Delaware Bills

This Senate Concurrent Resolution commends the Delaware State Dental Society on the success of its 15th annual Give Kids a Smile Program and recognizes its continuing efforts to improve the dental health of Delaware’s children.

This Concurrent Resolution supports the Wait Until Eighth Initiative which promotes awareness regarding risks associatied with smartphone use in young children.

This resolution designates September 1, 2018 as "Wesley College Day" in Delaware.

This Act is designed to centralize and modernize Delaware’s system for licensing its citizens to carry concealed deadly weapons. The current statutory scheme dates as far back as the Code Revision of 1974 and was not designed to handle the volume of applicants and licensees that are being experienced today, a volume that has at times unfairly overwhelmed both the Courts and the Office of the Attorney General. In 2016, alone, the Attorney General was required to conduct 8,522 background investigations, a volume level never envisioned by the General Assembly in 1974, and a volume which, over the years has placed increasingly unsustainable demands upon both the Superior Court and the Attorney General. As importantly, this ever-increasing volume of applicants and license renewals and the system’s inability to respond in a timely manner has led to a volume of complaints from those who have been forced to wait up to eight months for their applications to be fully processed in the current system. This Act is designed to relieve the current pressures on the Superior Court and the Office of the Attorney General by creating a small, centralized, and financially self-sustaining organization within state government designed specifically to administer the licensing of individuals to lawfully carry concealed deadly weapons; and, for the first time, to effectually license and regulate the instructors who provide the statutorily required training for such individuals. Section 1 of the Act creates the Delaware Commission on Concealed Carry Licensing and provides for the professional staff and procedural mechanisms for licensing persons to carry concealed deadly weapons. The Commission is also charged with licensing and regulating the Personal Protection Firearms Instructors who provide the statutorily mandated training for concealed carry licensees. By creating an organization dedicated solely to these tasks, the Act is also (1) able to eliminate the current single date expiration system which is responsible for at least some of the current backlog, and allows for licenses to expire and renewals to be processed on a year-round basis; and (2) ensure that the required training is delivered according to statutory standards by instructors who have qualified to deliver that training. Section 2 of the Act amends the concealed carry statute to transfer responsibility for concealed carry licensing from the Superior Court and the Attorney General to the Commission on Concealed Carry Licensing created in Section 1 of the Act. This section also attempts to enhance language in the existing statute. This section also increases the application fees for concealed carry applicants from $65 to $95 for initial applications and $75 for renewals. The section also establishes a fee of $100 for each issuance of a temporary license. It also allows for the licensing of those residents of contiguous states who regularly work in Delaware and who are already licensed by their home state to be separately licensed in Delaware under the same strict criteria required of Delaware residents, establishing an initial application fee for such individuals of $150 and a renewal fee of $100. Section 2 also addresses the issue of concealed carry reciprocity; clarifying the recognition process and ensuring Delaware residents may not circumvent Delaware’s licensing process by utilizing non-resident licenses from other states with which Delaware has reciprocity. Finally, Section 2 makes a clear statement that currently employed law enforcement officers are exempt from the licensing requirements that pertain to other citizens. Section 2 also extends the period of time retiring law enforcement officers have to avail themselves of the existing streamlined licensing regime available to such officers from 90 days to 180 days. Section 3 of the Act allows for the establishment of the Commission and a period of time for the Commission to be fully staffed and operational before transferring authority and responsibilities from the Courts and the Attorney General to the Commission.

This Act removes § 617 Criminal Youth Gangs from the list of felonies designated as violent felonies and adds § 616 Gang Participation so that age is less of a factor in determining whether a violent felony was committed. In addition, this Act makes § 1103A Child Abuse in the Second Degree a violent felony. Further, this Act makes technical corrections by updating the violent felonies list to reflect § 1103B Child Abuse in the First Degree, which was formerly known as § 615 Assault by Abuse.

This concurrent resolution proclaims May 2018 as " Community Action Month" in the State of Delaware.

This resolution recognizes April 30th - May 5th, 2018 as Auctioneer Week in Delaware.

The Delaware Advisory Council on Career and Technical Education received $331,700 out of the Delaware General Fund for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017. Based upon a simple cost benefit analysis weighed against the budget issues Delaware is facing, it is clear these funds would produce greater benefits if utilized elsewhere. This bill will eliminate this annual expenditure by terminating this Committee via a total repeal of Chapter 86 of Title 14 of the Delaware Code.

In the 149th General Assembly House Bill No. 64 amended Title 29, Section 5120 to insure that mothers who are full time state employees may have up to 6 weeks of unpaid leave following the newborn(s) discharge from the hospital even if their FMLA benefits have been exhausted. This bill clarifies that school district employees are entitled to the same unpaid leave.

This bill permits a Municipal government to impose and collect a lodging tax of no more than 3 percent on hotel and motel rooms located in the incorporated areas of the Municipality.

This addition to Section 303 provides the Commission with the flexibility to consider and approve a low income residential utility rate or discount for qualified low income customers (those approved to participate in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program), provided that such rate may not provide a discount over 25% of the average customer class usage. This permits those customers to receive utility distribution services at a lower cost. In the case of Delmarva Power the discount is estimated to be no more than $10 -15 per month.

This concurrent resolution thanks the Career and Technical Student Organizations for their presentation of geraniums. This concurrent resolution also extends the General Assembly's best wished for continued success to these exemplary students.