| HB 184 | Committee | Michael Smith | The constitutional requirement to create new legislative districts following the U.S. Census was intended to ensure equal representation at all levels of government. However, Delaware’s current process of redistricting is deeply flawed. It allows the majority party in each legislative chamber to gerrymander state legislative maps in a self-serving attempt to preserve and expand partisan political power. All other considerations have become secondary in this process. This defect is common to many states and some have tried to address the issue by creating election commissions charged with redrawing legislative lines. The challenge in such a system is ensuring that these commissions can conduct their function in a balanced, objective, and non-partisan fashion. This bill proposes a new method that avoids this significant hurdle by leveraging partisan self-interest to create a protocol that results in an equitable outcome. This fresh approach to reapportionment is described in a paper by 3 Carnegie Mellon University professors entitled: “A Partisan Districting Protocol with Provably Nonpartisan Outcomes.” It utilizes a system analogous to a proven, prudent method for instructing 2 children to fairly divide a piece of cake between themselves. The first child cuts the cake, while the second has the option of selecting which piece he or she wishes to consume. In the protocol outlined in this bill, the two competing parties are the partisan caucuses of each General Assembly chamber. The first caucus will initially draw all the legislative districts, observing established legal redistricting standards. The second caucus will have the ability to “freeze” a set number of the districts, locking their boundaries into place. They will then be able to redraw the remaining districts as they wish, delivering the new maps back to the first caucus. This group will then also engage in the freeze and redraw process, with the cycles continuing until all the districts have been defined. With both sides getting equal “bites of the apple,” each has a practical ability to affect the outcome and a reason to work together to achieve a mutually acceptable conclusion. The bill also includes safeguards to ensure public notification and participation in the process, as well as a contingency to allow the judicial branch to draw the new legislative maps should the General Assembly be unable to achieve the task. This legislation assumes calling the General Assembly into special session to approve the finalized maps, providing enough time for the process to be conducted in a deliberative manner. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE REDISTRICTING OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. |
| HA 1 to HB 203 | PWB | Hilovsky | This amendment makes technical corrections to the bill. | |
| HA 2 to HS 1 for HB 113 | PWB | Morrison | This amendment expands the pension exclusion rules in House Substitute Bill No. 1 for House Bill No. 113 so that they apply to State Police. | |
| HA 3 to HS 1 for HB 113 | PWB | Morrison | This amendment applies the pension exclusion rules in House Substitute Bill No. 1 for House Bill No. 113 to county and municipal police and firefighters. | |
| HA 1 to HB 169 | PWB | Minor-Brown | This amendment conforms language found in Chapter 48B of Title 16 with the changes in House Bill No. 169. | |
| SB 168 | Committee | Walsh | This Act allows for the delivery of alcoholic liquors from any entity with a valid off premise license. In addition, this Act provides that the acts of a licensed consumer delivery permittee or a delivery driver are not attributable to the retailer. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS. |
| HB 186 | Committee | Hensley | The purpose of this bill is to incentivize the construction and operation of a limited number of high-efficiency Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) electrical generation facilities, with an output of between 100 MW and 500 MW, by creating an Electricity Production Tax Credit (EPTC) and bonus credits. These credits would offset state corporate tax liability while facilitating the increased availability of clean, cost-effective, high-efficiency, and energy production.
CCGT power plants are proven technology that can provide significant dispatchable power production to meet Delaware’s growing need for dependable energy, while promoting grid stability that will enable the integration of renewable energy generation.
Having the CCGT facilities built within Delaware will improve the energy security of our citizens while reducing power transmission charges and energy loss.
The value of the Electricity Production Tax Credit (EPTC) can be increased via bonus credits if the CCGT power-generating facility is built on a brownfield or the current or former site of a power plant. Additional bonus credits can be earned if the plant’s operation exceeds certain high-efficiency thresholds and if it incorporates carbon-capture technology into the design.
The value of the credits realized by the facility operator would result from the quantity of electricity delivered. Most CCGT plants operate at a capacity factor of 50% to 85%. A 500 MW power plant, operating within these margins, would be expected to produce somewhere between 2.2 million and 3.7 million MWh per year. At a maximum annual 65% production capacity, a 500 MW plant could serve the needs of approximately 210,000 homes.
The total value of the credits for each eligible facility receiving the tax credits established under this bill is limited to $15 million annually. The number of facilities eligible for the tax credits established under this bill will be no more than three statewide.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO BUSINESS TAX CREDITS AND DEDUCTIONS FOR ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION. |
| HB 187 | Committee | Michael Smith | This Act permits wine producers holding a valid license within this State or another state to obtain a license and ship wine directly to Delaware consumers so long as it is done through a common carrier with a carrier permit. This Act requires that wine producers pay the taxes normally due for wines; limits the amount of wine that a direct shipper of wine can sell to a single household to 3 9-liter cases per year; and limits the total amount of wine that the direct shipper of wine can ship directly to Delaware consumers to 1,800 9-liter cases annually. This Act requires the signature of a person 21 years of age or older before delivery of the wine and to receive training regarding how to deliver wine responsibly | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DIRECT PURCHASING AND SHIPMENT OF WINE. |
| HB 188 | Committee | Michael Smith | This Act allows Delaware voters who are not affiliated with a political party to vote in a political party's primary election.
Currently there are approximately 170,000 registered Delaware voters who are not affiliated with a political party.
Members of a political party are not allowed to crossover and vote in another political party's primary election | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 15 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PRIMARY ELECTIONS. |
| SB 171 | Committee | Wilson | This Act amends the Town of Houston (“Town”) Charter to do all of the following:
1. Gender neutralize the Charter.
2. Clarify the voting rights for multiple owners of a single piece of real estate located in the Town.
3. Change the times for polling and elections.
4. Change the qualifications of Town Councilmembers, the Town Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Alderman, Assistant Alderman, Treasurer, Town Tax Collector, and Town Solicitor.
5. Change the dates on which nominations for Town Councilmembers can be made.
6. Clarify when Town Council meetings may be held and the date when Town Councilmembers can be sworn into office.
7. Change the type of contracts that the Town Council may enter into.
8. Change and clarify how Town taxes may be levied and collected.
9. Change how the Town budget must be posted.
10. Remove the regulation and control of observance of the Sabbath Day.
11. Change the Town’s right to regulate animals, beasts, birds, or fowl.
12. Increase the Town’s ability to levy fines.
13. Remove limits on the amount of revenue the Town may raise.
14. Clarify the utilities the Town may tax.
15. Increase the borrowing limits of the Town.
16. Give the Town greater flexibility to locate a bank to serve the Town.
17. Change the voting rights in special elections.
18. Corrects citations to the Delaware Code.
This Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act also incorporates previously enacted changes [64 Del. Laws c. 211] that were inadvertently not included in the online copy of the Town of Houston’s Charter.
This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend a municipal charter. | AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF HOUSTON. |
| HB 192 | Committee | Michael Smith | This Act is being proposed in hopes of allowing for additional disbursements from a special fund created by the General Assembly to ensure adequate pensions for affected police officers and firefighters, and their surviving spouses. This raises the pension level an individual is permitted to receive and still be eligible for a distribution from the special fund from $35,000 or less to $55,000 or less. It also ensures that those eligible to receive a distribution from the special fund will be able to do so upon enactment, and not have to wait until the current date permitted under the Code. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SPECIAL FUNDS. |
| HB 193 | Committee | Hilovsky | In Chapter 70, Subchapter V of Title 25, the Manufactured Home Relocation Trust Fund was established. It is administered by a Board of Directors. The Board was directed to set a monthly assessment for deposit in the Trust Fund for each rented lot in a manufactured home community. This Act removes the cap of the Trust Fund, currently set at $15 million. This Act also raises the amount of the tenant portion of the monthly assessment to be redirected to the Delaware Manufactured Home Owner Attorney Fund from 50 cents of the tenant portion to $1.50. This Act takes effect on the date of enactment. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 25 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE MANUFACTURED HOME RELOCATION TRUST FUND. |
| HB 194 | Committee | Collins | This bill prohibits the Department of Transportation from refusing to register or renew the registration of a vehicle solely based upon the vehicle's computer codes indicating the vehicle may have some non-emission related problem. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO INSPECTION OF MOTOR VEHICLES. |
| HB 195 | Committee | K. Williams | This Act changes the age at which a person can bartend from 21 years old to 18 years old, and requires that a bartender who is 18, 19, or 20 years old be directly supervised by a person who is 21 years of age or older and who is working behind the bar with the 18-, 19-, or 20-year-old. This Act also increases the frequency of statutorily mandated alcoholic beverage server training from every 4 years to every 2 years.
To ensure that 18–20-year-olds are protected from sexually oriented content by virtue of being permitted to bartend, this Act prohibits anyone under the age of 21 from entering into or working in any capacity in a tavern or taproom that offers sexually oriented entertainment. This includes taverns and taprooms that are licensed as adult entertainment establishments under Chapter 16 of Title 24, taverns and taprooms that offer sexually explicit performances as defined in § 787 of Title 11, and tavern and taprooms that are advertised as “strip clubs,” “adult entertainment clubs,” “gentlemen’s clubs,” or that offer performances or services of a sexually oriented nature.
Currently, Delaware is in the minority of states when it comes to requiring bartenders to be 21 years old. By reducing the legal bartending age to 18, this Act will help Delaware’s food service industry remain competitive with the many other states, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania, in which 18–20-year-olds can bartend.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO BARTENDING. |
| HR 13 | Committee | S. Moore | This Resolution directs the Department of Education to conduct a comprehensive review of alternative student assessment models, including through-year and growth-based systems, with particular attention to how such systems can better serve students with learning disabilities. | REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO STUDY AND REPORT TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY POSSIBLE CHANGES TO DELAWARE'S STUDENT ASSESSMENT SYSTEM. |
| HB 198 | Committee | Griffith | This Act amends the Delaware Code to allow for a respondent in a protection from abuse proceeding to consent to the entry of a permanent protection order without the need for the Court to make a finding as to the presence of the aggravating factors of 1045(f) of Title 10. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROTECTION FROM ABUSE PROCEEDINGS. |
| HA 2 to HB 133 | PWB | Snyder-Hall | This amendment exempts assessments related to the Victims Compensation Fund from the courts’ authority to waive, modify, and suspend fines and fees.
It clarifies that the word “fee” as used in the hardship waiver statute does not include restitution.
It also clarifies that toll violations, red light, and speed camera violations are not eligible for hardship waiver or modification. | |
| HB 199 | Committee | Wilson-Anton | This Act allows fire companies or departments to merge or consolidate without reduction of the fire company or department’s share of tax on insurance premiums for covering risks of loss on any real or personal property. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DISTRIBUTIONS TO FIRE COMPANIES AND DEPARTMENTS. |
| SB 172 | Committee | Hoffner | This Act codifies the longstanding custom and practice in Delaware of compensating Deputy Attorneys General and Assistant Public Defenders comparably. This Act is also consistent with the American Bar Association’s Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System which states: “The compensation for lawyers working for Public Defense Providers should be appropriate for and comparable to other publicly funded lawyers. Full-time public defender salaries and benefits should be no less than the salaries and benefits for full-time prosecutors.” Finally, this Act codifies the continuing belief in Delaware that comparable compensation is necessary to achieve equal justice under law. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE OFFICE OF DEFENSE SERVICES. |
| HR 14 | Committee | Romer | This Resolution directs the Department of Health and Social Services to prepare reports on the Purchase of Care Program. | DIRECTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES TO PREPARE REPORTS ON DEMOGRAPHIC DATA IN EARLY CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION POPULATIONS. |
| HB 201 | Committee | K. Williams | This Act strengthens essential protections for victims of human trafficking by removing practical barriers that prevent victims from getting convictions or juvenile delinquency adjudications obtained as a result of being a victim of human trafficking vacated and the related criminal or juvenile records expunged.
This Act amends § 787 of Title 11 in the following ways:
(1) Requires a showing that the offense to be vacated was committed “as a result”, instead of “as a direct result”, of the victims having been trafficked, which recognizes that victims of human trafficking may engage in a range of criminal behaviors related to their exploitation.
(2) Provides that a motion to vacate and any hearing or proceeding related to the motion to vacate must remain confidential, unless the court determines good cause exists to open the proceeding, so a victim of human trafficking may seek relief without fear of revictimization.
(3) Eliminates the requirement of a mandatory hearing on a motion to vacate unless the Attorney General files a timely objection to the motion. This will allow victims to obtain relief on uncontested motions without needing to relive their trauma through questioning at a formal hearing.
(4) Clarifies that the standard of proof for determining eligibility for vacating an adjudication or conviction under § 787(j) is by a preponderance of evidence.
(5) Allows a victim to vacate a conviction or adjudication of delinquency under § 787(j) and expunge the records of that conviction or adjudication. Additionally, this Act allows the court to order immediate expungement sua sponte or on request and allows expungements to be ordered by the court deciding the motion to vacate.
(6) Establishes guidelines for the Attorney General to request an extension of time, if needed, to respond to a motion to vacate.
This Act also aligns the standards for a defense to a charge of prostitution or loitering from “as a direct result” to “as a result” of human trafficking. This matches the change made to the vacatur provisions and keeps the standards in § 787 consistent.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING. |
| HB 202 | Committee | Wilson-Anton | This Act allows an additional assessment to be assessed for a speeding violation, proven through information captured on an electronic speed monitoring system, that exists in § 4101(j) of Title 11. This assessment was previously not permitted to be assessed unless the speeding occurred in a work zone. The assessment is $10 and is paid to the Volunteer Ambulance Company Fund.
It also makes technical corrections to conform to the requirements of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 REGARDING CIVIL PENALTIES FOR SPEEDING. |
| SB 173 | Committee | Buckson | House Bill No. 100 of the 151st General Assembly, House Bill No. 200 of the 152nd General Assembly, and House Bill No. 300 of the 151st General Assembly created dedicated mental health services units for purposes of funding the hire of mental health professionals in Delaware public schools. This Act updates the list of positions that may be funded through mental health services unit funding to include registered nurses authorized to practice by the Delaware Board of Nursing, board-certified assistant behavior analysts, and board-certified behavior analysts. Currently, such professionals may provide mental health services to Delaware students and are employed by Delaware school districts and charter schools, but these positions may not be funded under Title 14 through mental health services units. This Act expands flexibility and further support for school districts and charter schools to meet the needs of Delaware students by adding registered nurses that practice in schools, board-certified assistant behavior analysts, and board-certified behavior analysts to the list of positions that may be funded as described in Chapter 17 of Title 14 of the Delaware Code. This Act also makes technical corrections to confirm to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting manual.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES UNIT AND FUNDING. |
| HB 145 | Committee | Wilson-Anton | Reverse-location court orders and reverse keyword court orders enable the government to obtain location data or technology search data without identifying any specific person as to which there is probable cause to believe they have committed or will imminently commit a crime. The profusion of electronic devices and apps in recent years has allowed recordation of numerous details of citizen’s everyday lives, that the government should not be permitted to collect and review at will. Such general searches allow the government to sweep in personal information about hundreds or thousands of people who are not suspected of having committed any crime. These searches are an invasion of privacy, have a potentially chilling effect on civil liberties, and sidestep requirements for individualized suspicion that are otherwise required for a lawful search. This Act would prohibit law enforcement and courts from requesting, issuing, or enforcing reverse-location court orders, reverse-keyword court orders, reverse-location requests and reverse keyword requests. It also creates a private right of action for an individual whose personal information was obtained in violation of this Act and requires the suppression of evidence derived from an unlawful reverse-location or reverse-keyword search. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO REVERSE LOCATION AND REVERSE KEYWORD SEARCHES AND COURT ORDERS. |
| HS 2 for HB 105 | Committee | Ross Levin | Pay range transparency empowers job applicants with crucial information to negotiate salaries and make informed career decisions. It also encourages businesses to proactively review compensation practices, address unjustified pay disparities, and strengthen their ability to attract and retain top talent.
This Act requires that employers include salary or wage range information and a general description of benefits in all postings for job opportunities, and ensures that applicants have access to that information prior to any offer or discussion of compensation. Employers are required to maintain records relating to job descriptions and wage rates for employees for at least 3 years. The Department of Labor may bring an administrative action to enforce the pay transparency provision. This Act does not apply to employers with 25 or fewer employees. The Act takes effect 2 years after its enactment.
House Substitute No. 2 to House Bill No. 105 differs from House Substitute No. 1 to House Bill No. 105 as follows:
It provides that where a job opportunity is covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the compensation or compensation range disclosed in a notification should be one that has been agreed upon for disclosure in the CBA itself.
It provides that the pay transparency provision becomes applicable to postings for opportunities covered by a CBA only when the CBA is amended, modified, or renewed after the effective date of the Act, to give the parties opportunity to consider the disclosed range in the course of negotiating a CBA.
It provides that an employer is not liable for job postings that are digitally replicated and published without the employer’s consent.
It specifies that the pay transparency provisions in this section apply to Delaware-based jobs or non-international remote positions offered by an employer based in Delaware.
It makes the record preservation requirement consistent with § 907 of Title 19. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES. |
| HB 204 | Committee | Romer | This Act establishes a dedicated Child Care Complaint Investigation Unit within the Office of Child Care Licensing, under the Department of Education, to ensure timely, transparent, and accountable responses to complaints involving licensed child care providers. It requires no new funding and is to be implemented within existing staffing and resources. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CHILD CARE LICENSING. |
| HB 206 | Committee | Bolden | This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment that requires a person holding elected office to resign from office before being eligible as a candidate for a different elected office. Elected office includes the office of the Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor, the General Assembly, and any other state, county, or municipal position that is selected by voters in an election in this State. The Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, however, are not required to resign from office should they run for a different elected office.
This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the Delaware Constitution. | AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE II AND ARTICLE III OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO LIMITATIONS ON ELECTED OFFICIALS RUNNING FOR A DIFFERENT ELECTED POSITION. |
| HB 207 | Committee | Bolden | This Act increases the monthly service, disability, and survivor pension for retired State employees. For pensions effective on or before June 30, 2005, the increase is 3%. For pensions effective after June 30, 2005, the increase is 2%. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PENSIONS FOR RETIRED STATE EMPLOYEES. |
| HB 210 | Committee | Lambert | This Act seeks to update the fine structure for major commercial polluters. In addition, this Act increases the amount of penalty funds directed to communities near facilities with violations.
In summary, this Act imposes higher fines for violations of the following chapters: Chapter 22 of Title 3, relating to nutrient management programs; Chapter 60 of Title 7, relating to environmental control; Chapter 62 of Title 7, relating to oil pollution liability; Chapter 63 of Title 7, relating to hazardous waste management; Chapter 71 of Title 7, relating to noise control and abatement; Chapter 79 of Title 7, relating to chronic violator status; Chapter 91 of Title 7, relating to the Hazardous Substances Cleanup Act; and Chapter 13 of Title 16, relating to stream pollution.
In addition, 40 percent, rather than 25 percent, of the civil and administrative funds collected under various environmental regulatory chapters will be appropriated to the Community Environmental Project Fund under § 6042 of Title 7. The Fund will give priority to community environmental projects located within a 2-mile radius of the violation or infraction. This Act adds to the fund 40% of the fines collected for oil pollution and noise control and abatement violations, under Chapter 62 and Chapter 71 of Title 7.
This Act further allows DNREC to appeal a decision by the Environmental Appeals Board relating to chronic violator status.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 3, 7, AND 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENT. |
| HB 236 | Committee | Wilson-Anton | This Act allows a paid emergency medical technician working for a participating employer to be eligible for the County Municipal Police/Firefighter Pension Plan. It also makes conforming changes to other sections of the Code.
In addition, this Act will exclude firefighters and EMTs hired after the effective date of this Act from participating in the County and Municipal Employees’ Fund, in order to ensure the State’s pension plans comply with federal tax and pension law. Going forward, employees who work as paid firefighters, EMTs, or both will be eligible only for the Police/Firefighter Pension Fund.
Technical corrections to existing statutory language are also made as follows: (i) to eliminate § 8806 of Title 11, which is duplicative of § 8308 of Title 29 and therefore unnecessary; (ii) to conform the title of § 8814 with its content; (iii) to correctly list the entities which may participate in each plan and the requirements for doing so; (iv) to correct cross-references that are incorrect in the current Code. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 AND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL POLICE/FIREFIGHTER PENSION PLAN AND THE COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT PLAN. |
| SS 1 for SB 155 | Committee | Mantzavinos | This Act makes several changes to the Delaware Nursing Home Residents Quality Assurance Commission ("Commission"):
- Modernizes the Commission name to the "Delaware Residents’ Protection Commission." The Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee, during its review of the Commission from 2020-2022, recommended the Commission change its name to something shorter that is easier to remember.
- Better delineates the Commission's duties.
- Clarifies the Executive Director's and supporting staffs' hiring process.
- Shifts the appointment of 4 Commission members from the Governor to the Commission members who represent governmental entities, to allow for faster appointment of members.
- Adds provisions to streamline the Commission's operations, including removal of a member who consistently misses meetings and approving Commission action on the affirmative vote of a majority of members present at a meeting.
- Gives the Commission the authority to seek grants to support the Commission's operations.
- Adds to the Commission's duties proposing legislation, regulations, and policies relating to monitored facilities.
- Allows for the establishment of subcommittees to more effectively and efficiently meet the needs of the Commission
- Clarifies the Commission’s responsibility to: advocate for residents of monitored facilities; work with other agencies and groups to promote systemic reform; recommend changes in statute, regulations, and policies to improve the quality of care, quality of life, and safety of residents unable to protect themselves; and act as an informational resource for the public.
- Authorizes the Commission to hold a virtual meeting with a physical location open to the public if a Commission staff member is present at the anchor location.
This Act has an effective date of 90 days after the date of enactment into law, to provide the Commission with time to transition from the existing membership to the membership that this Act establishes.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
Finally, this Substitute differs from the original Senate Bill No. 155 in the following ways:
- Changes the term "long-term care facility" to "monitored facility."
- Removes language relating to Administrative Office of the Courts.
- Adds 2 members to the Commission: the President of LeadingAge New Jersey/Delaware and the Director of State Governor Affairs, Delaware, of the Alzheimer's Association, Delaware Valley Chapter.
- Makes a technical change to the provision relating to virtual meetings. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE NURSING HOME RESIDENTS QUALITY ASSURANCE COMMISSION. |
| HS 2 for HB 116 | Committee | Heffernan | This Act provides the Public Service Commission with the flexibility to consider and approve a discounted gas or electric residential utility rate for qualified low-income customers, provided the discount is 20% of standard residential distribution rates. This permits low-income customers to receive utility distribution services at a lower cost. A utility offering a discounted low-income rate is responsible for annually determining customer eligibility in cooperation with the Department of Health and Social Services. The Public Service Commission must review any discount rate approved under this Act every five years to determine if the discount rate should be re-authorized. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 26 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITY RATES. |
| SB 177 | Committee | Hocker | This Act creates a Transportation Appeals Board (“Board”) within the Delaware Department of Transportation (“DelDOT”). The Board is a quasi-judicial body that hears appeals of DelDOT actions such as grants or denials of transportation-related permits. The Board consists of 7 members (2 from each county and a Chair) who are appointed by the Governor for terms of up to 3 years. The Governor is initially permitted to appoint members for less than 3 years to ensure that terms expire on a staggered basis. A Board member can serve no more than 2 consecutive full terms. This Act also adds the newly created Board to the list of agencies to which Chapter 101 of Title 29, regarding administrative procedures, applies.
In creating the Transportation Appeals Board, which is modeled on and intended to function like the Environmental Appeals Board in Title 7, this Act gives businesses and members of the public who are substantially affected by DelDOT actions a process by which they can appeal those actions. Under that process, a party aggrieved by a DelDOT decision has 20 days from receipt or publication of the decision to appeal to the Board. Within 30 days of receiving that appeal, the Board must schedule a hearing on the matter, which must be conducted within 180 days following the receipt of the appeal, and must be conducted in accordance with Chapter 101 of Title 29. The Board then has 90 days to give a written decision. If the aggrieved party disagrees with the Board’s decision, that party may, within 30 days of the Board’s decision, make an appeal to the Superior Court. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO A TRANSPORTATION APPEALS BOARD. |
| HS 1 for HB 139 | Committee | Bush | This substitute to House Bill No. 139 grants the Insurance Coverage Office, which is tasked by statute with adjusting all claims and paying losses covered by the Fund, standing to participate in line of duty death claims. Like House Bill No. 139, this substitute also eliminates a requirement for the Insurance Commissioner to hold a hearing for every Line-of-Duty Death claim, and instead mandates they occur only if the claim is contested, and makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LINE-OF-DUTY HEARINGS. |
| SA 1 to HS 1 for HB 50 | PWB | Hansen | This amendment allows qualifying Delaware residents to receive support for energy bills from the Delaware Energy Fund provided that they first exhaust funding options from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). | |
| SS 2 for SB 100 | Committee | Huxtable | This Act is the first leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution establishing that the right to marry is a fundamental right that may not be denied or abridged on the basis of gender or any basis protected under Art. 1, § 21 of the Delaware Constitution, which provides equal protection under the law on account of race, color, national origin, and sex.
Under this Act, all marriages that are legally valid under the laws of this State must be treated equally, including under all laws that are applicable to marriage, married spouses, or the children of married spouses. This Act also clarifies that the right to marry does not infringe upon the right to freedom of religion under Art. 1, § 1 of the Delaware Constitution.
Like Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 100, Senate Substitute No. 2 for Senate Bill No. 100 differs from Senate Bill No. 100 by explicitly connecting the right to marry with the equality of rights provided under Art. 1, § 21 of the Delaware Constitution on the basis of race, color, national origin, or sex.
In addition, Senate Substitute No. 2 for Senate Bill No. 100 differs from Senate Bill No. 100 as follows:
• Clarifies that the right to marry applies to marriages that are legally valid under the laws of this State.
• Clarifies that treating all legally valid marriages equally means that all laws of this State that are applicable to marriage, married spouses, or the children of married spouses apply equally to marriages that are legally valid under the laws of this State.
• Removes the need for gender-specific provisions by including gender in the first sentence.
• Revises the language clarifying that the right to marry does not infringe on the right to freedom of religion under Art. 1, § 1 of the Delaware Constitution to apply to the entire section and to remove the example.
Amending the Delaware Constitution requires not only the passing of the changes in this Act but also passage of the same changes after the next general election by the next General Assembly.
This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the Delaware Constitution. | AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE I OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO THE RIGHT TO MARRY. |
