenance and standards to be applied to such establishments. It provides authority for the Division or Professional Regulation to inspect such establishments without any advance notice or concurrent criminal investigation. This bill imposes criminal and civil penalties, including injunctive relief, fines, and imprisonment, for the unlicensed practice of massage and bodywork and the operation of an unlicensed massage establishment.

This Act is the result of the recommendation made by the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee in its review of the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline ("the Board") that the Division of Professional Regulation amend applicable statutes that are outdated and unnecessary, to provide for consistency with § 8735, Title 29 of the Delaware Code, relating to administrative procedures. Specifically, this Act permits the Board to utilize non-board member medical licensees as coinvestigators when specialties are required to opine on the disciplinary cases, as long as the co-investigator is licensed in the specialty at issue; creates administrative licensure for medical professionals who do not wish to practice medicine but serve as administrators in the state to applicants who meet all qualifications for licensure except active practice hours; removes antiquated language from Title 17 regarding hearing procedures and instead reiterates hearings are conducted pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act; and deletes references to the removed language. Finally, this Act makes minor modifications to each of the sub-councils organized under the Board, to standardize procedures across each of the five councils. Specifically, the Act add a duty to report unprofessional conduct to Respiratory Care Practitioners, permits the Genetic Counselor Advisory Council and the Regulatory Council for Physician Assistants to waive their quarterly meeting requirement with the approval of the Board; clarifies that temporary licenses may be granted by each of the councils under the signature of the Executive Director and the council chair; and permits council members appointed to fill vacancies to serve out those vacancies, along with two three-year terms. The language submitted for this Act has not been corrected to conform the Act to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act fulfills recommendations made by the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee. First, this Act adds language to establish the circumstances under which Trustees of the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation may be removed, using language standard to boards and commissions in this State. Second, this Act limits review of a preservation easement after 25 years of the easement's acquisition to only easements that were acquired before the enactment of this Act. Preservation easements acquired after the enactment of this Act are not subject to termination under § 917 of Title 3. Third, this Act corrects an internal reference, and makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act is intended to implement the recommendations in the December 9, 2015 Report of the Work A Day Earn A Pay Task Force. The Act will create a Work A Day Earn A Pay Public Works Jobs Program in Delaware.

This concurrent resolution establishes the Illegal Immigration Task Force to study and make findings and recommendations regarding the impact of illegal immigration on Delaware.