Delaware Bills

in committee · Delaware · House Jun 15, 2021

HB 246: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS.

The purpose of this Act is to achieve 2 goals: (1) Allow a person who is 18 years or older to serve alcoholic liquors or otherwise work in a taproom if the taproom has separate dining facilities that seat at least 12 people, provides complete meals, does not have a history of violating a provision of Title 4 or related regulations or being convicted of committing a crime under Title 4, and has been approved by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner (“Commissioner”) as meeting these requirements. (2) Allow a person who is under the age of 21 years to enter or remain in a taproom until 9:00 p.m. if the person is accompanied by a parent or legal guardian and the taproom has separate dining facilities that seat at least 12 people, provides complete meals, has been found by the Commissioner to have no grounds to refuse a license under § 543 of Title 4, and has been approved by the Commissioner as meeting these requirements. Under this Act, a person who is under the age of 21 years and enters or remains in a taproom that has been approved by the Commissioner under this Act may not be fined if the taproom is out of compliance with the approval. This Act provides the Commissioner with the authority to refuse to grant an approval to a taproom under this Act if any of the grounds for license refusal under § 543 of Title 4 exist.

signed · Delaware · Senate Jun 15, 2021

SB 36: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CAPTIVE INSURANCE COMPANIES.

Section 1 of this Act revises the following definitions: (1) “Dormant captive insurance company”, to change the criteria review period from a calendar year to a continuous 12-month period. (2) "Pure captive insurance company", to clarify that a pure captive insurer may insure its parent, its parent's affiliates, or a controlled unaffiliated business. (3) “Series”, to allow a registered series to be licensed as a captive insurer. Section 2 of this Act clarifies that a pure captive insurer may insure its parent, its parent’s affiliates, or a controlled unaffiliated business. Section 2 of this Act also expands the captive insurance licensing authority for a series as defined under Chapter 69 of Title 18 to allow a Delaware series to be licensed as an agency captive insurance company. Section 3 of this Act allows certain captive insurers to select the Delaware series form of business organization. Section 4 of this Act makes the provisions of §§ 2702, 2703, and 2706 of Title 18 applicable to captive insurance companies. In addition, this Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Substitute Bill differs from Senate Bill No. 36 as follows: (1) By removing new definitions for “policy” and “premium” and amending definitions for “dormant captive insurance company” and “series” as indicated in Section 1 of this Act. (2) By clarifying that a pure captive insurer may insure its parent, its parent’s affiliate, or a controlled unaffiliated business as indicated in Section 2 of this Act. (3) By removing authority for a series to apply for a certificate of authority as a branch or reciprocal captive insurance company. (4) By making §§ 2702 and 2703 of Title 18 applicable to captive insurance companies.

in committee · Delaware · House Jun 15, 2021

HB 248: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EQUITABLE REIMBURSEMENT OF CERTAIN PENSIONERS' SPOUSAL HEALTHCARE EXPENSES.

This Act requires the State to reimburse healthcare expenses incurred by eligible pensioner spouses on Medicare who are required to enroll in their former employer's healthcare coverage and their former employer's coverage pays less than the State's coverage would pay. This creates fair and equal benefit coverage for all spouses of eligible pensioner's whether they have former employer coverage or not.

passed both · Delaware · House Jun 13, 2021

HB 26: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 10 AND 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROSECUTION OF JUVENILES.

This Act requires the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families ("DSCYF'') to have exclusive jurisdiction over all aspects of a child’s care, custody and control when a child is convicted of a Superior Court offense. The Act establishes that from a date certain, no more juveniles would be transferred to the custody of the Department of Correction upon their adjudication and Level V sentence in Superior Court. The Act also provides that when a juvenile’s case is transferred to Superior Court, a reverse amenability hearing must be filed within 60, not 30, days of arraignment and that the time period may be enlarged by the Court for good cause.

in committee · Delaware · Senate Jun 11, 2021

SB 183: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO GOOD TIME CREDIT.

This Act provides good-time credits to all persons who served time in a Level 4 or Level 5 facility during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to restore the lost opportunities to earn programming credits due to pandemic restrictions. The credits are awarded at the rate of 10 days per month served mirroring the existing amount of time that can be earned for participating in programming. The Act also provides that good-time releases cannot be delayed for program completion if the program in question was suspended, delayed, or cancelled during the pandemic. This Act further directs the Department to award an additional 1 week of good-time credit to inmates who accept a vaccine in order to bolster the Department’s efforts to incentivize inmates to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

in committee · Delaware · House Jun 11, 2021

HB 239: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE DEALERSHIPS.

This Act creates an exception to the restriction on manufacturers operating vehicle dealerships in Delaware to allow a manufacturer of zero-emission vehicles that does not operate any franchises to own, control or operate dealerships in Delaware.

passed · Delaware · House Jun 10, 2021

HR 14: HONORING THE UNITED STATES FLAG AND THE VALUES IT REPRESENTS ON FLAG DAY, JUNE 14, 2021.

This House Resolution in reference to Flag Day, June 14, 2021, honors the flag of the United States of America and the values it represents everyday.

passed · Delaware · House Jun 10, 2021

HR 13: PROCLAIMING THE DATE OF JUNE 25, 2021, AS "KOREAN WAR REMEMBRANCE DAY".

This Resolution proclaims June 25th, 2021 as "Korean War Remembrance Day".

passed both · Delaware · Senate Jun 10, 2021

SCR 54: RECOGNIZING THE YOUNG MEN FROM ACROSS THE STATE OF DELAWARE PARTICIPATING IN THE 2021 SESSION OF DELAWARE’S BOYS STATE.

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes the young men participating in the 2021 session of Delaware’s Boys State and commends its sponsor, the American Legion Department of Delaware.

passed both · Delaware · Senate Jun 10, 2021

SCR 36: DIRECTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND THE DELAWARE EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL TO CREATE A STATE TARGET COMPENSATION SCALE AND PROFESSIONAL CAREER PATHWAY FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE EDUCATORS WHO TEACH AGES BIRTH THROUGH FIVE.

This resolution directs the Delaware Department of Education and the Delaware Early Childhood Council to create a state target compensation scale and professional career pathway for early child care educators who teach ages birth through five years and issue a comprehensive written report by December 1, 2021.

passed both · Delaware · House Jun 9, 2021

HCR 28: A RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE WORK OF THE NCCPD BEHAVIORAL HEALTH UNIT AND URGING LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES THROUGHOUT THE STATE TO ADOPT A SIMILAR UNIT.

This Resolution commends the work of the New Castle County Police Department Behavioral Health Unit and urges law enforcement agencies throughout the State to adopt a similar unit.

in committee · Delaware · Senate Jun 9, 2021

SB 155: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.

This Act revises the Delaware Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to address how public bodies may respond to FOIA requests that are unreasonable, disruptive, or abusive; requires all public bodies to post notice of meetings electronically; and clarifies and simplifies how a citizen may challenge a public body’s failure to comply with FOIA requirements. This Act does not change the definition of “public record." Specifically, this Act does all of the following: 1. It amends the examination and copying of public records provisions of FOIA to alleviate the significant time, resources, and financial burdens imposed on public bodies by FOIA requests that are unreasonable, disruptive, or abusive. This Act allows a public body to deny a request from a requestor whose intent is to disrupt the essential functions of the public body or abuse the process and allows a public body to charge administrative fees for all reviews, including the review and redaction of information exempt from FOIA. The review and redaction of information is often performed by non-attorney staff in conjunction with necessary review for exceptions and exclusions. 2. Allows a public body to post electronic notice of a meeting on a website maintained, or designated, by the public body. 3. It clarifies, simplifies, and makes uniform the remedies available to citizens when a public body fails to comply with FOIA obligations as follows: • Clarifies that Attorney General or Chief Deputy determinations are advisory and not appealable. • Clarifies the timeframes in which a citizen may file a FOIA petition with the Attorney General. • Eliminates the need for citizens to petition the Attorney General before initiating a lawsuit against an individual or entity that the Attorney General is obliged to represent because this appeal right was under utilized and of limited utility given the limited record produced in the petition process. • Gives citizens 120 days to bring suit after a FOIA violation, except in that when a petition is filed, a petitioner may file a lawsuit the later of 120 days after the violation occurred or 30 days after issuance of the determination on the petition. • Provides the Superior Court with exclusive jurisdiction over all FOIA disputes, except that lawsuits involving claims for temporary, preliminary, or permanent injunctive relief when there is no adequate remedy at law must be brought in the Court of Chancery. • Clarifies that monetary damages may not be awarded for FOIA violations and requires that an award of attorney fees be reasonable. • Clarifies that a citizen may not file a petition with the Attorney General regarding a FOIA violation that is the subject of a pending lawsuit and that a pending petition is deemed withdrawn if the FOIA violation becomes the subject of a lawsuit. • Imposes a deadline for citizens to submit petitions to the Attorney General to ensure that citizens have sufficient time to pursue judicial remedies after the issuance of a written determination. • Requires the Attorney General or Chief Deputy to issue a written determination within 30 business days of receiving a petition, unless there are exceptional circumstances. 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 charter issued to a municipal or educational corporation and this Act may amend a municipal or educational charter. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Bill results