This bill protects small businesses in Delaware by preserving lottery retailers’ role in iLottery. This bill requires iLottery players to purchase prepaid cards at physical stores to enable their online play. In 2012, the General Assembly adopted the Delaware Gaming Competitiveness Act of 2012, HB 333 of the 146th General Assembly, establishing iLottery in Delaware. To support small businesses, the General Assembly included a provision of that law that required online players to purchase prepaid cards in physical retail stores. However, over a decade later, the Delaware Lottery Commissioner launched an iLottery program that does not uphold this protective provision. This bill updates the iLottery program to reflect the original intent of the law. This Act also makes technical changes to conform to the Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment that would establish a fundamental right for all employees to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing for the purpose of negotiating wages, hours, and working conditions, and to protect their economic welfare and safety at work. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the Delaware Constitution. In addition, as the first leg of a constitutional amendment, the next General Assembly must pass an act concurring with this Act for it to become part of the Delaware Constitution.
Delaware relies on fees imposed as surcharges by the criminal legal system to generate revenue for government services. These criminal fees can be an unstable revenue generator, especially when there are recessions, pandemics, or other major economic events. This Act repeals three fees that currently fund videophone systems used by state and local agencies, personnel, equipment, and training expenses related to judicial branch security, and victim notification initiatives. The elimination of these fees was recommended by the Criminal Legal System Imposed Debt Study Group created by House Bill 244, as amended by House Amendment No 2, of the 151st General Assembly, in its December 7, 2023 report. The Criminal Legal System Imposed Debt Study Group also recommended replacement of lost revenue for affected agencies as needed with General Funds. In repealing these fees, the General Assembly intends to eliminate any outstanding balances owed on these fees.
Like House Bill No. 204, this Substitute establishes a dedicated Child Care Complaint Investigation Unit within the Office of Child Care Licensing, under the Department of Education, to enhance timely, transparent, and accountable responses to complaints involving licensed child care providers. This Substitute deletes a duplicative requirement contained in House Bill No. 204 for the Child Care Complaint Investigation Unit, specifies that the Unit must coordinate with the Department of Children, Youth, and Family Services rather than the Division of Family services within that Department, and clarifies that the annual public report prepared by the Unit must comply with applicable privacy laws and regulations. This Substitute also requires that, like House Bill No. 204, the Department of Education use existing staff and resources for the Unit, but further specifies that the staff must be reclassified and salaries aligned with the schedule set forth in section 1305 of Title 14. This Substitute changes the implementation date contained in House Bill No. 204 from 90 days to 180 days.
This Act establishes that a fingerprint-based criminal background check and Child Protection Registry check completed for a volunteer for one public school is valid at any other public school in the State for the duration of the check’s validity period. This Act also includes public school volunteers in the State's continuous "Rap Back System" for ongoing monitoring and provides that the State must bear the costs associated with obtaining these checks for approved volunteers. This Act is effective immediately and is to be implemented on the earlier of 1 year from the date of enactment or publication of notice by the Department of Education that final regulations have been promulgated.
Because Delaware lacks an adequate amount of emergency shelter beds, housing support services, and affordable housing units, only 952 out of 7,131 households that contacted the Housing Alliance Delaware’s homelessness hotline in 2024 were referred to housing assistance. Without adequate shelter available, thousands of individuals experiencing homelessness are forced to seek shelter on the streets, parks, parking lots, and sidewalks, which puts them in constant conflict with local residents, businesses, and the police. Instead of providing adequate housing, local governments are using emergency services, hospital services, and the criminal justice system to remove unhoused individuals from public spaces, exacerbating the barriers unhoused individuals face to achieve stable housing and wasting taxpayer money. This Act seeks to incentivize localities to coordinate or create adequate emergency housing, permanent housing, and wrap-around services for individuals experiencing homelessness, which will ease the financial burden placed on emergency services, hospitals, and the criminal justice system, while providing unhoused individuals stability and dignity. To that end, this Act does the following: 1. Permits an individual experiencing homelessness to conduct life sustaining activities in public, so long as such activities do not obstruct the normal movement of pedestrian or vehicular traffic in such a manner that creates a hazard to others, unless adequate alternative indoor space is available to the individual in a given jurisdiction and has been offered to the individual, including transportation for the individual and their belongings. 2. Mandates that an individual experiencing homelessness receive the same degree of protection for personal property stored in public places as personal property stored in a private dwelling, which includes protections against unreasonable search and seizure. 3. Prohibits the State or local jurisdiction from requiring an individual experiencing homelessness to move a motor vehicle or a recreational vehicle provided that the vehicle is parked on public property and the vehicle is not parked in a position to obstruct the normal movement of traffic or create a hazard to other traffic upon the highway. 4. Provides that, if a motor vehicle or recreational vehicle must be moved because the vehicle is obstructing normal movement of traffic or creates a hazard to other traffic on the roadway, the individual experiencing homelessness must be permitted to relocate the vehicle before a parking ticket is issued or the vehicle is towed. This Act does not prohibit State and local governments from making and enforcing reasonable time restrictions on public spaces (including public parks and parking lots) so long as those time restrictions apply to everyone and are not disproportionately enforced against individuals experiencing homelessness. The Attorney General may commence a civil action against any State or local government, government agency, or government official that violates this Act and this Act also contains a private right of action. No monetary or punitive damages may be awarded under this Act. This Act specifically waives sovereign immunity. This Act is named in honor of Dr. DeBorah Gilbert White.
This Act establishes an Early Childhood Education Endowment. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, the State Treasurer is directed to transfer 1% of the annual revenue from the Corporate Franchise Tax to initially fund the Endowment. The Endowment is invested by the State Treasurer under a fiduciary standard. Programmatic administration and disbursement of released funds is the responsibility of the Department of Education in consultation with the IRMC to oversee the operation, expansion, and disbursements of the Endowment. Annual draw rates are capped at the prior fiscal year's net investment return on endowment assets and may not exceed 7.5% of total endowment balances in any year. The State Treasurer sets the draw rate after reviewing investment performance, endowment growth projections, and long-term sustainability. The State Treasurer may commingle endowment assets with other State Treasurer-managed investment portfolios for efficiency, provided that the endowment's proportionate share of income and gains is separately accounted for. "Expansion costs" include expenses to increase early child care and education program provider payment rates, increase equitable access and affordability of high quality early childhood education, extend the hours of operation covered, or to sustain such services. "Programmatic costs" include costs for parent and early child care and education enrollment campaigns, local governance partners, needs assessment technical assistance, facilities program technical assistance, and workforce recruitment and scholarships for educators. Not later than June 30 of each year, the State Treasurer must submit to the IRMC and the General Assembly an annual endowment report including: (1) total endowment market value; (2) net investment return for the prior fiscal year; (3) the draw rate authorized for the current fiscal year and the basis for that determination, including a 10-year sustainability projection; (4) total funds released to DOE and the purposes for which such funds were expended; and (5) any recommended adjustments to the draw rate for the ensuing fiscal year. Not later than January 1, 2033, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary of DOE must prepare an impact analysis concerning the operations of the Early Childhood Education Endowment and the effect that the expenditure of funds from the endowment has had on the availability, affordability, and quality of early child care in the State.
This Act prohibits employers from asking employees or potential employees about political preferences, including donations the employee makes to candidates for office or political committees. It also prohibits employers from taking any adverse action against an employee based on political affiliation or preference. The prohibition does not apply if a political affiliation or preference is a bona fide occupational qualification of the employment. It also does not apply if employer disclosure of employee contributions is required by federal or state law.
This Act requires the State to preserve all biological evidence in its custody that is secured in relation to an investigation or prosecution of a crime, for the period of time that the crime remains unsolved or the period of time that a person convicted of the crime remains in custody, regardless of whether the person pleaded guilty. “Biological evidence” in this context includes any item that "contains" some kind of biological material that was collected as part of a criminal investigation or may reasonably be used to incriminate or exculpate any person for an offense. The State may destroy evidence that is likely to contain biological evidence before the expiration of those time periods if all of the following are true: (1) more than 5 years have elapsed since the criminal conviction became final and all appeals are exhausted; (2) the evidence is not in relation to an investigation or prosecution of a Class A to Class E felony; (3) no other provision of federal or state law requires the State to preserve the evidence; (4) the State sends certified delivery of written notice of its intent to destroy the evidence to certain specified recipients, including any person who remains in custody as a result of the criminal conviction, delinquency adjudication, or commitment related to the evidence; and (5) no person who has received such notice, within 180 days of receiving the notice, files a motion for testing of evidence under § 4504 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code or submits a written request for retention of the evidence. In addition, the State is not required to preserve physical evidence that is of a size, bulk, or physical character that makes retention impracticable, but in that case, the State must remove and preserve portions of the evidence that is likely to contain biological evidence related to the offense. If the State is called upon to produce biological evidence that cannot be located and whose preservation was required under the Act, then the court must hold a hearing to determine whether the failure to produce evidence was the result of intentional and willful destruction. If so, the court then must order a postconviction hearing, at which the court will presume that the results of the postconviction DNA testing would have been exculpatory to the petitioner, and impose other appropriate sanctions and order appropriate remedies. If the court determines that the failure to produce evidence was the result of negligence or non-willful destruction, it may provide the appropriate recourse, including ordering a postconviction hearing; at the hearing, presume that the results of the postconviction DNA testing would have been exculpatory to the petitioner; and impose other appropriate sanctions and order appropriate remedies. In addition, the Act requires the Delaware Police Accreditation Commission and Division of Forensic Science to study, promulgate, and implement procedures that effectuate the legislative intent of the Act regarding the proper preservation of biological evidence. The Act takes effect 2 years after its enactment into law. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 214 in that it revises the definition of biological evidence to include evidence that is likely to contain biological material; requires the State to preserve evidence in a manner consistent with best practices at the time of collection, that prevents contamination, degradation, or reduction of any biological material contained on the evidence; provides that the State may not destroy evidence that is likely to include any biological evidence before the expiration of a certain time period or unless certain conditions are satisfied; and provides examples of remedies that the court may order if the court determines that a failure to produce evidence was the result of intentional and willful destruction or of negligence or non-willful destruction; and takes effect 2 years after enactment, rather than 30 days.
Long-term care facilities provide an important function in caring for the most vulnerable populations of the State of Delaware. However, these facilities are not required to have liability insurance to protect residents from harm caused by the facility. The bankruptcy filing of Genesis Health Care, one of the nation’s largest nursing home providers, which has operated facilities in Delaware, shed new light on the problems of long-term care facilities not being required to have liability insurance. Hundreds of claims across the country, including Delaware claims, related to substandard care causing injury or death to individuals face having no legal recourse to hold these facilities accountable. These claims include claims which Genesis had agreed to resolve for set amounts, which were to be satisfied with payments made in the future. Genesis filed for bankruptcy prior to making payments on many of these claims, including several claims resolved in Delaware, forcing the claimants to engage in a new and expensive process to pursue justice they had already resolved on their behalf or on behalf of their loved one. This Act requires long-term care facilities to have insurance policies that provide a minimum of $1 million per claim/$3 million aggregate coverage each for general liability and professional liability. This Act takes effect 180 days after enactment.
This Act is a substitute for House Bill No. 370. This Act differs from HB 370 in that it adds a provision for the selection of the DEFAC Co-Chair, authorizes designees for the ex officio members, clarifies a provision relating to DEFAC meetings proceedings, and makes several technical corrections. This Act also differs from HB 370 by making the effective date July 1, 2026, or upon enactment, whichever is later. Like HB 370, this Act codifies the Delaware Economic & Financial Advisory Council (“DEFAC”) which was initially created by Executive Order No. 5 in March 3, 1977, and has continued through several executive orders issued since 1977. This Act is known and may be cited as the “DuPont-Cook Financial Responsibility Act.” The purpose of this Act is to preserve DEFAC’s structure under executive order while strengthening continuity, transparency, and clarity. DEFAC consists of at least 25, but no more than 34, members. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate Pro Tempore each appoint 2 members, 1 from each caucus. The Governor appoints the remaining members, from the public and private sectors, and must appoint at least 12 members. The following serve by virtue of their positions: the Controller General, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Secretary of Finance, Secretary of State, Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services, Joint Finance Committee Co-Chairs, and State Treasurer. The duties of DEFAC are as follows: (1) Meet in March, May, June, October, and December of each year, and on other occasions that the Governor or DEFAC Chair deem necessary. (2) Serve in a general advisory capacity to the Governor and Department of Finance. (3) Advise the Governor, Secretary of Finance, and Legislative Council on: (a) The overall financial condition of the State of Delaware. (b) Current and projected economic conditions and trends, particularly as they affect the expenditures and revenues of the State, its citizens, and its major industries. (c) The tax policy of the State and the impact of federal tax policies. (4) Submit to the Governor, Secretary of Finance, Controller General, and General Assembly, by the dates required under § 6534(a) of Title 29, the General Fund and Transportation Trust Fund revenue and expenditures. (5) Submit to the Governor, Secretary of Finance, Controller General, and General Assembly, not later than December 31 of each year, estimates on the General Fund and Transportation Trust Fund revenue and expenditures. (6) Perform other duties and responsibilities imposed upon it in the Delaware Code. (7) Prepare an annual report summarizing DEFAC’s activities throughout the year, including forecast accuracy and key fiscal risks identified, no later than December 31, for distribution to the Governor and General Assembly. This Act also establishes the DEFAC Healthcare Spending Benchmark Subcommittee. Under this Act, state agencies must provide DEFAC financial and staffing support.
Section 1 of the Act exempts an individual not engaged in the business of “wholesaling” real estate from needing to be a real estate licensee. The business of wholesaling is when someone enters into an Agreement of Sale as a buyer, then markets the property and assigns that agreement to a different buyer and collects a fee for that assignment. While this process is unobjectionable under certain circumstances, at other times, it is used as a means to charge an excessive assignment fee, which is “equity stripping” of money that should go to the seller. The Act makes clear that marketing properties this way is the brokerage of real estate and must be done by a real estate broker. This is based on similar laws in Pennsylvania. Section 2 of the Act includes the business of wholesaling under the definition of real estate services. It also clarifies that a person engaged in the business of wholesaling must be licensed under Chapter 29 of the Delaware Code. Section 7 of the Act allows 270 days for such persons to become licensed. Section 3 of the Act defines “wholesaling”. Section 4 of the Act increases the amount a member of the public may collect from the Real Estate Guarantee Fund from $25,000 to $50,000 and increases the minimum amount of the Fund from $250,000 to $350,000. It also provides more discretion to the Commissioners, making it easier to award funds to a member of the public. In addition, it provides additional detail for how Commissioners may approve expenditures from the Fund and requires that they shall be provided with financial statements relating to the Fund. Section 5 of the Act adds a section to the Delaware Code for requirements for the business of “wholesaling” and adds protections for the member of the public entering into a wholesaling transaction. This is patterned after a recently enacted law in Pennsylvania. Section 6 of the Act provides that Sections 1, 3, and 4 of the Act, which include changes to certain definitions and revisions to the Real Estate Guaranty Fund, take effect upon the Act’s enactment into law. Section 7 of the Act provides that Section 2 of the Act, which requires a wholesaler to be a real estate licensee, takes effect 270 days after the Act’s enactment into law. Section 8 of the Act provides that Section 5 of the Act, concerning the right to cancel agreements of sale or contracts for wholesale transactions, takes effect 90 days after the Act’s enactment into law. The Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
