This Act restores the Delaware Prescription Drug Payment Assistance Program which was eliminated in the Fiscal Year 2018 Annual Appropriations Act.
This bill allows judicial discretion when juveniles are charged with any of the five specific offenses carved out in state code that say a juvenile of 16 or older, or 15 in the case of § 1447A, must be prosecuted as an adult. The bill simply changes the language from ‘shall’ to ‘may’ to allow judges to weigh the possibility that the juvenile may be better served in Delaware’s Family Court system via the amenability process already enumerated in Title 10 § 1010 and § 1011. Four of the five statutes date back to 1972. The most recent change pertaining to the ages of juveniles affected was in 1996 when lawmakers dropped the age requirement on Section 1447A from 16 to 15. This bill also raises the age in § 1447A to 16, as well.
This bill seeks to expand the eligibility criteria for the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation Program by including the offense of possession of drug paraphernalia and permitting a second referral to the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation Program where the first referral occurred more than 18 months ago and was not a referral for the same offense.
This Act codifies a juvenile's right to counsel in Family Court delinquency proceedings. The bill outlines certain circumstances where a juvenile may not waive the right to counsel: where the juvenile is accused of a felony, where the juvenile is in the custody of the Division of Family Services, where the juvenile is under the age of 16, or where the victim of the alleged delinquent act is a family member or guardian or where the family member or guardian has an interest adverse to the juvenile. The bill also codifies a right to counsel in criminal contempt proceedings related to truancy in the Justice of the Peace Court. The procedures for appointment and waiver are the same as set forth for Family Court.
The “Bicycle Friendly Delaware Act” would update Delaware code in conformance with recommended changes to the Uniform Vehicle Code from both the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (Rules of the Road Committee) and the League of American Bicyclists (Legal Affairs Committee). Without changing the legal meaning of existing law, these updates would clarify sections of the Delaware Rules of the Road that are frequently misunderstood by the police, by bicycle operators and by vehicle drivers. In addition, the Act would enable the Department of Transportation to deploy bicycle traffic signals as a safety countermeasure at intersections where most fatal bicycle crashes occur; require vehicles to change lanes when passing bicycles (and farm equipment and animal-drawn vehicles) when lanes are too narrow; permit safe yielding by bicycle operators at stop sign-controlled intersections with minor roads; and prohibit the use of horns when passing animal-drawn vehicles and bicycles.
This Act enhances penalties for drivers who cause serious physical injury, as defined in § 222 of Title 11, to a vulnerable user, as defined in this Act. For a person to be guilty under this Act, the injured vulnerable user must be lawfully using a highway, defined in § 101 of Title 29 as "the entire width between boundary lines of every way or place of whatever nature open to the use of the public as a matter of right for purposes of vehicular travel . . . ." This Act also expands the circumstances in which a driver is criminally liable from violations of the careless or inattentive driving law to any violation of the rules of the road, Chapter 41 of Title 21, that result for a serious physical injury to a vulnerable user. Finally, this Act gives Superior Court jurisdiction over these violations due to the serious nature of the injuries required to be suffered by a vulnerable user.
Individuals who receive health care via Medicaid deserve the same dedication to treatment of substance abuse disorders as individuals who receive health care via private insurance. This Act extends the same access to treatment of a substance use disorder within the Medicaid framework that Senate Bill 41 of the 149th General Assembly afforded to individuals covered by private health insurance, except that a 72 hour supply instead of 5 day supply of emergency medication is required. This Act also clarifies that Medicaid health plans must use the full set of American Society of Addiction Medicine criteria when determining whether “medical necessity” exists for the placement, continued stay, and transfer/discharge of patients with a substance use disorder in treatment programs. Additionally, this Act aligns protections relating to services, specifically 5 days of treatment in detox centers and 30 days of treatment in Intensive Outpatient Programs, with the residential treatment option that is protected pursuant to Senate Bill 41 of the 149th General Assembly.
This Act will allow a retired Delaware attorney to satisfy a mortgage that the attorney paid off while in practice. Currently only attorneys still in active practice are permitted to satisfy mortgages under Section 2120. This limitation can leave no practicable way to satisfy a mortgage for which the lender fails to record a satisfaction as required by State law if the attorney who paid off the mortgage subsequently retires. This Act will also expand the scope of Section 2120 to include partial releases of a mortgage where a Delaware attorney made a partial payment to release a portion of the mortgaged property.
This Act establishes the ability of state and school district employees to use the “donated leave” program to donate and accept annual leave and sick time for use by employees in connection with the birth or adoption of a child under the age of 6 years. An employee becomes eligible to receive such leave upon the birth of a child to the employee or employee’s spouse or upon adoption of a child younger than 6. Such an employee remains eligible for 6 months after such birth or adoption. The recipient may also use donated leave for a period of 1 year following the birth or adoption for absence related to maternal or pediatric medical appointments. Provided, however, that a recipient of donated leave must first use all of his or her accrued sick time and half of his or her annual leave. Where the recipient does not accrue annual leave, the recipient must have used all but 3 of that employee’s sick days prior to utilizing donated leave. All other established terms and conditions for donated leave remain the same.
This Act allows professional licensing boards and commissions administered by the Division of Professional Regulation to recognize military education, training, and experience of all current and former military personnel when reviewing credentials and issuing licenses. This is a change from the current law, which only allows such boards and commissions to do so for active duty military, members of the National Guard, or military reserves assigned to a duty station in Delaware. This change would recognize the military education, training, and experience of individuals who are retired, a veteran, or are active duty individuals assigned to duty stations located outside this State.
