Welcome to The Press Room, a weekly roundup of the major stories and happenings of the 2023 Delaware legislative year.
To mark the final week of the legislative year, The Press Room will be publishing every day. Here are the bills that passed in Legislative Hall on June 28.
As always, send story tips, feedback, ideas or gossip to me at mnewman@delawareonline.com.
Follow me on Twitter at @MereNewman.
Senate passes $1.4 billion bond bill
The Delaware Senate Wednesday passed the $1.4 billion bond bill, about a quarter of which will go toward road construction projects.
The bill, one of the legislature’s main priorities each year, helps fund construction and infrastructure projects. It requires bipartisan support since it has a voting threshold of 75%. It received a unanimous vote among senators and now heads to the House of Representatives, where it is expected to pass.
Last year, the legislature also passed a $1.4 billion bond bill, at the time the largest in state history.
INSIDE LEGISLATIVE HALL:Delaware General Assembly passes fiscal year 2024 budget, with teachers seeing 9% raise
The largest portion of the bond bill, $354.2 million, will go to road projects throughout Delaware, particularly the roads in the worst condition.
General Assembly funds suicide hotline
Lawmakers created a state funding source Wednesday for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Congress established the suicide hotline in 2020 to act similarly to how 911 is used for public safety emergencies. Those experiencing a mental health crisis can call or text 988 to be connected to a local Lifeline response center. Delaware received $1 million in grants to plan and implement 988, which launched in August 2022.
BACKGROUND:What is 988, the new mental health crisis hotline rolling out in Delaware, nationwide?
The federal government left it up to the states to launch the 988 system, allowing local governments to place a fee on phone bills to cover the costs related to the suicide hotline and its services. HB 160, which passed the Senate and now heads to the governor, places a 60-cent monthly surcharge on cell phones and landlines. A 60-cent fee would be charged for prepaid services. This is similar to how Delaware pays for 911 services.
State officials estimate that about 900 calls were made to 988 in the first quarter of 2023.
The bill also created a 20-member board to create a crisis intervention plan and make recommendations to the governor and General Assembly on how best to allocate the funding. It now awaits action by the governor.
Delaware looks to ban smoking, open containers in cars
Delaware lawmakers seek to ban people from smoking in a car when a child is present.
The bill originated as a result of a fourth-grade class at Wilbur Elementary School, whose teacher Leanna Vitti has had her classes write letters to lawmakers about this issue for a decade. Earlier in the session, the students shared their experiences with lawmakers in Legislative Hall.
HB 118, which passed the Senate Wednesday, does not allow a police officer to stop or detain a car just on the suspicion of a person violating this statute. It included a Senate amendment to reduce the age of the child to 16 years and younger. It returns to the House.
Just the day before, the House passed a different bill, HB 119, that would ban open containers of alcoholic beverages in a car and make it result in a civil penalty. Delaware is one of five states to not have an open container law, per lawmakers. It now heads to the Senate.
This bill is a part of the larger highway safety package supported by Gov. John Carney.
