Rep. Jeff Spiegelman

This Bill amends the Charter of the Town of Smyrna in the following ways: Section 1 removes the Board of Assessment from the list of Boards the Town can appoint. Section 2 replaces the appointment of a Board of Assessment with a Tax Assessor, which may be a qualified individual or entity. Section 2 eliminates language regarding the swearing in of the Board of Assessment and replaces references to the Board of Assessment with Tax Assessor. Section 3 replaces references to the Board of Assessment with Tax Assessor. Section 4 replaces references to the Board of Assessment with Tax Assessor and requires the Tax Assessor to be available to answer questions and provide information on the date of assessment appeals. Section 5 increases the timeframe for repaying short term borrowings from five years to fifteen years. Section 5 states that expenditures not secured by the full faith and credit of the town are exempt from the requirements of section 13 and that the Town Council may adopt an ordinance authorizing the Town Manager to borrow up to $100,000 without a Resolution of the Town Council approving the borrowing.

This bill removes an out-of-date provision in the Code that authorizes Kent County Government to employ a janitor or janitors for the care of the County Courthouse. The State purchased the Kent County Courthouse from Kent County in 2003.

This Substitute Act implements certain recommendations adopted by the Lottery & Gaming Study Commission in 2015 and the Video Lottery Advisory Council in 2017, in recognition of significant changes in the regional gaming marketplace and the State’s desire to remain competitive in the face of a proliferation of gaming venues in neighboring states. This Substitute Act adjusts the revenue sharing model in a way that ensures that the State continues to benefit from video lottery proceeds, ensures continued employment and horse racing at the State’s three video lottery facilities, and ensures that the video lottery agents will be able to reinvest capital in their facilities, market their facilities, and maintain their high standards of customer service. Effective July 1, 2018, this Substitute Act does all of the following: 1. Reduces the State’s share of gross table game revenues from 29.4% to 15.5%. 2. Suspends the table game license fee due June 1, 2019, and continues to suspend the fee in subsequent fiscal years if each agent increases expenditures on marketing, wages, and benefits by its pro rata share of the license fee. 3. Increases purses for horsemen by 0.6%, phased-in over two years. 4. Reduces the State’s share of gross slot machine revenues from 43.5% to 41.5% or 42.5% to 40.5%, as applicable, with additional reductions of 2% possible for each video lottery agent starting with the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019, based on qualified capital expenditures reaching 3% of video lottery net proceeds. The Substitute Act also removes the prohibition against video lottery agents operating on Christmas or Easter. The Substitute Act differs from the Act with respect to the increases in purses for horsemen, a revised basis upon which to calculate the State’s share of gross slot machine and table games revenues, and requirements for video lottery agents to increase capital expenditures, marketing, wages, and benefits to continue the suspension of table game license fees and receive additional reductions in the State’s share of video lottery net proceeds. Sections 2, 5, and 6 of this Substitute Act are drafted to amend the law in effect at the time the changes are to take effect.

This Act permits wine producers holding a valid license within this State or another state to obtain a license and ship wine directly to Delaware consumers so long as it is done through a common carrier with a carrier permit. This Act requires that wine producers pay the taxes normally due for wines; limits the amount of wine that a direct shipper of wine can sell to a single household to 3 9-liter cases per year; and limits the total amount of wine that the direct shipper of wine can ship directly to Delaware consumers to 1,800 9-liter cases annually. This Act requires the signature of a person 21 years of age or older before delivery of the wine and to receive training regarding how to deliver wine responsibly.

The Act made changes to motor vehicle franchising practices, by doing the following: (1) Prohibiting a new motor vehicle manufacturer from recovering its costs for compensating its dealers for recalls or warranty parts and service by reducing the amount due to the dealer or imposing a charge. (2) Establishing the process for and method of compensating a dealer for a recall related to a used motor vehicle. (3) Providing a process by which a dealer may protest a franchise termination with the Public Service Commission. (4) Protecting consumer data. (5) Making technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Substitute Act incorporates these changes and makes an additional change to § 4903(b) of Title 6.

This resolution commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Great War.

Importers, manufacturers and dealers of “destructive weapons” are licensed and regulated under Federal law. Under existing Delaware law, importers, manufacturers and dealers of destructive weapons are not permitted to deliver them to purchasers in Delaware who are otherwise permitted to own such weapons, such as military or police forces. This Bill will permit properly licensed importers, manufacturers and dealers to possess and store destructive weapons in this State and engage in activities associated with the sale and delivery of such weapons to (or from) qualified purchasers. All other changes made by this Act are technical corrections to conform the existing law to the guidelines of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

The Certification of Adoption of Sustainability and Transparency Standards Act (the “Act”) establishes a voluntary disclosure regime to foster dialogue around sustainability and responsibility among participating Delaware business entities and their various stakeholders. Because issues relating to sustainability and responsibility are fact-specific and fact-intensive and may vary greatly depending on, among other things, the size of the entity, the nature of its business and operations, and the industry in which it operates, the Act does not prescribe specific standards, measures of performance or criteria for evaluating performance. Rather, consistent with the enabling approach of Delaware business laws generally, the Act requires the governing body of each entity seeking certification under the Act to adopt principles, guidelines and standards to guide its business activities in a sustainable and responsible manner, as well as metrics for assessing whether it has met its objectives. Although Section 5003D of the Act grants the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware (the “Secretary of State”) the authority and discretion to provide the form of application for certification under the Act, the Act does not contemplate that State officers will make qualitative judgments regarding the standards or metrics that an entity adopts. The Act also does not contemplate or require that State officers determine qualitatively whether an entity has been operated in a sustainable and responsible manner. The Secretary of State's certification is focused on information acknowledged by an authorized representative of the entity regarding its adoption of procedures to operate sustainably and responsibly and its commitment to disclose, at least annually, such procedures. To that end, Section 5003D of the Act requires an entity applying for certification under the Act to make disclosures regarding the sustainability and responsibility standards it has adopted, the metrics it uses to evaluate whether it has met those standards, and its performance in meeting those standards. The Act is entirely voluntary. The decision whether to seek certification is in the sole discretion of each entity. The Act imposes no obligations on any Delaware entities that have not elected certification. (Of course, any person or entity that misrepresents an entity's certified status may be subject to civil or criminal fines or penalties.) The Act does not impose fines or penalties on entities that elect not to seek certification, nor does it impose penalties or fines on entities that, having become certified, fail to satisfy their own performance standards. Moreover, the Act specifies that fiduciary liability shall not be imposed as a result of, among other things, the decision whether or not to seek certification or the failure to meet specific sustainability and responsibility standards.

This Act reaffirms the Constitutional requirement that the General Assembly appropriate money belonging to the General Fund by making clear that funds received by the State or a State agency from settlements or other final orders or judgments, other than those funds awarded specifically to a party or consumer or as attorneys' fees, or explicitly directed otherwise by law, are to be deposited to the General Fund and may not be transferred or expended until the funds are appropriated by the General Assembly.

This concurrent resolution establishes a Task Force to investigate the cost of special education and make recommendations related to cost efficiency.