SEE LATEST
SPONSORED LEGISLATION
HB4 - An Act To Amend Title 14 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Mental Health Services For School Trauma.
Valerie J. Longhurst, Laura Sturgeon, Debra J. Heffernan
Last updated about 1 year ago
21 Co-Sponsors
This Act is Nolans Law. The purpose of this legislation is to provide more behavioral health supports to school districts and charter schools in the aftermath of a school-connected traumatic event, which is defined as the death of any student, educator, administrator, or other building employee of a public school.
STATUS
Passed
HB94 - An Act To Amend Title 21 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Use Of Electronic Speed Enforcement Devices.
Edward S. Osienski, Spiros Mantzavinos, John Walsh
Last updated about 1 year ago
21 Co-Sponsors
The expectation for speed enforcement, under Delaware's Motor Vehicle statute, are Delaware's law enforcement agencies. It is not always possible for law enforcement officers to effectively enforce the speed limitations due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to, officer availability and safety. The original Act enabled the State, as well as counties and municipalities to more effectively enforce speed limits on roads in a residential district in which a Department of Transportation study, no more than 1 year old, documents that the 85th percentile speed on the road is 5 miles per hour or more than the posted speed limit or the road is in a designated work zone. For a violation to occur a motor vehicle must exceed the posted speed limit by 11 miles per hour or more. This Act would impose only civil penalties for violations and does not impose points on the owner or operators drivers license. Jurisdiction for adjudicating alleged violations would be in the Justice of the Peace Court and there would only be a right of appeal to the Court of Common Pleas if the penalty exceeds $100. Any excess revenue not used for administration of the system, will be managed by the Office of Highway Safety and used only for purposes of education, enforcement, engineering and administration. This Act will sunset in 5 years if not extended by a subsequent act by the General Assembly.
STATUS
Passed
HB5 - An Act To Amend Title 31 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Reimbursement Of School-based Behavioral Health Services.
Valerie J. Longhurst, Nicole Poore, Debra J. Heffernan
Last updated about 2 months ago
22 Co-Sponsors
The States Medicaid Plan still limits the reimbursement of Medicaid-covered, school-based behavioral health services to those provided under an Individualized Educational Program (IEP) or Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), despite federal policy changes that allow for these services to be provided as a medical necessity without IEP or IFSP documentation. This bill would charge the Department of Health & Social Services to apply to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for a State Plan Amendment that would allow for reimbursement of medically necessary behavioral health services without IEP or IFSP documentation. Local education agencies must use the reimbursed funds to further invest in school-based behavioral health supports.
STATUS
Passed
SB158 - An Act To Amend Title 11 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Address Confidentiality.
Kyle Evans Gay, Elizabeth Lockman, Sarah McBride
Last updated about 1 year ago
21 Co-Sponsors
This Act permits an individual who is a reproductive health care services provider or employee to apply for participation in Delaware's Address Confidentiality Program, which allows participants to keep their actual address confidential by applying to the Department of Justice for a substitute address to which all mail will be delivered.
STATUS
Passed
HB247 - An Act To Amend Titles 9 And 17 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Traffic Safety.
Edward S. Osienski, Stephanie L. Hansen, Kyle Evans Gay
Last updated 3 months ago
18 Co-Sponsors
There were 139 traffic fatalities in Delaware in 2021, the highest number of traffic fatalities since 2006. Senate Concurrent Resolution 94 of the 151st Delaware General Assembly set a goal of no more than 100 traffic fatalities per year and tasked state agencies to meet that goal by 2025. Instead of moving towards meeting the General Assemblys goal, however, traffic fatalities increased to 165 in 2022, deepening the crisis on Delawares roads. To reverse this situation, the Everyone Gets Home Act makes changes to the Delaware Code to sharpen the Department of Transportations focus on the three most common types of fatal crashes: intersection (including driveway); roadway departure; and mid-block pedestrian. This Act clarifies the Departments authority to designate controlled-access facilities as a safety countermeasure for both intersection and midblock pedestrian crashes and, when the facility designation has received the consent of county government, requires counties to use their own authority to assist the Department in consolidating vehicle entrances and exits to and from the facility. In addition, this Act authorizes the Department to designate roadways as low-speed streets and low-speed local roads in order to address fatal roadway departure crashes related to vehicle speed, and permits counties to request such designations to meet their own traffic safety goals. Finally, this Act expands the Departments discretion to deploy new traffic-control devices in order to reduce fatal crashes.
STATUS
Enrolled
HB133 - An Act To Amend Title 18 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Line-of-duty Death Benefits.
Sherry Dorsey Walker, David G. Lawson, William J. Carson
Last updated over 1 year ago
15 Co-Sponsors
First responders, including law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians, and public safety telecommunicators, are crucial to ensuring public safety and health. First responders are at elevated risk for suicide because of the environments in which they work, their culture, and stress, both occupational and personal. This stress can be associated with a specific incident or an accumulation of day-to-day stress. Occupational stress in first responders is associated with increased risk of mental health issues, including hopelessness, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, as well as suicidal behaviors such as suicidal ideation (thinking about or planning suicide) and attempts. Even during routine shifts, first responders can experience stress due to the uncertainty in each situation. During emergencies, disasters, pandemics, and other crises, stress among first responders can be magnified. Relationship problems have also been linked to a large proportion of suicides among the general population (42%). Because first responders can have challenging work schedules and extreme family-work demands, stress caused by relationship problems may also be magnified in this worker group.
STATUS
Introduced
SB196 - An Act To Amend Title 16 Of The Delaware Code Relating To 24/7 Emergent Physician Care Centers.
Nicole Poore, Valerie J. Longhurst, Darius Brown
Last updated about 1 year ago
5 Co-Sponsors
This legislation establishes a voluntary certification program for 24/7 Emergent Physician Care Centers and is designed to help Delawareans chose the right level of walk-in, medical care. The importance of 24/7 Physician Care Centers in the delivery of urgent and emergent health care services in times of crisis was exhibited during the recent COVID-19 Pandemic. Currently, Delawareans have no assistance in determining the varying levels of services available at urgent care facilities. This legislation creates the category of and defines the minimum level of services necessary for 24/7 Emergent Physician Care Centers. The minimum requirements for 24/7 Emergent Physician Care Centers include being open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, having a Delaware licensed physician and registered nurse on site at all times, providing lab and diagnostic imaging services, providing on-site splinting, fracture care and suturing, and not refusing care to any person due to inability to pay or lack of identification.
STATUS
Introduced
HB110 - An Act To Amend Titles 18, 29, And 31 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Insurance Coverage For Termination Of Pregnancy.
Melissa Minor-Brown, Kyle Evans Gay, Elizabeth Lockman
Last updated 13 days ago
25 Co-Sponsors
Section 1 amends Title 31 to require all health benefit plans delivered or issued for Medicaid to cover services related to the termination of pregnancy. Coverage provided under this section is not subject to any deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or any other cost-sharing requirement and must cover the full scope of services permissible under the law. It also moves the definition of carrier out of individual provisions and into the general definition section for the chapter.
STATUS
Passed
HB102 - An Act To Amend Title 17 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Entrance Permits.
William G. Bush, John Walsh, Sherry Dorsey Walker
Last updated over 1 year ago
25 Co-Sponsors
This Act expedites the issuance of a temporary entrance permit for commercial and economic development projects. The Act also makes technical changes to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
STATUS
Passed
SB125 - An Act To Amend Title 3, Title 6, Title 9, Title 10, Title 11, Title 12, Title 13, Title 14, Title 15, Title 16, Title 18, Title 19, Title 20, Title 21, Title 24, Title 25, Title 29, And Title 30 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Technical Corrections.
David P. Sokola, Bryan Townsend, Elizabeth Lockman
Last updated about 1 year ago
10 Co-Sponsors
In December 2022, the Code Revisors provided the General Assembly with a list of potential technical corrections that they identified as they revised the Delaware Code to reflect legislation that was enacted by the 151st General Assembly in 2022 or as they reviewed titles of the Code. While technical in nature, these changes are beyond the authority of the Code Revisors to make and can only be done by the General Assembly through legislation. This Act also includes technical corrections identified outside of the list provided by the Code Revisors.
STATUS
Passed
BIOGRAPHY
INCUMBENT
Representative from Delaware district HD-015
COMMITTEES
Delaware House
BIRTH
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ABOUT
Valerie J. Longhurst was born in Wilmington, Delaware. She earned her B.A. in Elementary Education in 1978 from the University of Delaware. Longhurst taught elementary school in the Red Clay Consolidated and Brandywine School Districts from 1978 to 1998. She was also an educational trainer and curriculum writer for the Delaware Department of Education. In 1998, Longhurst was elected to the Delaware House of Representatives. She serves on the Education, Gaming & Parimutuels, Revenue & Finance, and Transportation/Land Use and Infrastructure Committees. Longhurst was elected Speaker of the House in 2017, becoming Delaware’s first female House Speaker.read less
OFFICES HELD
Delaware House from Delaware
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