Sen. Dave Sokola

This resolution requires a Delaware Certificate of Multi-literacy be established. The criteria for such certificate is to be developed by the Department of Education no later than August 30, 2017.

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Licensure and Discipline ("the Board") that the Division of Professional Regulation amend applicable statutes that are outdated and unnecessary, to provide for consistency with § 8735, Title 29 of the Delaware Code, relating to administrative procedures.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 bill eliminates the use of an enrollment preference for students living within a 5-mile radius of a charter school. This change was supported by a majority vote of the Enrollment Preferences Task Force established by House Bill No. 90 of the 147th General Assembly. The Act will take effect immediately. For any charter school using the 5-mile preference at the time of enactment, the school is required to eliminate the preference through notification to the authorizer prior to the 2018-2019 school year. The bill allows a new preference for students located in the portion of the regular school district that is geographically contiguous with the location of the charter school.

This bill expands the list of persons eligible to participate in the Ada Leigh Soles Memorial Professional Librarian and Archivist Incentive Scholarship Program to include employees of non-public libraries in Delaware that join the Delaware Library Consortium.

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 establishes the ability to grant a waiver for participation in interscholastic sports when a child exercises the right for choice from one school to another school of choice provided the standards for the waiver are met. In addition, this Act takes into consideration a new charter school or newly added grades to a charter school.

This Act clarifies that after a physician-patient relationship has been properly established in accordance with this section, subsequent communications and treatment may be conducted as the doctor and patient deem appropriate. As with all practice of medicine, such subsequent interactions must still meet the standard of care for the given field of medicine. The Act also clarifies that this statute is not intended to limit the practice of radiology or pathology – fields in which it has long been standard for an off-site specialist to examine records created by a treating physician or technician.

This bill changes the times when the sale of alcoholic liquor for off-premises consumption may occur on Sundays to be from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

This Bill is the Fiscal Year 2018 Bond and Capital Improvements Act.

This concurrent resolution establishes a Task Force to study and make recommendations regarding the impact of consolidating school districts in the state of Delaware.