This Act prohibits a landlord from requiring a tenant declaw a cat as a condition for entering into or renewing a rental agreement. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This bill defines and regulates electric bicycles. Section 1 adds electric bicycles to the definitions contained in Title 21. Section 2 includes electric bicycle operators and passengers as vulnerable users when on a highway, crosswalk, road shoulder or sidewalk and prescribes rights and responsibilities attendant to the operation of electric bicycles. Section 3 adds electric bicycles to the definition of vehicle.
This bill provides a mechanism to grant pension increases to retired State Employees, retired Judges, and retired “New” State police. This bill dedicates a minimum of 2.33% of payroll to be deposited annually to the Post Retirement Fund. This bill also provides for a pension increase as determined by the Board of Pension Trustees.
According to a survey conducted by the American Bar Association, 90 percent of early-career lawyers have student loans, averaging $130,000. The same survey found that Black borrowers accumulated more debt to obtain their law degree compared to other borrowers of other racial/ethnic backgrounds, and that most young lawyers who borrowed for their education reported that their debt caused them to delay or forego pursuing traditional life milestones, such as purchasing a home, marriage, and starting a family. According to the survey, an overwhelming majority of borrowers – roughly 80 percent – indicated their debt influenced their choice of job or career in some way. Most borrowers reported that salary factored more heavily into their job selection than anticipated. Nearly a third of the sample indicated their position was less focused on public service or doing good than intended when they started law school. In Delaware, the Office of Defense Services, and the Department of Justice, the primary employers of attorneys working for the state, found that student loan debt was an enormous burden. Attorneys reported monthly payments between $500 and $1,000 and debts exceeding $100,000. The student loan crisis, coupled with sizable salary pay gaps between the state and private sector, has created recruitment and retention issues in the legal sector of state government and has made it difficult to provide improved access to justice. This Act establishes a Student Loan Repayment Program for attorneys employed with the State of Delaware working as attorneys. The program allows qualified applicants to apply for a payment from the State to the applicant’s lending agency to pay a portion of the applicant’s student loan debt. The purpose of the program is to improve recruitment and retention for legal service providers at a time when the state is having difficulty attracting attorneys passionate about public service. The amount of the award shall be no less than $2,500 and no more than $5,000 annually for 10 years. There is a salary cap of $110,000. The program will be administered by the Criminal Justice Council and overseen by a committee of stakeholders in the state’s legal system.
This Act requires the Department of Education to conduct an annual workforce study of early childhood professionals to support the development of a plan and implementation of a system of supports to grow and deepen the early childhood workforce. The first study is due by November 15, 2022, the plan by January 31, 2023, and implementation of the system should be in place by September 1, 2023. The COVID pandemic revealed and heightened an existing difficulty in attracting and maintaining well qualified professionals in child care jobs, which are frequently low-paying compared to K-12 jobs. Since reliable, widely available, high quality child care options are a foundation for the whole workforce, and because the early childhood years are so important to childhood development and school readiness, it is a priority for the State that this crisis be addressed in a systematic, holistic fashion. The Department of Education is tasked with leading this rethinking and prioritization of early childhood careers – through the development of reliable data systems which can help bring living wages, financial and other support for academic and credential attainment, and coordination with CTE programs and institutions of higher education to uplift the profession and support individuals seeking to make a career in early childhood education.
This bill modernizes the fees agents who sell Delaware State Park permits and Surf Fishing Vehicle permits may now impose. Licensing agents may now add a service charge of up to $2.50 for a state park permit, and a service charge of up to $5.00 for a surf fishing vehicle permit.
This Act amends Delaware’s Whistleblower Protection Act to preclude an employer from reporting or threatening to report an employee’s citizenship or immigration status or a family members citizenship or immigration status to a federal, state, or local agency, in response to the employee engaging in a protected activity under Delaware’s Whistleblower Act.
This Act modifies Superior Court’s statute pertaining to creation of the Court’s record. Previously, the statute only contemplated stenographic recording of court proceedings. Technology has advanced which permits the Court to utilize other methods, in addition to stenographers, to create the court’s record. This Act updates the statutory language related to court reports and is consistent with language used by other Delaware Courts.
This Act is a result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's ("JLOSC") review of the Water Infrastructure Advisory Council ("WIAC"). This Act clarifies quorum, removes a prohibition against WIAC members voting when attending a meeting virtually, and authorizes WIAC to adopt procedural rules to carry out its functions. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This bill brings Delaware into conformity with national standards on fire safety dampers and smoke dampers. It requires all buildings of public accommodation and shared residential buildings to conform to standards that will ensure life-saving alarms and fire dampening efforts are safe and up to nationally recognized standards.
This act streamlines the appointment process for the Delaware Nutrient Management Commission, expands the definition of dairy farmer to include all cattlemen, consolidates the appointment authorities, and simplifies the number of representatives.
This Act amends the Charter of the Town of Ellendale in the following ways: 1. Replaces the legal description in the Charter, instead referring to the legal description found in the Sussex County Recorder of Deeds. 2. Some technical corrections and updates to antiquated language. 3. Clarifies if a municipal election falls on January 1st, the election will be held on the Second Saturday of January. 4. Clarifies public notice requirements for Special Meetings of the Town Council. 5. Clarifies that in the absence of an ordinance regarding Quorum requirements, Mason’s Rules of Order shall apply. 6. Clarifies that for a Councilmember to lose their seat, the crime being committed must be a felony 7. Public Notice of Council Meetings is to be posted at least one hour prior to the start of the meeting. 8. Removes from the Collection of Town Taxes from the Clerk’s duties, and assigns those duties instead to a Collector of Taxes, as an alternative to the Town Treasurer. 9. In determining late fees, the Town will rely on a fee schedule, rather than 1% per centum per month. 10. Removes certain powers given to the Town by the Charter, such as the prevention of vice, prohibition of gaming, regulating the observance of the Sabbath, and the ability to levy a per capita tax on all eligible voters 11. Removes a $50,000 limit on real estate taxes. 12. The town is now permitted to borrow $100,000 on behalf of the town, as opposed to the previous limit of $60,000. 13. In the Town Budget, it will no longer be required to include the value of supplies and materials on hand. 14. Raises the amount from $5,000 to $10,000 for contracts in which competitive bidding is not required. 15. Annexation requirements now are applicable when the proposed annexation exceeds 10 acres. 16. Exercise the powers given other municipalities as set out in the Municipal Tax Increment Financing Act and the Special Development District Act. 17. Enter into certain contracts without competitive bidding in connection with municipal tax increment financing and special development districts. 18. Collect special ad valorem taxes and special taxes related to the municipal development districts. 19. Levy special ad valorem taxes, special taxes, and ad valorem taxes in amounts it deems necessary for any municipal tax increment financing and any municipal development districts
