Rep. Krista Griffith

This Act creates a special license plate for members of the nonprofit organization, atTAcK addiction. This Act requires a greater-than-majority vote for passage because Article VIII, § 11 of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of 3/5 of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly when a new tax or license fee is imposed. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act permits the extension of special education and related services to those students with a disability who turn 21 during the 2020-2021 school year to address unfinished learning as a result of the pandemic which resulted in the COVID-19 Declaration of a State of Emergency for the State of Delaware Due to a Public Health Threat declared by the Governor on March 12, 2020. The IEP for the child must be revised to reflect the specific basis for extending services and the specific education and related services that will be provided.

This Concurrent Resolution creates an Aging-in-Place Working Group that will develop a plan to guide policies designed to promote successful aging-in-place for seniors in Delaware. The group will deliver preliminary recommendations to the General Assembly by March 30, 2022.

This Act is the result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee’s review of the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (“DIAA”) and addresses out-of-season coaching for student athletes. The State Public Integrity Commission (“PIC”) has issued advisory opinions stating that a public school coach violates the State Employees’, Officers and Officials’ Code of Conduct (Chapter 58, Title 29) (“Code of Conduct”) if the coach provides out-of-season instruction for pay for returning members of the varsity or sub-varsity teams of the school where the coach works as a coach. See Commission Op. No. 02-02 and Commission Op. No. 02-60. The 149th General Assembly passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 79 (“SCR 79”), directing the Department of Education (“DOE”), with the assistance of DIAA, to promulgate regulations that permit coaches to coach student athletes out of season, with or without pay, with restrictions to safeguard the health of student athletes and minimize the risk of unethical behavior. SCR 79 directed the DOE to publish proposed regulations by October 1, 2018. In April 2021, as a result of DIAA’s ongoing work, the DIAA published proposed regulations addressing most of the criteria listed in SCR 79. One of the remaining hurdles to completing the proposed regulations has been the limitations imposed by the PIC advisory opinions. The purpose of this Act is to codify the General Assembly’s recognition that Delaware athletes are at a disadvantage when competing against youth from other states because Delaware coaches cannot coach their students out of season. Under this Act, out-of-season coaching does not violate the Code of Conduct if the coach and the organization providing the sport meet certain criteria that provide restrictions to minimize the risk of unethical activity. This Act recognizes that DIAA does not have the authority – or desire – to regulate non-DIAA organizations or coaches’ actions outside of DIAA programs. Rather, this Act tasks DIAA with setting the parameters that establish whether a specific instance of out-of-season coaching violates the Code of Conduct. Under this Act, the DIAA Board must submit proposed regulations to the Registrar of Regulations by August 15, 2021, to address any of the criteria under § 313(b) of Title 14 of this Act that are not already addressed in proposed or enacted regulations.

Section 1 of this bill moves the date of primary elections for statewide office, county office, and municipal office to the fourth Tuesday in April, which is the date of the presidential primary (in presidential election years). The dates for submitting and withdrawing notification of candidacy have been adjusted accordingly. Section 2 of the bill changes the deadline for a minor political party selecting its candidate at the party’s convention. Section 3 of the bill changes the deadline for filing certificates of nomination from September 1st to April 1st. Section 4 changes the “closed” period in which a voter is not allowed to change his or her political affiliation to match the 60-day limit in 15 Del. C. § 3189 for presidential primaries.

Under the Governor’s Eleventh Modification of the COVID-19 State of Emergency Declaration, and continuing upon passage of Senate Bill No. 247, remote notarization and witnessing by Delaware attorneys via audio-visual technology has been permitted. This provision is currently set to sunset on June 30, 2021. This Act extends the provision through June 30, 2022.

This bill makes the definitions of sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability consistent throughout the Delaware Code and with federal law.

This Resolution recognizes May 17, 2021 as the 67th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes April 18-24, 2021, as "Crime Victims' Rights Week" in the State of Delaware. Please visit the following websites for more information on Crime Victims’ Rights Week and the resources available to victims and survivors of crime. Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, at https://dcadv.org Delaware Victims’ Rights Task Force, at https://delawarevictimservices.org

This resolution recognizes May 5, 2021, as Maternal Mental Health Awareness Day in Delaware.