House Substitute No. 2 to House Bill 212 prohibits manufactured home community owners from increasing rent if the rent was increased by 5 percent or more the previous year or rental period, instead permitting an increase capped at 3 percent. This Act does not prohibit a community owner from increasing rent to market rent in phases as called for in current law, even if doing so would otherwise violate the prohibition on increasing rent after a 5 percent or more increase. It also allows a greater increase where more than 50% of the homeowners use the property as a second residence. This Act clarifies that penalties of rent reduction and repayment of excess rent will be imposed for a community owner who increases rent in violation of any provision of Title 25, Chapter 70. It also requires community owners to annually provide certain information relating to the lot rental assistance program to its homeowners and to certify to DEMHRA its compliance with the program requirements, and allows DEMHRA to request further information about the program as needed. It requires enrollment in the lot rental assistance program to remain open year-round. It requires community owners to provide specified contact information to DEMHRA within 60 days of taking ownership, possession, or control of a manufactured housing community. This House Substitute No. 2 requires the Manufactured House Ombudsperson Office to hold 2 meetings in each county per year where it offers information about lot rental assistance and other programs and services homeowners may be eligible for.
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This Act updates the definition of "sexual orientation" throughout the Delaware Code by adding asexuality and pansexuality. Asexuality refers to individuals with little to no sexual attraction to other individuals, although asexual individuals may desire emotionally intimate relationships with other individuals. Pansexuality refers to individuals who are attracted sexually or romantically, or both, to another individual regardless of that individual's sex or gender identity. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
There were 139 traffic fatalities in Delaware in 2021, the highest number of traffic fatalities since 2006. Senate Concurrent Resolution 94 of the 151st Delaware General Assembly set a goal of no more than 100 traffic fatalities per year and tasked state agencies to meet that goal by 2025. Instead of moving towards meeting the General Assembly’s goal, however, traffic fatalities increased to 165 in 2022, deepening the crisis on Delaware’s roads. To reverse this situation, the “Everyone Gets Home Act” makes changes to the Delaware Code to sharpen the Department of Transportation’s focus on the three most common types of fatal crashes: intersection (including driveway); roadway departure; and mid-block pedestrian. This Act clarifies the Department’s authority to designate controlled-access facilities as a safety countermeasure for both intersection and midblock pedestrian crashes and, when the facility designation has received the consent of county government, requires counties to use their own authority to assist the Department in consolidating vehicle entrances and exits to and from the facility. In addition, this Act authorizes the Department to designate roadways as low-speed streets and low-speed local roads in order to address fatal roadway departure crashes related to vehicle speed, and permits counties to request such designations to meet their own traffic safety goals. Finally, this Act expands the Department’s discretion to deploy new traffic-control devices in order to reduce fatal crashes. This Substitute Bill differs from HB 247 in that it does the following: (1) Clarifies that designated low-speed local streets and roads must be designed and operated with a Safe System Approach, as adopted by the United States Department of Transportation. (2) Includes “implementing corridor access management” as a safety countermeasure on designated low-speed local streets or roads. (3) Requires the Department to receive approval from the local law-enforcement agency with jurisdiction over a road before the Department designates such road a low-speed local street or road pursuant to a county or municipal government request. (4) Clarifies that the Department has discretion to adopt various standards for traffic-control devices or applications, even if they are different from uniform state standards, so long as they reduce fatal or serious injuries or are in accordance with a Safe System Approach. (5) Authorizes the Department to acquire property rights along highways to consolidate commercial entrances or to create new commercial interconnections when the Department determines such consolidation or interconnection would likely improve safety. (6) Removes Section 1 from the bill, which required counties to withhold permits for buildings abutting a controlled-access facility if necessary to obtain consent for vehicle access to and from adjacent properties. (7) Removes language that defined “full” and “partial” controlled-access facilities, and removes these terms from the rest of the bill. (8) Removes Section 7 of the bill that authorized the Department to designate and establish partial or full controlled-access facilities in any unincorporated area where there is a high incidence of fatal crashes related to the presence of highway entrances or exits. (9) Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act creates a new license for the use of trotlines in commercial crabbing. This Act prohibits a person from possessing a commercial crab pot license and trotline license at the same time. This Act requires a 3/5 vote by each chamber because it creates a license fee pursuant to Section 11(a) of Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution.
This Act mandates that employees of institutions of higher education and students receive training in sexual assault prevention. Although the current law makes training available, it has not been required. This Act further changes the reporting period in which academic institutions must report information on campus sexual assaults from the calendar year to the academic year. Finally, this Act requires the DOJ to post the annual reports from the previous 5 years on its website and to include the aggregate data from the previous 5 years in each report so that data trends are easily identified.
This Act codifies the teacher academy pathways program that prepares students for careers in elementary and secondary education. Among other things, it requires the DOE to update and revise statewide standards and guidelines for teacher academies and provide technical assistance to local education agencies to meet those standards and guidelines. This Act further requires that teacher academies offer (1) value-added credits to students who have completed the credits required by the initial program of study; and (2) work-based immersion options. Finally, the DOE must publish an annual report summarizing each teacher academy program in the State, including the number of participants in the program and the number of participants who successfully transition to a program or institute of higher learning in the field of education.
This Act sunsets the Provider Advisory Board (“Board”) and is a result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's ("JLOSC") review of the Board. The Board was created in 2011 at JLOSC's recommendation when it reviewed the Office of Child Care Licensing ("OCCL"). The original purpose of the Board was to advise the OCCL regarding the adoption, promulgation, and amendment of rules and regulations required to carry out the Delaware Child Care Act, focusing on early care and education, family child care homes, and school age centers. In 2019, the Board's purpose was expanded to encourage OCCL to communicate with providers and encourage OCCL to enforce the Delaware Child Care Act in a manner that recognizes that most child care providers are private businesses that need stable and reasonable regulations. In 2020, both the Board and the OCCL were moved from the Department of Service for Children, Youth and their Families to the Department of Education. The move has increased the frequency of communication between licensed child care providers and agency units, including the Office of Early Learning and the Delaware Early Childhood Council. JLOSC sponsored Senate Bill No. 135 of the 152nd General Assembly, which added the Board's duties to those of the Delaware Early Childhood Council. Before and since SB 135 was enacted, the OCCL has adopted, promulgated, or amended regulations in the absence of the Board's advice. The OCCL is meeting the needs the Board was intended to address, without the Board's assistance. For these reasons, JLOSC concluded that the Board is not fulfilling its statutory duties or meeting a state need, and that the Board should be sunsetted. This Act therefore sunsets the Provider Advisory Board. Because the Extended Learning Opportunities Subcommittee included a member from the Board, this Act also replaces that member with a licensed provider that serves children not yet kindergarten age. Otherwise, sunsetting the Board would have the unintended consequence of making the subcommittee a member short. Separate legislation fulfills JLOSC's recommendation that a third center-based early care and education provider be added to the Delaware Early Childhood Council.
This Act is a result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's ("JLOSC") review of the Provider Advisory Board ("Board"). Based on its findings, JLOSC recommended sunsetting the Board, which is addressed in separate legislation. This Act fulfills JLOSC's related recommendation, to add a third center-based early care and education provider to the Delaware Early Childhood Council ("DECC"). In 2023, JLOSC sponsored Senate Bill No. 135 of the 152nd General Assembly, which consolidated the functions of Board into the functions of DECC. The Board's review was held over to 2024, when JLOSC evaluated the implementation of SB 135. JLOSC concluded that consolidating the Board's duties into DECC was successful. JLOSC also concluded that, given the findings of its 2023 review of the Board and evaluation of the Board's activities since the enactment of SB 135, the Board is not meeting a state need. JLOSC therefore recommended sunsetting the Board and adding a third center-based early care and education provider to DECC. This Act fulfills the addition to DECC.
This Act is a result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's ("JLOSC") review of Adult Protective Services ("APS"). JLOSC approved recommendations to modify several areas of the APS statute, Chapter 39 of Title 31. Based on the recommendations, this Act does all of the following: - Establishes timelines for when the Department of Health and Social Services ("Department") must begin an investigation after receiving a report concerning an allegation of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an adult who is impaired or incapacitated. - Establishes the Department's responsibility to conduct ongoing training programs for relevant staff. - Removes the Adult Protective Services Advisory Council from section 3903, Title 31. This council is absorbed into the existing Council on Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities, through separate legislation. - Modifies the reporting requirement of § 3910(a), Title 31, to specifically establish that health-care professionals have a duty to file a report with the Department when the professional has reasonable cause to believe that an adult who is impaired or incapacitated is in need of protective services; clarifies that privilege does not relieve an individual from the duty to report. - Removes language in § 3904(d)(1) regarding a fee schedule and income criteria process that the Department has not used and does not plan to institute. - Makes many technical changes to modernize and conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of death from cancer in men. It is estimated that about 1 in 41 men will die of prostate cancer. According to ZERO Prostate Cancer, Black men face serious health care disparities regarding prostate cancer. 1 in 6 Black men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime compared to 1 in 8 men overall. Black men are also 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with, and 2.1 times more likely to die from, prostate cancer than white men. HB 302 requires all group, blanket, and individual health insurance policies to cover prostate screening for men at risk of prostate cancer. This Substitute bill broadens the definition of “prostate screening” to include any medically necessary and clinically appropriate method for the detection and diagnosis of prostate cancer, including a digital rectal exam and prostate specific antigen test, and associated laboratory work. This Substitute bill also clarifies the ages at which prostate screenings must be covered, consistent with the American Cancer Society guidelines, as follows: (1) Age 50 for men at average risk of developing prostate cancer; (2) Age 45 for men at high risk of developing prostate cancer, including African American men and men who have a first degree relative diagnosed with prostate cancer; and (3) Age 40 for men at even higher risk for prostate cancer, including men who have more than one first degree relative diagnosed with prostate cancer. This Substitute bill also extends the effective date to health insurance policies modified after December 31, 2025, and makes technical corrections.