An Act To Amend Title 10 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Commissioners Of The Delaware State Fire Commission.
Summary
SB 158 amends Delaware’s confidentiality statute for first responders, civilian employees, and their families in Title 10, Section 4319. The bill expands who may recognize or approve certain support personnel by adding the Commissioners of the Delaware State Fire Commission as an entity that can recognize a critical incident stress management (CISM) team member, and by allowing the Board of Commissioners and the Executive Director of the Delaware State Fire Commission to approve a trained peer support member.
The practical effect is to broaden the administrative pathways for qualifying individuals who provide peer support or crisis counseling services to first responders. Those qualifications matter because the statute protects certain communications as confidential when they involve approved CISM or peer support personnel. The bill does not create a new confidentiality privilege from scratch; rather, it updates the list of authorized approving bodies within the existing framework.
Impact
The bill amends Title 10, Section 4319 of the Delaware Code, which governs confidential communications involving first responders, civilian employees, and their families. It expands the Delaware State Fire Commission’s role in certifying or approving CISM team members and trained peer support members, thereby affecting which support providers can trigger statutory confidentiality protections. The change primarily affects first responders, fire and EMS agencies, and the state entities responsible for recognizing these support roles.
Sentiment
The available bill text and synopsis suggest a straightforward, noncontroversial administrative update intended to align the statute with current Fire Commission structures. No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no documented opposition or debate in the supplied materials. The overall tone of the legislation is supportive of first responder wellness and confidentiality protections.
Contention
No specific points of contention are reflected in the provided record. The only substantive policy issue apparent from the text is whether the Delaware State Fire Commission’s Commissioners, Board of Commissioners, and Executive Director should be added to the list of officials authorized to approve CISM and peer support personnel. Because the bill appears to be a technical expansion of approval authority rather than a change to the underlying confidentiality privilege, any disagreement would likely center on administrative authority and credentialing standards rather than the concept of confidentiality itself.
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