Delaware Bills

Senate Bill No. 209, enacted by the 145th General Assembly, extended the Historic Preservation Tax Credit Act for approvals granted through June 30, 2020. Senate Bill No. 260, enacted by the 150th General Assembly, extended the Historic Preservation Tax Credit Act through June 2021. This Act extends the Historic Preservation Tax Credit Act for approvals granted through June 2030 and puts the provision regarding the effective date in the Code.

This bill seeks to address overpopulation of cats and dogs in our state by creating an additional revenue stream for the State Spay/Neuter Program, to relieve some of the funding burden on animal welfare organizations in the state that are involved in reducing the free-roaming cat population, and provide more funding to meet the needs of low-income residents to spay/neuter their pets. First, it increases the fee only on manufactured cat and dog food over 3 years to $100 per each product per brand, which is in line with many other states. The existing $23 fee currently goes into the General Fund; this legislation will add $2 to the amount going to the General Fund. From the balance of the registration fee, funds are allotted to the Department of Agriculture to cover the cost of creating a program that adapts the registrations to distinguish between the types of feed and to cover the cost of maintaining that system. The remaining funds are distributed to the State Spay/Neuter Fund which provides for a statewide spay/neuter program for free-roaming animals and income-eligible pet owners and allows for qualified non-profit organizations to participate in the Program. The bill also removes the limitation on positions for the Spay/Neuter Program and allows Program to be funded from the Spay/Neuter Fund. This bill is identical in substance to Senate Bill No. 185, as amended by Senate Amendment No. 1, except that this bill provides that pet foods manufactured by non-profits will continue to pay a $23 fee and not be subject to the increase applicable to other pet foods.

The purpose of this Act is to eliminate the overly broad licensure exemption applicable to persons engaged in the practice of well drilling and persons engaged in the practice of engineering as registered professional engineers. There are many overlapping areas of practice between geologists and well-drillers and registered professional engineers. However, the exemption included in 24 Del. C. § 3602 leads to the conclusion that a licensed well driller or registered professional engineer is qualified to perform any act within the practice of geology regardless of level of competence or expertise. It is each governing body’s responsibility to ensure competent practice within the respective professions, including any areas of overlap. However, the inclusion of the very broad exemption for well-drillers and registered professional engineers is misleading and does not serve the interests of public protection.

This Act clarifies the language enacted by Senate Bill No. 139 of the 150th General Assembly (“SB 139”) regarding when dogs may be permitted to run at large. This Act corrects errors in § 1325 of Title 11 and § 3048F of Title 16, by making revisions to conform the Code so it is consistent with the policy changes enacted by SB 139 and the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Specifically, Section 1 replaces punctuation in § 1325 of Title 11 that was accidentally repealed by SB 139. Section 2 makes the following revisions to § 3048F of Title 16: 1. Redesignates the paragraphs in subsection (a) to avoid undesignated sentences, for clarity. 2. Deletes the definition of “dog” from subsection (a) because the definition is identical to the definition of “dog” in § 3041F of Title 16, which provides definitions for the subchapter that includes § 3048F. 3. Repeals paragraph (b)(3) because the exception for dogs that are under the control of someone who is hunting was added to subsection (a) by SB 139. The repeal of paragraph (b)(3) was intended by, but omitted from, SB 139.

This Act provides all law-enforcement officers the authority to enforce the existing labeling requirements for dumpsters that are in a public road or parking lot. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act reduces the time frame to obtain a blood specimen from newborn infants from 72 hours to 24 to 48 hours after birth for screening for metabolic, hematologic, endocrinologic, immunologic and certain structural disorders. It also requires that blood specimens be destroyed once screening and testing is complete including confirmation of any diagnosis. It also provides that the Division of Public Health provide abnormal results only to the physician of record. It also requires all fees collected from newborn screening to be used to defray operating expenses associated with the Newborn Screening Program and for programs to ensure optimal health and development across the lifespan of the maternal and child health population. Finally, the Act makes several technical corrections consistent with the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act clarifies that a person with a special license plate or permit for persons with disabilities may park for an unlimited period where the length of time is otherwise limited and must be able to park in a metered parking space for at least 1 hour. This Act clarifies that it is a violation of the state equal accommodations law to prohibit parking as authorized for a person with a special license plate or permit for persons with disabilities. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This act modifies the locations at which sheriff’s sales may be conducted to provide the sheriffs with needed flexibility and to modernize the sheriff’s sale process. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has revealed substantial inflexibility in 10 Del. C. § 4974 as currently adopted, forcing the sheriff of each of the three counties to either hold sheriff’s sales outdoors, find non-governmental venues in which to hold sheriff’s sales or cancel sheriff’s sales. Additionally, the New Castle County Sheriff is considering using an online auction process to conduct sheriff’s sales, as other counties throughout the United States have done, but § 4974 as currently adopted does not permit online sheriff’s sales. Finally, this act removes uncertainty regarding the meaning of the term “public building” as currently used in § 4974 by adopting a definition that is consistent with the Delaware Supreme Court’s definition of that term in Moore v. Wilmington Housing Authority, 619 A.2d 1166, 1174-75 (Del. 1993).

This bill changes the deadline for the General Assembly to reapportion and redistrict the State after each federal decennial census to within 120 days following receipt of the federal decennial census data for redistricting pursuant to Public Law 94-171.

This Act corrects several technical and typographic errors in the Delaware Common Interest Ownership Act (the “DUCIOA”) and makes a number of non-controversial changes agreed upon by the Common Interest Community Advisory Council and representatives of builders, real estate sales professionals, association managers, and owners. Section 1. This section amends Section 2246 to correct the inadvertent omission of “not” in the Unit Property Act clarifying that exclusively nonresidential condominiums are not required to maintain a repair and replace reserve. Section 2. This section amends Section 81-116(a) to clarify the original intent of the DUCIOA, which exempts nonresidential common interest communities. Section 3. This section amends Section 81-119 by adding five sections of the DUCIOA to apply to pre-existing communities through section 81-119 as follows: §81-217 (i): consent of holders of security interest are deemed to have granted approval of amendments to the declaration if they do not refuse consent in writing after notice. §81-306: Bylaws. §81-308A: executive board meetings are open to members after the period of declarant control. §81-310: voting proxies and voting by ballot without a meeting permitted. §81-314: surplus funds remaining after payment of expenses and prepayment of reserves, returned to owners. This section also clarifies that a conflict between a preexisting document and DUCIOA in any common interest community is resolved in favor of the preexisting documents, whereas the prior language specified application only to condominium and cooperatives. Section 4. This section amends Section 81-217(i) to clarify a common ownership community’s ability to amend its governing documents. Section 5. This section amends Section 81-217(m) to add a new subsection which allows Declarants or the Council to correct typographical errors efficiently and easily, by deeming consent to amendments by security interest holders after notice. It follows the procedures in the DUCIOA for obtaining lenders’ consent to actions and amendments to apply to existing common interest communities. Section 6. This section amends Section 81-303(a) to clarify that under Delaware corporate law there is no distinction between the duties of a director or officer of a for-profit corporation and those of a director or officer of a non-profit corporation. Section 7. This section amends Section 81-303(c) to allow termination of the period of declarant control as permitted in the declaration. Section 8. This section amends Section 81-310(a) to expand the options and methods for owner voting. Section 9. This section amends Section 81-316(h) to add language that allows a community to charge a reasonable fee to provide required certifications regarding the community and limits the liability of a voluntary association for inadvertent errors. Section 10. This section amends Section 81-316(j)(1) to add a comma to correct a typographical error in the existing statute. It clarifies that mortgages can be foreclosed upon by law processes, equity processes, or as provided in the governing documents. Section 11. This section amends Section 81-318(e) to add language that clarifies the right of the association to charge a fee, in advance, to the unit owner when the unit owner has requested conversion, inspection, or copying of association records. Section 12. This section amends Section 81-324(a) to add language that clarifies that voting at a budget meeting may be by proxy as well as in person. Section 13 This section amends Section 81-408(a). Currently, the DUCIOA limits the right to cancel for failure to supply a public offering statement to purchasers of condominiums and cooperatives. Changes to this section conform subsection (a) to UCIOA and clarify the date for cancelation of purchase contracts. Section 14. This section amends Section 81-409(b) to limit the liability of the Association for inaccurate information provided by the property manager in fulfillment of the requirement to provide information to complete a resale certificate. In the alternative, it declares providing false information is a per se violation of the Consumer Fraud Act, which allows a private right of action to recover damages and punitive damages against “merchant” sellers.

Section 4513 of Title 21 authorizes the installation and use of monitoring systems to assist in the enforcement of applicable law regarding motor vehicle use of roadways that the Department of Transportation (“DelDOT”) has determined are not suitable for certain commercial or other truck traffic. DelDOT’s determination of which roadways is based on myriad reasons, including vehicle height, weight, or size. This Act renames the monitoring systems to more accurately reflect their purpose. It also clarifies the following: - The purpose of the monitoring system is to assist in enforcing restrictions of trucks on certain roadways that are not suitable for certain commercial or other truck traffic. - Counties and municipalities are authorized to install monitoring systems. - The county or municipality that authorizes the installation of a monitoring system is responsible for paying or obtaining the funds for payment of the installation, use, maintenance, or other costs associated with the system. This Act also makes technical changes to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act relates to the police and fire pension fund provisions of Chapter 7, Title 18 of the Delaware Code. The Act clarifies that an eligible retiree must be alive on July 1 of each biennial payout year in order to receive the payment provided for in Section 708 of Chapter 7.