Delaware General Assembly

This Act provides that an individual electric supplier agent cannot be fined or imprisoned for violations under Section 218 of Chapter I of Title 26. This Act provides that the Commission must develop a training and educational program for any entity or individual that is certified by the Commission as an electric supplier that demonstrates a thorough understanding of the Commission’s regulations regarding (1) sales; (2) consumer protection; and (3) any other matter the Commission deems appropriate. This Act requires that third-party electric supplier report data concerning customer choices in its service territory and third-party electric supplier rates. They must submit a monthly report to the Commission on customer choice in their service territories for the preceding month, including all of the following: (1) the total kilowatt hours distributed to customers purchasing electricity from a third-party electric supplier; (2) the total supply cost charged to customers purchasing electric from a third–party electric supplier; (3) the total cost that customers who chose third-party suppliers would have paid under standard offer service; (4) the net third–party total cost compared to the standard offer service; (5) the total third–party average rate; (6) the standard offer service average rate; (7) the difference between the total third–party average rate and the standard offer service average rate; (8) the third–party average residential rates broken out by supplier and the variance between each of these rates and the standard offer service average rate; (9) the third–party average general service nondemand rates broken out by supplier and the variance between each of these third–party rates and the standard offer service average rate; (10) the third–party average general service demand rates broken out by supplier and the variance between each of these third–party rates and the standard offer service average rate; (11) the third–party average large power demand rates broken out by supplier and the variance between each of these third–party rates and the standard offer service average rate; and (12) other pertinent information the Commission considers appropriate. This Act requires a third-party electric supplier to provide residential customers or small commercial customers with written notice of the pending renewal of a contract 90 and 30 days before the end of the contract term is scheduled to occur and provides regulations regarding electric supplier rates. It requires a third-party electric supplier to provide written confirmation within 15 business days of enrollment and written notification at least 15 days in advance of any changes to the customer’s rate. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 28 of Article IV of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to give jurisdiction to inferior courts or justices of the peace of “such … misdemeanors as the General Assembly may from time to time … prescribe.”

This Act clarifies the pay schedule for school-based occupational therapists. Due to varying program lengths, such as accelerated programs, and the different methods of how colleges and universities award credits, it is challenging to accurately and equitably determine the appropriate lane on the salary schedule for school-based occupational therapists. This Act creates a uniform baseline for school-based occupational therapists on the salary schedule in a manner similar to other school-based clinicians such as audiologists and speech-language pathologists.

This Act's purpose is to create checks and balances between the Executive and Legislative Branches of State government relating to Emergency Orders. This Act recognizes the authority of the Governor to act in the event of an emergency by allowing the Governor to declare an emergency for 120 days and to renew that order for up to 60 more days, for a total of 180 days. Thereafter, to extend or renew the emergency order beyond the 180 days, such order will be subject to actions taken by the General Assembly. The Governor may terminate any emergency order or renewal order at any time. This substitute bill clarifies that after an Emergency Order has been in effect for 180 days, the General Assembly may act to terminate or amend the Order, but the Order could continue to be renewed until the Governor or the General Assembly act to the contrary. Also, the substitute requires a report to the General Assembly every 30 days during the continuation of a State of Emergency.

This Act provides that School Social Workers who have successfully passed the Association of Social Work Boards National Clinical Examination and hold a Licensed Clinical Social Worker License with a salary supplement. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

In 2025, the General Assembly passed House Bill No. 242 (now found at Chapter 135, Volume 85 of the Laws of Delaware), allowing school districts located entirely in New Castle County to use different tax rates for residential and non-residential properties. This Act amends the Delaware Code to continue the authority for non-vocational technical school districts in New Castle County to utilize a residential and non-residential tax rate for school tax purposes. Such a split rate may be established or adjusted in the year after a general reassessment or as part of a referendum. The rate must be uniform for each class of property. Under this Act, the non-residential rate must be at least equal to the residential rate and may be no more than 1.85 times the residential rate. For purposes of the split tax rate, a school district must follow the classifications of the county in which the district is located. Under the transition provisions of this Act, a district that initially established split tax rates under the authority of House Bill No. 242, may continue to use those split rates at the same or a lower ratio between residential and non-residential tax rates established in the 2025-2026 tax year. But if a district’s non-residential tax rate for the 2025-2026 tax year was more than 1.85 times the residential tax rate, it must adjust its rates to meet the 1.85 maximum ratio permitted under this Act. The New Castle County Vocational Technical District may not continue the use of different tax rates past the 2025-2026 tax year. The Act also changes the amount a school district must add to its tax rate to account for delinquencies and late payments to “up to 10%” rather than requiring that a school district must add exactly 10% to its tax rate for this purpose. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform this chapter of the Delaware Code to the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual and strikes references to the City of Wilmington School District, which no longer exists. It also revises § 1913 of Title 14 to reflect current practice. It strikes an outdated requirement in § 1918 of Title 14 that the school districts deliver a copy of the assessment list to the County along with their tax warrant. This is inconsistent with the role of the school districts and with current practice.