| HB 77 w/ HA 2 | Signed | Kowalko | This Act prohibits the manufacture, sale, or distribution of children's products, upholstered furniture used in residences, and mattresses that contain harmful flame retardant chemicals. These flame retardants have been found to cause cancer, particularly to firefighters who are extinguishing fires that involve products that contain these chemicals. This Act does not apply to any of the following:
1. The sale of used products.
2. Furniture purchased for public use in public facilities
3. Thread or fiber used for stitching mattress components.
4. Children’s products that are not primarily intended for use in the home.
5. Products being transferred to a vehicle at a warehouse or distribution center for delivery in another state.
6. Electronic components.
This Act takes effect on July 1, 2021. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE PROHIBITION OF HARMFUL FLAME RETARDANTS. |
| HB 254 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Griffith | This Act requires all public schools that serve pupils in grades 7-12 that issue pupil identification cards to have printed on the identification cards the telephone or text numbers for the National Suicide Prevention and National Domestic Violence Hotlines and allows them to add the National Sexual Assault, Teen Dating Violence and Bullying Hotlines. The Act requires all public institutions of higher learning in Delaware, which issue student identification cards, to print on the student identification cards the telephone or text numbers for National Suicide Prevention, Domestic Violence Hotlines and local campus police or campus security telephone numbers and allows the institutions to add the National Sexual Assault Hotline number. This Act will be implemented for the 2022-2023 school year. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUPIL AND STUDENT IDENTIFICATION CARDS. |
| HB 301 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Longhurst | A 2017 survey of Delaware high school students found that during the 12 months before the survey the following occurred:
(1) 27.6% of the students felt sad or hopeless almost every day for 2 weeks in a row so that they stopped some usual activities.
(2) 16.1% of students seriously considered attempting suicide.
(3) 12% of students made a plan about how they would attempt suicide.
(4) 7.2% of students attempted suicide.
This Act increases student awareness of mental health by requiring the Department of Education, with the approval of the State Board of Education, to establish and implement statewide mental health educational programs for each grade, kindergarten through grade 12, in each school district and charter school in this State.
Finally, this Act requires the Department of Education to annually report to the Governor and General Assembly regarding the implementation of this Act. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. |
| HB 300 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Longhurst | This Act establishes a mental health services unit for Delaware middle schools. The unit is phased in over 3 years, beginning in FY2023, to arrive at a final ratio of 250 full-time equivalent students grades 6-8 for a full-time school counselor, school social worker, or licensed clinical social worker. Additionally a unit ratio of 700 full time equivalent students for grades 6-8 for employment of a full-time school psychologist. This Act defines “mental health services” as prevention, response, and coordination services delivered to students in elementary schools.
Mental Health disorders are the most common health problem for school aged youth. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), one in five youth are affected by a mental health disorder. Additionally, 50% of lifetime mental illnesses begin by age 14. Untreated mental illness leads to negative outcomes including increased risk of dropout, homelessness, substance abuse, other chronic illnesses, incarceration, and possibly suicide. According to the National Alliance on Mental Health, ninety percent of people who have taken their own life have had an underlying mental health condition, and suicides are on the rise. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, suicides are now the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10-14.
Delaware schools need trained and experienced mental health professionals to provide prevention and support programs and services to students. This bill will lower ratios of students to counselors and increase access to mental health services for middle school students. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FREE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. |
| HB 303 w/ HA 2 | Signed | Longhurst | This bill amends Chapter 33, Title 18 of the Delaware Code by adding a new § 3370E to require coverage of an annual behavioral health well check.
This bill also amends Chapter 35, Title 18 of the Delaware Code by adding a new § 3571Z to require coverage of an annual behavioral health well check.
This bill also amends Chapter 5, Title 31 of the Delaware Code by adding a new § 530 to require coverage of an annual behavioral health well check.
This bill also amends Chapter 52, Title 29 of the Delaware Code by adding a new § 5215 to require coverage of an annual behavioral health well check.
Finally, the bill creates an advisory committee of health professionals tasked with creating recommendations for implementation of the Act.
The requirement for coverage of the behavioral health well check is effective January 1, 2023. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 18, 29, AND 31 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH. |
| HB 309 | Signed | Schwartzkopf | This Act, modeled on similar laws in Virginia and Maryland, requires a health-care provider to provide notice to a patient at the time blood is drawn to perform a laboratory test for Lyme disease that explains the limitations of the test and instructs the patient to see their health-care provider if the patient continues to experience unexplained symptoms. This Act was previously passed by the 150th General Assembly in Senate Bill 15, and is the same except for the removal of the sunset provision. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE PROVISION OF INFORMATION ABOUT LYME DISEASE. |
| HB 315 w/ HA 2 | Signed | Heffernan | This bill provides unit funding for full time employees who shall be hired to provide permanent substitute teaching support in Delaware schools. The bill also provides professional development requirements for those hired into these positions and creates a pathway to teaching to those individuals who meet the requirements for an emergency certificate. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FREE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. |
| SB 247 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Gay | By this Act, Delaware would join the Interstate Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact (OT Compact). The OT Compact is an interstate compact, or a formal agreement among states, to facilitate the interstate practice of occupational therapy.
Under the OT Compact, Occupational Therapists (OTs) and Occupational Therapy Assistants (OTAs) who are licensed and in good standing in a Compact member state may practice in other Compact member states via a “compact privilege,” which is equivalent to a license. This will remove the need for practitioners to get an individual license in each state where they want to practice.
The OT Compact is the same in form and function as other occupational licensure compacts like the Nurse Multistate Licensure Compact (adopted by Delaware, 24 Del. C. Ch. 19A), the Physical Therapy Compact (adopted by Delaware, 24 Del. C. Ch. 26C) and the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (adopted by Delaware, 24 Del.C. Ch. 17A). The OT Compact authorizes in person practice and telepractice based on a valid, unrestricted home state license in other Compact member states for both Occupational Therapists (OTs) and Occupational Therapy Assistants (OTAs) The American Occupational Therapy Association is leading the initiative in collaboration with the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy. The National Center for Interstate Compacts at the Council of State Governments facilitated the development of the OT Compact and is providing technical assistance.
The OT Compact has been adopted by ten states: Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The OT Compact is pending before the legislatures of thirteen other states.
The OT Compact establishes a licensure data system allowing for instantaneous verification of licensure information. The Compact also establishes an interstate commission, composed of member state officials, to carry out the Compact’s purposes.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS AND THE INTERSTATE OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY LICENSURE COMPACT. |
| SB 257 | Signed | Gay | This Act is an interstate compact called the Multistate Professional Counselor Licensure Compact, and it facilitates the interstate practice of licensed professional counseling. The Counseling Compact allows a counselor who is licensed in their home state and has not had any encumbrances on their license within the last 2 years to obtain the ability to practice counseling in other states participating in the Compact if the counselor satisfies the requirements, including completion of a criminal background check. A counselor must comply with the rules of any state in which they are practicing. Any state in which the counselor practices has the authority to remove the counselor's ability to practice in their state for a specific period of time, impose fines, and take other actions necessary to protect the health and safety of its citizens. If the counselor's home state license becomes encumbered, the counselor will lose the ability to practice interstate under the Compact until their home state license is no longer encumbered and at least 2 years have passed.
Additionally, the Compact establishes protections, including data sharing requirements between participating states to enhance the exchange of licensure, investigative, and disciplinary information among participating states. The Compact establishes a commission to administer the Compact, and establishes that each participating state will have one delegate that serves on the Commission. The Compact also has a special provision to make it easier for active duty military personnel or their spouses who are counselors to practice counseling despite frequent moves.
Counselors do not have to participate in the Compact to practice; counselors may choose to only apply for their state's license or to apply for licenses in other states without going through the Compact.
The Counseling Compact must be enacted in 10 states to become effective. As of March 26, 2022, the Counseling Compact has been enacted in 6 states. The Compact is pending in 16 other states.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO A MULTISTATE PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR LICENSURE COMPACT. |
| SB 260 | Signed | Gay | The Consumer Protection Fund covers a substantial portion of the costs and expenses to run the Department of Justice’s Fraud and Consumer Protection Division, which serves all Delawareans, handles hundreds of consumer complaints every year, and is continually taking on more cases on behalf of Delawareans who have been victims of fraud and deceptive business practices. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a period of dramatically increased scams against Delaware's most vulnerable populations, including our seniors, the Fraud and Consumer Protection Division has been on the front lines. The Division brings money into the Consumer Protection Fund by investigating and enforcing Delaware’s consumer protection and financial fraud laws, and the amounts obtained, often through settlements, can be large but are unpredictable. Despite a significant expansion of the work and jurisdiction of the Fraud and Consumer Protection Division, the Consumer Protection Fund retention cap has not been increased since 2014. This Act increases the maximum amount of money the Department of Justice can keep in the Consumer Protection Fund at the end of each fiscal year from $3 million to $10 million.
Increasing the retention cap from $3 million to $10 million will promote greater stability in funding the Division’s operations even during periods of volatility in the amount of money the Division brings in through its investigation and enforcement work, and will reduce the risk that the Division needs to seek funding for its critical operations out of General Fund appropriations. Increasing the retention cap will not affect ASF spending authorization for the Consumer Protection Fund, which will remain subject to the existing appropriations process. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE CONSUMER PROTECTION FUND. |
| SB 259 | Signed | Gay | This bill increases the amount of funds deposited into the Investor Protection Fund from money collected by the Investor Protection Unit from $100,000 to $550,000. In addition, it increases the retention cap of the Investor Protection Fund from $300,000 to $750,000. Lastly, it expands the permissible uses of the Investor Protection Fund to include expenses of the Fraud and Consumer Protection Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) related to consumer protection and financial fraud.
The Investor Protection Fund receives revenues from fees collected by the Unit, as well as any settlement recoveries of the Unit. It is largely used to pay the non-personnel expenses of DOJ’s Investor Protection Unit, which is a part of DOJ’s Fraud and Consumer Protection Division.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE INVESTOR PROTECTION FUND. |
| SB 272 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Gay | By this Act, Delaware would join the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact (the “Compact”). The Compact is an interstate compact, or a formal agreement among states, to facilitate the interstate practice of audiology and speech language pathology.
Under the Compact, audiologists and speech-language pathologists (collectively, “practitioners”) who are licensed and in good standing in a Compact member state may practice in any other Compact member states via a “compact privilege,” which is equivalent to a license. This will remove the need for practitioners to get an individual license in each state where they want to practice.
The Compact is the same in form and function as other occupational licensure compacts such as the Nurse Multistate Licensure Compact (adopted by Delaware, 24 Del. C. Ch. 19A), the Physical Therapy Compact (adopted by Delaware, 24 Del. C. Ch. 26C) and the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (adopted by Delaware, 24 Del. C. Ch. 17A). The Compact authorizes in-person practice and telepractice based on a valid, unrestricted home state license in Compact member states.
The Compact has been adopted by 17 states: Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The Compact is pending before the legislatures of 9 other states.
The Compact establishes a licensure data system allowing for instantaneous verification of licensure information. The Compact also establishes an interstate commission, composed of member state officials, to carry out the Compact’s purposes.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS AND THE AUDIOLOGY AND SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY INTERSTATE COMPACT. |
| HB 398 | Signed | K. Williams | This Act renames the Human Trafficking Interagency Coordinating Council as the Delaware Anti-Trafficking Action Council (Council) for the purpose of providing a clearer description of the work that the Council performs. This Act also transfers the Council from under the authority of the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) to the Criminal Justice Council. DHSS's clerical staffing duty is removed.
This Act requires the Council to appoint an Executive Director, who will serve at the Council's pleasure. The Executive Director shall support the Council in carrying out its statutory duties. Subject to the approval of a quorum of the Council and within the limits of any appropriation made by the General Assembly or available funding from another funding source, the Executive Director shall also employ staff and contract for services as necessary to assist the Council with performing its duties. By providing the Council with staff, the Council will be better able to comply with its statutory mandates under Delaware's Human Trafficking law. It will also be able to pursue grant funding opportunities that it previously did not have the infrastructure to support.
Additionally, this Act broadens several existing statutory duties of the Council to ensure the Council has the flexibility necessary to perform its work and allows it to pursue work that may broaden opportunity to obtain grant funding. This Act also clarifies that one member of the Council must be an individual with prior experience in working with victims of human trafficking in a legal or advocacy capacity and that this individual may reside in any county. This Act also clarifies how this member must be appointed.
This Act adds additional reporting requirements, clarifies that the report is intended to be an annual report, and adds that the report must also be submitted to the Executive Director of the Criminal Justice Council.
This Act removes language related to the initial startup of the Council because this language is no longer relevant. This Act also repeals § 787(k)(2)j. of this Title because the paragraph contains language that is no longer relevant. Procedural requirements for Council business are located in § 787(k)(4), so the procedural requirements in § 787(k)(2)j. were moved to § 787(k)(4)b.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including corresponding corrections to internal references in § 787(l) and § 787(m) since paragraphs within § 787(k) have been renumbered.
The Council wishes to name this Act for and honor the late Ms. February O’Donnell and the late Ms. Amy Day. Ms. O’Donnell, a human trafficking survivor, and Ms. Day, a victims’ services volunteer who started the nonprofit, Meet Me At The Well, were remarkable women who helped lead the way in Delaware’s fight against human trafficking. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COUNCIL. |
| SB 313 | Signed | Sturgeon | This Act expands the period in which an ARTC program participant must meet the program requirements to obtain standard certification from 2 years to 3 years.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO TEACHER LICENSURE AND CERTIFICATION. |
| HB 441 | Signed | K. Williams | This Act provides an alternative means for an educator to demonstrate competency and achieve a standard certificate beyond simply passing a content exam, such as the Praxis II. For those who are within 2 standard errors of measurement of the passing score, a certificate will be issued if the applicant has either (i) a GPA of 3.5 or higher; or (ii) a GPA between 3.0 and 3.49 and demonstrated competency through micro-credentialing, successful completion of a residency, or passing scores on performance assessments. Special education, administrator, and specialist certifications are not available through this alternate measure.
This Act sunsets 1 year after its enactment unless extended through a subsequent act of the General Assembly. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EDUCATOR LICENSURE AND CERTIFICATION. |
| HB 440 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Griffith | This bill changes the definition of and class of felony for the crime of Strangulation from a class C felony to a Class D felony unless additional factors are present, then the crime elevates to a class B felony, punishable from 2-25 years in jail. This bill also adds the crime of suffocation. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON. |
| HB 446 | Signed | Bush | The Kent County Levy Court sets equal compensation for the members and chairpersons of all Kent County boards and commissions in the annual operating budget ordinance. Currently all members of the other boards and commissions are compensated at a rate of $150.00 per meeting attended. Chairpersons are compensated at a rate of $175.00 per meeting attended. This Act will allow the members and Chairperson of the Board of Assessment Review to receive the same compensation as those appointed to all other boards and commissions by the Kent County Levy Court. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO KENT COUNTY BOARD OF ASSESSMENT REVIEW. |
| SB 319 | Signed | Townsend | This bill creates a special license plate for atTAcK addiction. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES. |
| HB 481 | Signed | Wilson-Anton | This Act will amend the Delaware Code relating to the powers of the Delaware Higher Education Office and the state authorization of private postsecondary institutions. The intent of the Act is to increase consumer protections for students enrolled in private postsecondary institutions as it relates to student loans, distance education, and predatory practices. The Act will also clarify the current functions of the Delaware Higher Education Office relating to student support for transitions into postsecondary education and execution of state financial aid programs through the elimination of functions that are no longer under the purview of the Delaware Higher Education Office. This Act establishes responsibilities for certain postsecondary institutions, private schools, and trade schools prior to ceasing operation.
This Act changes the penalty for an individual violating chapter 85 from a fine not to exceed $500 to a fine of a minimum of $500 for each offense and changes the penalty for a person violating chapter 85 from a fine not to exceed $1,000 to a fine of a minimum of $1000 for each offense.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
Finally, this Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 11 of Article VIII of the Delaware constitution requires the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to impose a fee. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE HIGHER EDUCATION OFFICE AND APPROVAL OF POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTIONS. |
