House Bill 199 (151st General Assembly) – This amendment to the Delaware Constitution would protect equal rights for all Delaware residents regardless of who they love, how they identify, or their ability.
The bill would add “sexual orientation,” “gender identity” and “disability” to the Delaware Constitution’s equal rights clause, declaring explicitly that protection against discrimination based on these qualities is one of Delaware’s fundamental rights. If enacted, Delaware would be the first state in the nation to enshrine these protections for LGBTQ+ residents in its state constitution.
Senate Bill 31 (151st General Assembly) – This is the second leg of a constitutional amendment to add race, color, and national origin to the Delaware Constitution to explicitly declare that protection against discrimination based on race, color, and national origin is one of Delaware’s fundamental rights. The first leg of this constitutional amendment was Senate Bill 191 of the 150th General Assembly. Since the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, with Delaware ratifying it in 1901, at least 15 states have added a provision to their state constitution that prohibits the denial or abridgement of equal rights under the law based on race, color, or national origin. In 2019, Delaware amended the state constitution to prohibit the denial or abridgement of equal rights under the law based on sex, but no such prohibition exists as to race, color, or national origin.
Senate Bill 1 (151st General Assembly) – The Healthy Delaware Families Act creates a statewide paid family and medical leave insurance program. Delaware employees can access up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave through the State’s paid leave trust fund for a qualifying event, including for the following: (1) To address a worker’s own serious health condition (2) To care for a family member with a serious health condition. (3) To bond with a new child. (4) To handle safety matters for victims of domestic violence. (5) To address the impact of a family member’s military deployment.
House Bill 48 (151st General Assembly) – This bill establishes a Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program for new primary care providers to be administered by the Delaware Health Care Commission. Under the loan repayment program, the Health Care Commission may award education loan repayment grants to new primary care providers of up to $50,000 per year for a maximum of 4 years. Priority consideration may be given to DIMER-participating students and participants in Delaware based residency programs. Sites eligible to apply for grants on behalf of their new primary care providers must be located in underserved areas or areas of need and must accept Medicare and Medicaid participants.
House Bill 100 (151st General Assembly) – This bill establishes a mental health services unit for Delaware elementary schools, allowing for schools to hire one full-time school counselor, school social worker, or licensed clinical social worker for every 250 students in grades kindergarten through fifth. It also would allow the hiring of one full-time school psychologist or licensed mental health therapist for every 700 elementary school students.
This bill will address the disparity and shortfall of mental health professionals in Delaware elementary schools. For far too long, the mental health of our students has been treated as a secondary need – if even that much. The truth is, the mental health of our young students is vital to them growing, learning and becoming successful adults. This pandemic has only magnified the need to put our students’ mental wellness at the front of the line.
According to the CDC, one in six U.S. children aged 2-8 years had a diagnosed mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder, such as depression, ADHD, anxiety and other behavioral problems. Untreated mental illness can lead to increased risk of dropout, homelessness, substance abuse, other chronic illnesses, incarceration, and possibly suicide.
House Bill 35 (151st General Assembly) – Each year behavioral health professionals devote themselves to the care of those needing assistance. This assistance ranges from physical health to mental health, and behavioral health to emotional health. The assistance of these professionals is crucial to the well-being of those seeking support.
This act institutes a Behavioral Health Professional of the Year Award Program throughout the state of Delaware. Through this program, the state will formally honor and recognize the work of behavioral health professionals, among whom are school counselors, social workers, licensed clinical social workers, school psychologists, and school nurses. This award will provide professionals with funds they can utilize to further their education, as well as necessities for their pupils, such as notebooks, paints, and even visiting artists.
These professionals selflessly devote themselves to those needing help, and this is one way we can give back to those who have done so much to help us.
House Resolution 17 (151st General Assembly) – This resolution establishes the Behavioral Health Crisis Care Task Force to study and make findings and recommendations regarding creating a behavioral health crisis care system in this State.
The task force will take a deep dive into crisis services and behavioral health to make recommendations for a comprehensive behavioral health crisis care system in Delaware. This task force will take into consideration a wide range of views and is comprised of lawmakers, police chiefs, the directors of both the Division of Social Services and the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, Emergency Center Directors from each county, and the Executive Director of the Criminal Justice Council.
House Bill 245 (150th General Assembly) – This bill creates licensing for recovery housing, which is housing for individuals recovering from substance use disorders that provides a safe and supportive substance-free environment and that may include peer support and other recovery support services. Right now recovery housing has no oversight, although the state has broad authority to license any setting that treatment is provided. This bill creates guidelines to actually oversee recovery housing and for recovery housing to obtain licensure.
House Bill 346 (150th General Assembly) – This bill provides for voting by mail for the 2020 elections due to the emergency caused by COVID-19. No resident should have to choose between their health and exercising their right to vote, and HB 346 will make sure no one has to make that difficult choice. This gives every voter the option to cast their ballot by mail. Given the uncertainties of the virus and the steps we have to take to limit its spread, this is a critical option.
SS 1 for Senate Bill 25 (150th General Assembly) – This bill raises the age for buying tobacco products to 21 in Delaware. 95 percent of adults begin smoking before they turn 21, and the ages between 18 and 21 are a critical period when many smokers move from experimental smoking to regular, daily use. Raising the age to purchase tobacco to 21 is an important step that our state can take to prevent young adults from developing nicotine addictions that will stay with them for their entire lives.
HB 101 (150th General Assembly) – This bill requires high needs elementary schools, including high needs elementary charter schools, to have school-based health centers. High needs elementary schools are defined as any elementary school in the top quartile of 3 or more in percentage of low-income students, percentage of English learners, percentage of students with disabilities, percentage of minority students, or having 90% of its students classified as low-income, English learners, or minority.
House Bill 112 (150th General Assembly) – This bill allows the Division of Motor Vehicles to issue special Bicycle Friendly Delaware license plates.
House Joint Resolution 13 (149th General Assembly- More than 24,000 Delawareans get their healthcare through the Obamacare, Affordable Care Act marketplace, but unfortunately premium rates for Delaware plans are some of the highest in the country. Individual market rates are also impacted by the influx. Families struggle to make ends meet because of this exorbitant cost, but Delaware lawmakers want to ensure that health insurers are passing along any saving to the consumer. This legislation would require health insurers to pass along savings that companies see from the moratorium on the fee that was mandated through Federal Register Printing Savings Act. Now that companies do not have to pay this fee, they should be passing savings onto consumers, not into their wallets. This resolution will require the state to watch insurers and mandate insurers report on these savings to consumers.
House Concurrent Resolution 85 (148th General Assembly) – Establishes the Firearm Suicide Prevention Task Force to seek recommendations on reducing incidences of firearm suicide in Delaware by bringing the firearm community and mental health professionals together.
House Concurrent Resolution 84 (148th General Assembly) – Recognizes June 7 through June 28, 2016, as the “22 in 22 Challenge” in the State of Delaware and encourages all Delawareans to learn about and raise awareness of veteran suicide.
Senate Bill 197 (148th General Assembly) – Requires physicians to educate prenatal patients and families on the warning signs and symptoms of postpartum depression. Maternal depression is a widespread issue that affects nearly a third of new mothers.
Senate Bill 84 (148th General Assembly) – Allows mothers who are currently breastfeeding their children to have their jury service postponed by the courts.
Senate Bill 52 (148th General Assembly) – Requires hospitals to record the patient’s designation of a lay caregiver and the lay caregiver’s contact information. Requires that a hospital provide a patient or the patient’s agent an opportunity to designate a lay caregiver prior to the patient’s discharge and if a lay caregiver is designated, the hospital is required to document the designation in the patient’s medical record, notify the lay caregiver, and to interface with the lay caregiver related to the patient’s discharge plan.
Senate Bill 265 (148th General Assembly) – This bill establishes an Inclusive Statewide Stroke Care System to improve stroke care and survival in the State of Delaware. This bill requires the Secretary of Health and Social Services to designate acute health care facilities that meet certain accreditation requirements as comprehensive stroke centers, primary stroke centers, acute stroke ready centers, and other distinct categories of stroke center certification. The bill also establishes a standing Stroke System Committee to assist in the oversight of the Inclusive Statewide Stroke Care System and provide recommendations for its implementation and maintenance.
SB 135 (148th General Assembly) – This legislation prohibited trains from idling on the tracks between 8 pm. and 7 am in residential areas. This bill responded directly to the many complaints from residents of trains sitting on the tracks behind their homes all night long. This law is currently being challenged in court by the rail companies.
House Bill 235 (147th General Assembly) – Designates bicycling as the official sport for the State of Delaware. The fourth grade students at Wilbur and Southern Elementary participated in this bill’s advancement through the legislative process advocating for its passage.
House Concurrent Resolution 27 (147th General Assembly) – Expresses concerns over the health, safety, noise, traffic and pollution caused by Norfolk Southern’s “crude by rail” shipments to the PBF Refinery in Delaware City. The resolution requests that PBF and Norfolk Southern (1) provide monthly reports detailing the crossing times of all PBF inbound and outbound trains at several Delaware crossings; (2) increase their communication in an effort to become more efficient in the “crude by rail” shipments so as to avoid delays; (3) work with the state and federal governments to develop more quiet zones; (4) identify and propose additional infrastructure improvements to the rail lines to help improve efficiency and safety; and (5) work in conjunction with DelDOT and provide the required funding to maintain safe rail lines and crossings in conformance with federal and DelDOT guidelines and standards.
House Resolution 28 (145th General Assembly) – Creates a pilot program in which 25 cell phones will be given to at-risk individuals with physical or cognitive disabilities or other physical limitations. Under three-month program, the cell phones would be “locked out,” allowing users to only dial DART customer service and 911 in the event of an emergency.
House Bill 246 (145th General Assembly) – Clarifies language in the Right of First Offer laws. It also establishes that if a home owner association meets an offer higher than a counter-offer made by the home owner association for the community, the home owner association may purchase the community at that price.
House Bill 275 (145th General Assembly) – Ends a discriminatory practice by the Colonial School District in which teachers who have gone on maternity leave as prescribed in the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) were not permitted to return to their classrooms. Instead, the teachers were shuffled around and assigned to different classes throughout the district.