This Act expressly adds the intentional restriction of another adult’s access to economic resources resulting in a loss of financial autonomy to the definition of abuse for protection from abuse proceedings. This Act also specifies that tangible property of the petitioner includes legal documents belonging to the petitioner. In addition, this Act codifies the existing practice of Family Court to allow relief by ordering respondents to return specific legal documents. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
Due to continuing concerns over the negative health effects secondhand smoke will have on the youth of Delaware, this bill adds Smoking Restrictions within vehicles if a person under the age of eighteen (18) is in the vehicle. Also, it makes clear that a police officer will not stop or detain a car solely on suspicion of having violated this Statute.
Research has shown that certain underwriting factors used by insurers, while facially neutral, may have a disparate impact on protected classes. This bill seeks to address this disparate impact by prohibiting certain underwriting and rating factors, despite being correlative with loss, in homeowner’s and private passenger motor vehicle insurance policies. This bill would specifically prohibit an insurer’s consideration of an insured’s or proposed insured’s (i) non-pending arrests, charges and indictments that do not result in conviction, (ii) convictions unrelated to fraud or the risk being insured, or (iii) driver’s license suspensions or revocations for non-driving related reasons. This bill also corrects an incorrect statutory reference in current law.
This House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill 73 provides a 5-year statute of limitations for the Department of Labor to bring civil actions to recover nonfraud overpayment debts and no period of limitations to recover fraud overpayment debts. This portion of the Substitute will apply to overpayment debts for which the statute of limitations has not yet run, which includes those that accrued less than 3 years prior to the enactment of this Act. This Substitute expressly codifies the current law that there is no deadline for the Department to collect overpayment debts by offset of future benefits, by state Department of Revenue offset or by federal Treasury offset of tax refunds, the last of which is mandated by federal law. Finally, this Substitute creates an overpayment waiver program, effective retroactively to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, to give the Department authority to waive non-fraud overpayments of traditional unemployment benefits resulting from either Department error or claimants receiving certain low-income public assistance.
This Act enables Sussex County to use the Voluntary School Assessment (VSA) to address the impact of residential development on school capacity. The following is a summary of the Act’s 3 sections: Section 1 of the Act amends Chapter 69 of Title 9 of the Delaware code pertaining to zoning in Sussex County. It amends § 6961 of Title 9 to add a new subsection (d) that enables Sussex County to require residential developers to provide a certification from the Secretary of the Department of Education concerning school capacity prior to recording a major record subdivision plan; however, no certification is required where the proposed development is (i) restricted to providing housing predominantly for individuals 55 years of age or older; (ii) for low income housing; or (iii) the developer has pledged to pay a VSA. Section 1 also amends § 6961 to provide that to the extent Sussex County has adopted or adopts any regulations linking or restricting residential developments to school capacity, such regulations are preempted. Section 2 of the Act amends § 842 of Title 22 of the Delaware code, pertaining to school capacity for municipal corporations, to remove specific references to New Castle County. It also revises § 842 to provide that subsection (b) applies to all new residential subdivision plans over 5 units in size for lands located within or annexed into a municipality on or after July 1, 1992; previously, subsection (b) only applied to such lands annexed into a municipality after July 1, 1992. Section 3 of the Act amends § 103 of Title 14 of the Delaware code to conform with the changes to the code contained in Section 1 of this Act, to provide that in calculating the VSA, the average cost per child shall take into account offsite roadway improvements required by the state transportation department, and to remove a specific reference to New Castle County.
Since its creation the Water Supply Coordinating Council (the Council) has provided critical guidance to proactively address identified water supply issues. However, the actions of the Council have largely focused on recommendations and implementation associated with water supplies in the drought-prone portions of Northern New Castle County. While the water supplies in that area remain critical to the State, additional focus is needed on similar water supply coordination in other portions of the State as well. Many of the Council’s reports have made recommendations for other actions in these areas, however, it is critical that appropriate local/regional representation be included to receive the necessary input and feedback that made the New Castle County implementation successful. Therefore, this Act is intended to reconstitute the Council to provide for a smaller more consistent quorum for state-wide coordination while establishing the structure for direct regional (County-level) contributions and implementation. It is intended that the preliminary charge of each County-level subcommittee will be to establish the appropriate memberships to best address their prioritized concerns.
This Act adds the Senate Minority Leader and the House Minority Leader as members of the Public Health Emergency Planning Commission (Commission). This Act also requires the Commission to meet within 30 days of the initiation a state of emergency due to a public health emergency for the purposes of discussing and evaluating, in an advisory capacity to the Governor, the response to the public health emergency. The Commission would be required to continue meeting at least every 30 days until the termination of the state of emergency due to a public health emergency. This Act also defines the term “Commission” in the subchapter-level definition section since the term “Commission” is used in multiple places within Subchapter V of Chapter 31 of Title 20. This Act also adds Commission governance procedures, including length of terms, filling vacancies, and defining quorum. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including updating agency names.
This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 43. Both this Act and SB 43 add additional State facilities and categories of establishments to § 787 of Title 11 which would be required to display public awareness signs about human trafficking. The additional State facilities and categories are as follows: (1) State service centers. (2) Wellness centers. (3) Residential child care facilities. (4) Transitional and independent living service providers for youth aging out of foster care. (5) Shelters for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault or individuals experiencing homelessness or food insecurity. (6) Hotels. (7) Convenience stores along a major highway. (8) Gas stations along a major highway. (9) Casinos. (10) Restaurants with liquor licenses. (11) Poultry processing plants. (12) Bus or train stations. (13) Bars. (14) Massage establishments. (15) Shopping malls. This Act is also the same as SB 43 in that it: (1) Provides definitions of some of the existing State facilities and categories of establishments where public awareness signs are required to be displayed, as well as some of the new State facilities and categories added by SB 43 (and retained by this Act). (2) Includes specific locations on the premises where establishments that are hotels, casinos, restaurants with liquor licenses, poultry processing plants, massage establishments, and shopping malls must display a public awareness sign. (3) Adjusts the process by which the Delaware Anti-Trafficking Action Council (Council) may designate establishments required to display public awareness signs. SB 43 and this Act allow the Council to promulgate regulations to designate other categories of establishments that must display public awareness signs in addition to the categories required under § 787 and this Act; designate a specific location on the premises for a category of establishments where a public awareness sign must be displayed; and change requirements for what must be included in a "public awareness sign", as defined in this Act. (4) Requires the Council to annually publish a list of categories of establishments that must display a public awareness sign and any specific location requirements for the purposes of providing notice. (5) Clarifies that enforcement fines are civil penalties. (6) Distinguishes between the responsibilities of the Council and establishments, as well as rewrites the responsibilities to clarify the current law regarding the display of public awareness signs. (7) Establishes an enforcement process, including the requirement that establishments will receive a warning before any civil penalties are assessed. The Department of Labor may promulgate regulations. (8) Requires the Department of Labor to submit an annual report about enforcement to the Council and the General Assembly. (9) This Act takes effect immediately and is to be implemented 1 year from the date of this Act’s enactment to allow for the promulgation of regulations by the Department of Labor and the Council, as well as to ensure public awareness signs will be ready for distribution before implementation. (10) This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 43 by: (1) Removing the mandate that the Department of Labor (Department) conduct enforcement. The Department still has enforcement authority but may exercise its discretion in whether to pursue enforcement. (2) Changing enforcement to a complaint-based system whereby the Department may inspect an establishment about which it receives a compliant. While the complaint-based system may be the main way that the Department will receive notice of possible noncompliance with public awareness sign requirements, the Department may still initiate inspections independent of a report from the Delaware Anti-Trafficking Action Council or a complaint. (3) Changing the enforcement process and timeframes as follows: When the Department conducts enforcement, it shall provide public awareness signs, if needed, to an establishment to immediately enable compliance with the public awareness sign display requirements. If, within 3 years, the Department determines the establishment is exhibiting the same, or a substantially similar, noncompliance identified in the warning notice, then the Department shall assess a civil penalty against the noncompliant establishment. (4) Removing the safe harbor provision since all establishments will now receive copies of the proper signage during inspection, if new signs are needed. (5) Updating the civil penalty to conform to the changes made in the enforcement process and timeframes. The civil penalty is as follows: if an establishment does not correct the same, or a substantially similar, noncompliance identified in the warning notice, the establishment owner is subject to a civil penalty of not more than $500. On a second or subsequent failure by an establishment to correct the same, or a substantially similar, noncompliance identified in the warning notice, the establishment owner is subject to a civil penalty of not more than $2,500. The current fine under § 787 is $300 per violation. (6) Naming this Act the "Signs of Hope Act". This name reflects the purpose that the human trafficking public awareness signs serve: a way to reach, give hope, and save victims of human trafficking. (7) Removing repetitive language and correcting a grammatical error. To make compliance with and enforcement of this Act feasible, a fiscal note is attached to this bill to finance the creation of the public awareness signs, which will be provided free to State of Delaware facilities and establishments and to fund a Department of Labor enforcement position.
This Act allows the State Bureau of Identification to release subsequent arrest notifications to the Department of Education for its employees and contractors. This Act also corrects existing typos in § 309 of Title 31 and makes clarifying changes to the processing of background checks when the Department of Education is the employer.
Delaware law on the application to an authorized judge for the intercept of wire communications was written prior to the creation of the statutory divisions of Family, Fraud and Consumer Protection, and Civil Rights and Public Trust, within the Delaware Department of Justice. This would allow for the divisions leading, for example, sensitive fraud, public corruption, white collar, civil rights and hate crimes investigations to apply to the Superior Court for wire intercepts, and further makes clear that such investigations fall within the purview of the electronic surveillance chapter. Human trafficking is already included in the statute, but its investigations and prosecutions now fall under the jurisdiction of the Family Division.
This Act increases the limits on the dollar amount of awards of compensatory or punitive damages, or both, in cases of employment discrimination, establishing specific caps based on the number of the respondent's employees. This Act also clarifies that the Superior Court may order equitable relief available under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as back pay and front pay, which is an award made for the period between the date of judgment and the date of reinstatement. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act codifies the Equity Ombudsman program, the purpose of which is to provide students and families encountering inequity in the school system with non-lawyer advocates to assist them. The Educational Equity Council, as a stakeholder council, provides oversight to the Equity Ombudsman program, to provide broad review, analysis and recommendations, for the improvement of student equity and outcomes in Delaware’s public education system.
