Public Safety and Homeland Security

Currently, window tint or other material placed on the front side windows of a motor vehicle must have a visible light transmission of 70% or greater unless the vehicle’s owner has a statement signed by a licensed practitioner of medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine or optometry verifying that tinted windows are medically necessary. Currently, there is not a visible light transmission requirement for the side windows behind the driver or the rear window. This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 255. Like Senate Bill No. 255, this Act does all of the following: (1) Changes the visible light transmission requirement for window tint or other material placed on the front side windows. (2) Clarifies that there is not a visible light transmission requirement for the side windows behind the driver or the rear window. (3) Clarifies the exception for vehicles operated by a law-enforcement officer by exempting these vehicles from this law. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 255 by changing the visible requirement for window tint or other material placed on the front side windows, and side wings, from 35% or great to 50% or greater.

This Act makes it a crime to knowingly manufacture, sell, offer to sell, transfer, or possess a vehicle security circumvention device, or to aid or permit another to use a vehicle security circumvention device. This Act also requires individuals to report a lost or stolen vehicle security circumvention device to a law enforcement agency within 48 hours of becoming aware of the loss or theft. This Act does not include a special penalty as the Chapter already provides a penalty for misdemeanors, which includes a fine not less than $28.75 nor more than $115, or imprisonment not less than 30 days nor more than 90 days, or both. Additionally, for each subsequent offense the person shall be fined not less than $115 nor more than $230, or imprisoned not less than 90 days nor more than 6 months, or both. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 28 of Article IV of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to create a new crime within the jurisdiction of the Court of Common Pleas, Family Court, or Justice of the Peace Court.

This Act creates a definition of “first responder” in Chapter 31 of Title 20, pertaining to emergency management. Currently, the term is referenced, but it is not actually defined, creating potential uncertainty about who qualifies as a first responder in this context. This Act defines a first responder as a federal, state, or local law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical services personnel member, hazardous materials response team member, 911 dispatcher, emergency manager, or other individual who is responsible for the protection and preservation of life or property and who is called on to respond to emergencies. This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 234 and differs from Senate Bill No. 234 in that it adds a definition of “law enforcement officer” to clarify which law enforcement personnel are included in the definition of “first responder” and makes minor technical corrections to the definition of “first responder”.

This Act clarifies that special vanity license plates, which in Delaware are personal property, may be transferred from one owner to another without violating a U.S. District Court injunction that bars Delaware from issuing any new special vanity license plates or recalling any that the Division of Motor Vehicles has already issued.

This Act requires that accumulated snow and ice be removed from surfaces of a vehicle before it is operated and imposes a civil penalty for a violation. This Act also creates a civil penalty for each instance where snow or ice dislodges from a moving vehicle and causes property damage or physical injury but this penalty is not an exclusive remedy for property damage or physical injury.