Delaware Bills | MyRepTracker

signed · Delaware · House May 24, 2018

HB 170: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 29 AND 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ANGEL INVESTOR JOB CREATION AND INNOVATION ACT .

This legislation, the Angel Investor Job Creation and Innovation Act for Small Technology Companies, creates an incentive for qualified angel investors to invest capital in qualified Delaware small technology companies..

Dave Wilson (R) Catherine Cloutier (R) Mike Ramone (R) Bryon H. Short (D) Melanie George Smith (D) · 16 co-sponsors

signed · Delaware · House May 24, 2018

HJR 11: HONORING BOYD AND LIANE SORENSON BY DESIGNATING THE NEW VALLEY ROAD PEDESTRIAN PATHWAY BETWEEN EVANSON ROAD AND LANTANA SQUARE AS "SORENSON'S WAY".

This resolution honors Boyd and Liane Sorenson by designating the new Valley Road Pedestrian Pathway between Evanson Road and Lantana Square as "Sorenson's Way".

signed · Delaware · Senate May 24, 2018

SB 84: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SECOND AND SUBSEQUENT OFFENSES

This Act makes consistent the amount of time that the Court "looks back" to determine if the current offense is a second offense for the purposes of sentencing. This Act applies to Traffic offenses, but it would not be applicable to DUI cases.

signed · Delaware · House May 24, 2018

HB 345: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES.

This bill increases the 1-time fee from $35 to $50 for Delaware’s environmental license plates in order to increase revenue to improve the capacity of the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays and The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary to fulfill their responsibilities to the protection and restoration of Delaware’s estuaries.

signed · Delaware · House May 24, 2018

HB 307: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 AND 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO JUVENILES.

United States Supreme Court case law and scientific research has changed how we think about juvenile delinquency. We know now that an adolescent’s brain is not fully developed until his/her mid-twenties which makes juveniles especially prone to making poor choices. In the landmark case of Miller v. Alabama, wherein the United States Supreme Court prohibited mandatory life sentences without parole for juveniles, the Court wrote: “Children are constitutionally different from adults for sentencing purposes.” This proposed legislation would repeal and remove all minimum-mandatory sentencing schemes for juveniles adjudicated delinquent in Family Court because children are different than adults. Family Court judges and commissioners would still be able to impose a commitment to a DSCYF secure placement, but would now have the ability to exercise their judicial discretion to fashion an appropriate sentence for an individual juvenile.

signed · Delaware · House May 24, 2018

HB 306: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CERTAIN CRIMES.

This bill permits judges to utilize their discretion in determining whether a juvenile charged with possession of a firearm during commission of a felony should be transferred back to Family Court or remain in Superior Court. Prior to 2017, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony was only one of five criminal charges where judges had no discretion in determining whether a juvenile should be treated as a juvenile or an adult because the statute required a juvenile charged with these offenses to be prosecuted as an adult. House Bill 9, which was enacted last year, provided judges the discretion to determine how a juvenile should be treated for four other offenses. This is a continuation of that effort. The bill simply changes the language from ‘shall’ to ‘may’ to allow judges to weigh the possibility that a juvenile may be better served in Delaware’s Family Court system through the amenability process already enumerated in Title 10 § 1010 and § 1011. This bill also raises the age from 15 to 16.

signed · Delaware · House May 24, 2018

HB 313: AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 399, VOLUME 77, LAWS OF DELAWARE, ENTITLED AN ACT TO REINCORPORATE THE TOWN OF OCEAN VIEW.

This amendment to the Ocean View charter confirms the authority of the Town Council to elect to assess and value property pursuant to 22 Del.C. § 1101, et seq., as an alternate to the previously required procedure.

signed · Delaware · Senate May 24, 2018

SB 160: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE NEW CASTLE COUNTY BOARD OF ASSESSMENT REVIEW.

This Act revises and improves the New Castle County Board of Assessment Review ("Board") by making revisions that are the result of practical lessons learned over the years of the Board's operation. The specific changes are as follows: 1. Increases the total number of Board members from 7 to 9 members, to increase the total pool of experienced subject matter experts on the Board and improve the already high quality of decisions made by the Board. 2. Revises the residency requirement for Board membership to encompass all of New Castle County instead of specific council districts, thereby increasing the pool of talented applicants who can be considered for selection to the Board. With this change, appointments can be made based upon the applicant’s competency and expertise without being limited by where the applicant resides in the County. 3. Decreases the term of appointments for Board members appointed or reappointed after enactment of this Act from 6 years to 4 years to encourage greater participation on the Board. The current 6 year term discourages potential applicants. 4. Removes the requirement regarding the length of terms for the original Board members because it is no longer necessary. The Board was established in 1953. 5. Changes references to the Department of Finance to accurately reflect the current organization and responsibilities of New Castle County departments. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

signed · Delaware · House May 10, 2018

HB 53: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SELLING OR POSSESSING FIREWORKS; EXCEPTIONS.

This bill allows ground-based and hand-held sparklers and certain other nonexplosive, nonairborne novelty items regulated by the federal government to be sold and used in the State. The bill does not legalize firecrackers, bottle rockets, aerials, or any other device that explodes or shoots into the air. The use of those items that may be sold only to persons 18 years of age and older is limited to July 4th and December 31st of each year and sales are limited to the 30 days prior to the allowable use day. This bill allows paper caps used in toy guns contain 16 milligrams or less of pyrotechnic mixture. The sale of sparklers and most other items permitted under this bill is limited to persons 18 and older. The penalty section of 16 Del. C. §6905 applies to this bill. At least forty-three states allow the sale and use of sparklers and other nonexplosive, nonairborne novelty items that are regulated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

signed · Delaware · Senate May 10, 2018

SB 90: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE INSPIRE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.

This bill would allow for a student to participate in the Inspire Scholarship Program for eight continuous semesters instead of the current six. This would allow a student to use Inspire Scholarships for each of the semesters during a traditional college program.

signed · Delaware · House May 9, 2018

HB 301: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 13 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COORDINATING COUNCIL.

This Act allows the various at-large members of the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council to be appointed for 3-year terms and be eligible for reappointment. This change is requested by the Council.

signed · Delaware · House May 9, 2018

HB 103: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO HOME IMPROVEMENT FRAUD

The Act amends Section 916 of Title 11 of the Code so that the statutory penalties for the crime of home improvement fraud increase as the amount of the loss to the victim increases, using the same scale applicable to Theft under Section 841 of Title 11 and New Home Construction Fraud under Section 917 of Title 11. Like Theft under Section 841 of Title 11, the amendment also provides for an increase in the level of the offense for amounts under $50,000 where the victim is 62 years of age or older or an "adult who is impaired" or a "person with a disability" as defined in the Code. The Act also amends the definition of "home improvement contract" to provide that a victim's payment can be in any form, not just money, and to clarify that a "home improvement contract" includes all agreements for labor, services and materials to be furnished and performed under the home improvement contract.