Delaware Bills

signed · Delaware · House Oct 26, 2022

HB 432: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 13 AND 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO VOLUNTARY ACKNOWLEDGMENTS OF PATERNTIY.

This Act prohibits minor parents from executing a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative drafting Manual. This Act takes effect 180 days after enactment into law.

signed · Delaware · House Oct 26, 2022

HB 255: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CIVIL RIGHTS.

This Act criminalizes the deprivation of civil rights modeled after federal law (18 U.S.C. 242) and enforced by the Delaware Department of Justice’s Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust. The new crime of deprivation of civil rights would be a Class A misdemeanor, which could elevate to a Class D or Class B felony depending on the nature of the injury or harm. This new crime of deprivation of civil rights serves as a predicate offense for hate crimes, or for racketeering if committed by an enterprise. By including conduct committed under color of any ordinance, regulation, or custom, this law accounts for conduct by actors in areas such as banking, lending, leasing, government contracts or political operatives.

signed · Delaware · House Oct 26, 2022

HB 337: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 12 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO JOINTLY HELD REAL-ESTATE AFFIDAVITS AND FILING AT THE REGISTER OF WILLS.

This Act makes it easier to properly clear title to real property after a person dies if the person held real property jointly with the right of survivorship. With more frequency, a deceased person may die as a resident in a county that is different from the county in which the deceased owned real property. This Act provides relief to those who are the surviving joint owner of a person who died in a county that is different than the county where the real property is located. The surviving joint owner of real property may not have anything to do with the deceased person’s estate, or the probate of it, making it difficult for the surviving joint owner to obtain exemplified copies from different states or countries, which results in the loss of valuable time and money to the surviving joint owner.

signed · Delaware · House Oct 26, 2022

HB 427: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS.

House Bill 373, passed by the 151st General Assembly, clarified that persons 14 and 15 years of age can be employed in such places where alcoholic beverages are served, but cannot be involved in the sale or service of alcoholic beverages. Currently, the Department of Labor (DOL) has a robust process for youth (those not yet 18) to apply for a work permit. Youth may not work in the state unless they have a DOL-issued work permit which is required to be kept on file with the employer. The OABCC statute requires an additional work permit. Youth must obtain two, separate work permits after going through two separate processes to obtain one job. This legislation will streamline that process for our youth, requiring them to obtain just one work permit from the Department of Labor. Additionally, this legislation will permit employees in the Office of the Alcoholic Beverage and Control Commissioner (“OABCC”) to work in any of the three counties. Sussex County is experiencing an increase in growth. The OABCC has just one licensing inspector who is responsible for performing licensing inspections for the entire state. With this change, the OABCC could create a more efficient operation to serve all three counties for those who are licensed to sell and serve alcoholic beverages in the state.

signed · Delaware · House Oct 26, 2022

HB 314: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MANDATORY SENTENCES FOR JUVENILES.

This bill clarifies House Bill 307 from 2018 by making it clear that a 6-month or 12-month mandatory commitment to Level 5 incarceration or institutional confinement for a juvenile only applies to adjudications of delinquency for the charge of Robbery First Degree or Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony if the offense was committed after the child’s 16th birthday.

signed · Delaware · House Oct 26, 2022

HB 293: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC COMMENT AT OPEN MEETINGS.

House Bill No. 293 requires that meetings of public bodies that are open to the public must provide an opportunity for public comment. Meetings of a public body of the General Assembly are excluded from the requirement to provide an opportunity for public comment because under § 9 of Art. II of the Delaware Constitution, the rules of proceedings for legislative meetings are established by the Senate and House of Representatives of each General Assembly. House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 293 differs from House Bill No. 293 by revising the limitations a public body may impose on public comment as follows: 1. It requires that the time for public comment provide a meaningful opportunity for the public to engage with the public body. 2. Allows a public body to impose reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on the length of the public comment period and the amount of time allotted for each person providing public comment. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual and 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 corporation.

signed · Delaware · House Oct 26, 2022

HB 386: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 25 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO RENTAL AGREEMENTS.

This Act prohibits a landlord from requiring a tenant declaw a cat as a condition for entering into or renewing a rental agreement. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

signed · Delaware · House Oct 26, 2022

HB 19: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ELECTRIC BICYCLES.

This bill defines and regulates electric bicycles. Section 1 adds electric bicycles to the definitions contained in Title 21. Section 2 includes electric bicycle operators and passengers as vulnerable users when on a highway, crosswalk, road shoulder or sidewalk and prescribes rights and responsibilities attendant to the operation of electric bicycles. Section 3 adds electric bicycles to the definition of vehicle.

signed · Delaware · Senate Oct 26, 2022

SB 14: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE STATE EMPLOYEES' PENSION PLAN.

This bill provides a mechanism to grant pension increases to retired State Employees, retired Judges, and retired “New” State police. This bill dedicates a minimum of 2.33% of payroll to be deposited annually to the Post Retirement Fund. This bill also provides for a pension increase as determined by the Board of Pension Trustees.

signed · Delaware · House Oct 24, 2022

HB 380: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE PUBLIC ATTORNEY STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM.

According to a survey conducted by the American Bar Association, 90 percent of early-career lawyers have student loans, averaging $130,000. The same survey found that Black borrowers accumulated more debt to obtain their law degree compared to other borrowers of other racial/ethnic backgrounds, and that most young lawyers who borrowed for their education reported that their debt caused them to delay or forego pursuing traditional life milestones, such as purchasing a home, marriage, and starting a family. According to the survey, an overwhelming majority of borrowers – roughly 80 percent – indicated their debt influenced their choice of job or career in some way. Most borrowers reported that salary factored more heavily into their job selection than anticipated. Nearly a third of the sample indicated their position was less focused on public service or doing good than intended when they started law school. In Delaware, the Office of Defense Services, and the Department of Justice, the primary employers of attorneys working for the state, found that student loan debt was an enormous burden. Attorneys reported monthly payments between $500 and $1,000 and debts exceeding $100,000. The student loan crisis, coupled with sizable salary pay gaps between the state and private sector, has created recruitment and retention issues in the legal sector of state government and has made it difficult to provide improved access to justice. This Act establishes a Student Loan Repayment Program for attorneys employed with the State of Delaware working as attorneys. The program allows qualified applicants to apply for a payment from the State to the applicant’s lending agency to pay a portion of the applicant’s student loan debt. The purpose of the program is to improve recruitment and retention for legal service providers at a time when the state is having difficulty attracting attorneys passionate about public service. The amount of the award shall be no less than $2,500 and no more than $5,000 annually for 10 years. There is a salary cap of $110,000. The program will be administered by the Criminal Justice Council and overseen by a committee of stakeholders in the state’s legal system.

signed · Delaware · House Oct 24, 2022

HB 377: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION.

This Act requires the Department of Education to conduct an annual workforce study of early childhood professionals to support the development of a plan and implementation of a system of supports to grow and deepen the early childhood workforce. The first study is due by November 15, 2022, the plan by January 31, 2023, and implementation of the system should be in place by September 1, 2023. The COVID pandemic revealed and heightened an existing difficulty in attracting and maintaining well qualified professionals in child care jobs, which are frequently low-paying compared to K-12 jobs. Since reliable, widely available, high quality child care options are a foundation for the whole workforce, and because the early childhood years are so important to childhood development and school readiness, it is a priority for the State that this crisis be addressed in a systematic, holistic fashion. The Department of Education is tasked with leading this rethinking and prioritization of early childhood careers – through the development of reliable data systems which can help bring living wages, financial and other support for academic and credential attainment, and coordination with CTE programs and institutions of higher education to uplift the profession and support individuals seeking to make a career in early childhood education.

signed · Delaware · House Oct 21, 2022

HB 197: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SERVICE CHARGES OF LICENSING AGENTS.

This bill modernizes the fees agents who sell Delaware State Park permits and Surf Fishing Vehicle permits may now impose. Licensing agents may now add a service charge of up to $2.50 for a state park permit, and a service charge of up to $5.00 for a surf fishing vehicle permit.

Bill results