This Act continues the practice of amending periodically the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act (the “LP Act”) to keep it current and to maintain its national preeminence. The following is a section-by-section review of the proposed amendments to the LP Act: Section 1 amends § 17-204(a) of the LP Act to clarify that certificates required by the LP Act to be filed in the office of the Secretary of State be executed in the manner set forth in § 17-204(a). Further, because Section 5 of this Act contains amendments that permit or require a certificate of amendment to a certificate of division to be filed in the office of the Secretary of State, this section also amends § 17-204(a) of the LP Act to provide the manner in which a certificate of amendment to a certificate of division must be signed. Section 2 amends § 17-211(g) of the LP Act. Currently, § 17-211(g) of the LP Act permits a duly approved agreement of merger or consolidation or plan of merger to effect any amendment to the partnership agreement or effect the adoption of a new partnership agreement. This amendment to § 17-211(g) confirms that an amendment to a partnership agreement or adoption of a new partnership agreement effected pursuant to § 17-211(g) of the LP Act may be effected only with respect to the partnership agreement of the surviving or resulting limited partnership and not with respect to the partnership agreement of a constituent limited partnership that is not the surviving or resulting limited partnership. Sections 3 and 6 amend § 17-218(b)(1) and § 17-221(c)(1) of the LP Act. Each protected or registered series of a Delaware limited partnership must have a general partner associated with it. If a partnership agreement fails to designate an initial general partner associated with such a series, the LP Act designates a general partner to be associated with such a series. If a partnership agreement fails to designate a general partner of the limited partnership generally, the LP Act designates a general partner of the limited partnership generally. These sections amend § 17-218(b)(1) of the LP Act and § 17-221(c)(1) of the LP Act to confirm that the rules for designating a general partner for a limited partnership that has protected or registered series apply only to the designation of an initial general partner and not to subsequent general partners. Section 4 amends §17-218 of the LP Act. Currently, § 17-806 of the LP Act permits revocation of dissolution of a limited partnership prior to the filing of a certificate of cancellation of the certificate of limited partnership in the office of the Secretary of State; however, the LP Act does not currently address revocation of termination of a protected series prior to the completion of the winding up of the protected series. This amendment adds a new § 17-218(d) to permit revocation of termination of a protected series prior to the completion of the winding up of the protected series. Section 5 amends § 17-220(h) of the LP Act. Currently, among other requirements, a certificate of division must state the name and business address of the division contact and the name and address of the division partnership where the plan of division is on file. Because this information may change over time, this amendment permits or requires the filing of a certificate of amendment of certificate of division to amend the name or business address of the division contact or the name and address of the division partnership where the plan of division is on file. The requirement to update such information in a certificate of division ends after the expiration of a period of 6 years following the effective date of the division. Section 5 also amends § 17-220(l)(1) of the LP Act to clarify that pursuant to a division, a dividing partnership is divided into distinct and independent division partnerships as such term is used in the LP Act. Finally, Section 5 also amends § 17-220(l)(9) of the LP Act. Currently, under § 17-220 of the LP Act, a dividing partnership does not need to survive a division. This amendment confirms that a dividing partnership need not be a surviving partnership. Section 7 amends §17-221 of the LP Act. Currently, § 17-806 of the LP Act permits revocation of dissolution of a limited partnership prior to the filing of a certificate of cancellation of the certificate of limited partnership in the office of the Secretary of State; however, the LP Act does not currently address revocation of dissolution of a registered series prior to the filing of a certificate of cancellation of the certificate of registered series in the office of the Secretary of State. This amendment adds a new § 17-221(f) to permit revocation of dissolution of a registered series prior to the filing of a certificate of cancellation of the certificate of registered series in the office of the Secretary of State. Section 8 adds a new § 17-506 to the LP Act to clarify that a subscription for a partnership interest may be irrevocable if the subscription states it is irrevocable to the extent provided by the terms of the subscription. Section 9 amends § 17-1107(a)(3) of the LP Act to specify the fee payable to the Secretary of State to file a certificate of amendment of certificate of division. Section 10 amends § 17-1109(j) of the LP Act to acknowledge that certificates of amendment of certificate of division should be accepted for filing by the Secretary of State if at least 1 division partnership is in good standing at the time of such filings. Section 11 provides that the proposed amendments to the LP Act take effect August 1, 2023. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 11 of Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to impose or levy a tax or license fee.
Although lead-based paint is prevalent in many Delaware residences and causes extraordinary neurological damage in children, including seizures, behavioral disorders, developmental delays, and cognitive disabilities, Delaware does not have a comprehensive system to eliminate lead-based paint from those residences where children are still exposed to lead. This Act creates such a system, including: (1) Creating a system by which all properties where a child who is found to have high blood lead levels live are promptly screened for lead-based paint and, where that paint is found, treated to abate or remediate the lead-based paint. (2) Prohibiting landlords of properties where the State has paid for lead-based paint abatement from raising rents on those properties for a period of 3 years. (3) Taking steps to ensure that neither landlords nor local governments present unreasonable delays to the abatement of lead-based paint. (4) Creating a dedicated fund for abatement and remediation of lead-based paint hazards so that all levels of state government can be held accountable for funding lead-based paint abatement efforts. (5) Expanding the duties of the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Advisory Committee to include a plan for prompt inspection and, where necessary, abatement or remediation of lead-based paint in all pre-1978 rental properties.
The Other Post-Employment Benefits Fund (OPEB Fund) is used to pay the State's benefits for post-retirement health insurance under the State employees' pension plan. This Act requires that every year, at least 1% of the grand total of all General Fund operating budget appropriations for the prior fiscal year is appropriated to the OPEB Fund. The total amount of the contributions to the OPEB Fund is not allowed to exceed the annual required contribution, which is actuarially determined by the Board of Pension Trustees. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act provides state employees 30, rather than 15, days of paid leave per year to attend training camp or serve special duty as ordered by the military reserves or Delaware National Guard.
This Act replaces references to “Masters” in the Court of Chancery with “Magistrate”. The Court of Chancery, as Delaware’s court of equity, “traces its jurisdiction and powers to the High Court of Chancery in Great Britain at the time of the American Revolution.” DiGiacobbe v. Sestak, 743 A.2d 180, 182 (Del. 1999). At that time in British history, the High Court appointed persons bearing the title “Masters in Chancery” to examine witnesses and prepare reports of their factual findings in causes referred to them. On its formation, the Court of Chancery inherited the power to appoint judicial officers for similar purposes. The General Assembly later adopted laws, and the Court of Chancery adopted rules, expressly memorializing this power. Following the tradition of the High Court, those laws and rules referred to judicial officers appointed to serve at the pleasure of the Chancellor as “Masters in Chancery”. The title of “master” carries negative connotations due to the use of the term as the title of owners of slaves. Although the title “Master in Chancery” has no link to that historical context, the Court of Chancery is sensitive to the title’s negative connotations and so has proposed a new title, “Magistrate in Chancery”. 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 the Delaware General Corporation Law.
This statutory addition to Delaware’s Wrongful Death Act will permit the spouse, parents, children, and siblings of a deceased person to recover punitive damages when the actions resulting in the death of another person were maliciously intended or the result of willful or wanton misconduct by the at fault party. Punitive damages are intended to deter the at fault party from future similar conduct and to punish the at fault party for reckless conduct. Presently, an estate can recover punitive damages under a survival action pursuant to 10 Del C. § 3701. A survival action involves the death of an individual as the result of the at fault party where that individual suffers for a period of time before dying. Whereas, a wrongful death action involves the instantaneous death of an individual as the result of the at fault party. This led to cases where the issue of whether a defendant faced punitive damages depended not on the defendant's own actions, but on whether the deceased had suffered long enough for a survival action. This Act also clarifies the definitions of "child" and "parent."
This Bill is the Fiscal Year 2024 Bond and Capital Improvements Act.
The expectation for speed enforcement, under Delaware's Motor Vehicle statute, are Delaware's law enforcement agencies. It is not always possible for law enforcement officers to effectively enforce the speed limitations due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to, officer availability and safety. The original Act enabled the State, as well as counties and municipalities to more effectively enforce speed limits on roads in a residential district in which a Department of Transportation study, no more than 1 year old, documents that the 85th percentile speed on the road is 5 miles per hour or more than the posted speed limit or the road is in a designated work zone. For a violation to occur a motor vehicle must exceed the posted speed limit by 11 miles per hour or more. This Act would impose only civil penalties for violations and does not impose points on the owner or operator’s driver’s license. Jurisdiction for adjudicating alleged violations would be in the Justice of the Peace Court and there would only be a right of appeal to the Court of Common Pleas if the penalty exceeds $100. Any excess revenue not used for administration of the system, will be managed by the Office of Highway Safety and used only for purposes of education, enforcement, engineering and administration. This Act will sunset in 5 years if not extended by a subsequent act by the General Assembly. This Act is a substitute for and differs from House Bill No. 94 in that it eliminates enforcement by Delaware State Police, anywhere other than work zones, and limits approval and implementation of the speed monitoring system to residential districts in New Castle County and municipalities. This Act also requires payment of voluntary assessments to be made to the entity designated on the summons, which may be the Department of Safety and Homeland Security or the county or city where the speed camera was located.
This Act revises Delaware’s child safety seat requirements which currently requires an “appropriate” car seat or booster. Under this Act, children under 2 years and under 30 pounds must be seated in a rear-facing seat with a 5-point harness. Children under 4 years and under 40 pounds must be seated in either a forward facing or rear-facing seat with a 5-point harness. Children between the ages of 4 and 16, must be seated in a booster based upon the manufacturer’s guidelines or a seatbelt. This Act removes the existing fine for the first offense and requests law enforcement to provide a referral to the Office of Highway Safety car seat fitting station for guidance and education regarding proper use of a child restraint. Under this Act, the Department of Safety and Homeland Security is required to implement an awareness campaign within 180 days of enactment. The remainder of the Act will not take effect until 1 year following its enactment.
This Act clarifies that State building code and other local codes must align with substitute standards for refrigerants as approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency through their federal listing requirements.
This Act establishes requirements for the handling of treatment records for all of the following health-care providers under Title 24: 1. Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (certified nurse practitioners), Chapter 19. 2. Licensees under the Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Chapter 30: mental health professional counselors and associate counselors, chemical dependency professionals, marriage and family therapists, professional art therapists. 3. Psychologists, Chapter 35. 4. Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Chapter 39. Under current law, a patient or client does not have a right or clear procedure by which to obtain a copy of their record when one of these practitioners closes a practice, dies, terminates a patient relationship, or is incapacitated. The requirements established under this Act are modeled on the patient record requirements and procedures for physicians and correspond with the changes that would be enacted under House Bill No. 105 (152nd). These requirements and procedures also apply when a patient or client requests copies of their records. Under existing law, the governing boards established under these chapters have authority to promulgate regulations, if necessary, to address intersections between the requirements under this Act and professional codes of ethics. Sections 5 through 8 of this Act make technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual and corrects the spelling of the word “health-care” to be consistent throughout these chapters.
This Act amends §1311, Title 17 of the Delaware Code to allow for the Delaware Department of Transportation to vacate an old right of way of a newly realigned section of road by resolution.
