This Concurrent Resolution recognizes January, 2019 as Human Trafficking Awareness Month in Delaware.
This Act creates the Delaware Federal Employees Civil Relief Act which provides the temporary suspension of judicial and administrative proceedings and transactions in Delaware that may adversely affect the civil rights of Federal workers during a shutdown. This Act only applies to Federal workers who reside in Delaware. The Act permits a Federal worker who is furloughed or required to work without pay during a shutdown to apply to a court or administrative agency for a temporary stay, postponement or suspension of any payment of rent, mortgage, tax, fine, penalty, insurance premium, or other civil obligation or liability. A court or administrative agency may grant such relief if it finds that the ability of the Federal worker to pay such obligation has been materially affected by the shutdown. The length of stay may be for the period of the shutdown and 90 days thereafter. This Act also prohibits landlords from evicting a federal worker from premises that are occupied or intended to be occupied primarily as a residence. This Act also prohibits the lapse, termination or forfeiture of the health, life, disability, or motor vehicle insurance policy of a Federal worker without a court order. This Act also places limits on the interest rate that can be imposed on a Federal worker during a shutdown. Finally, this Act empowers the Attorney General to enforce the provisions of the Act and permits a court to impose a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for violations of the Act.
This Act authorizes the Office of Management and Budget to partner with financial institutions and non-profit providers to establish a temporary loan program for furloughed and unpaid Federal employees as a result of the shutdown caused by a lapse in appropriations.
This is the final leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution to provide equal rights on the basis of sex. There is no Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution. While Congress passed the Amendment in 1972, it was not ratified by the requisite number of states by the 1982 deadline. Delaware, however, was one of the first states to ratify the Amendment. About half of the states across the country have passed Equal Rights Amendments to their state constitutions in order to provide protection against discrimination based on sex. Without an Equal Rights amendment, women's rights and protections are limited. This Amendment is necessary to correct a constitutional shortcoming, reduce sex-based disparities and to codify our State's value of equality. Section 1 makes clear the General Assembly's intent in proposing this Amendment to the Delaware Constitution.
This Concurrent Resolution recognizes January 9, 2019, as Law Enforcement Appreciation Day in Delaware.
This Resolution recognizes January 9, 2019, as “Wildland Firefighter Day”.
This bill converts the senior property tax credit from a credit against the school taxes imposed and collected at the county level to a means-tested refundable income tax credit to be administered by the Department of Finance, Division of Revenue. For eligible seniors who do not file a personal income tax because their income falls below the threshold set by the Code, the Division will issue a rebate in the amount for which that person is eligible. The Division is authorized to promulgate whatever forms or rules are necessary to administer this section. The tax credit will become effective as early as tax year 2019 upon certification by the Secretary of Finance that systems are in place for the Division of Revenue to administer the credit.
The continued existence and dissemination of a juvenile criminal record hampers an individual’s ability to become a successful and productive member of society. These criminal records are a hindrance to employment, education, housing, credit, and military service. This Act streamlines Delaware’s juvenile expungement code by providing the Delaware Family Court the option to immediately order an expungement in the event that a felony case was terminated in favor of the juvenile (i.e. a juvenile was found not guilty, or the charges were dropped). Delaware law currently allows the Court to do this for misdemeanor and violation cases.
This bill establishes a 20 year retirement for correction officers and specified peace officers. The bill amends the multiplier for calculation of state employee pension benefits for correction officers and specified peace officers from either 1.85%, 2.0% or 2.45% to a uniform 2.5% for the first 20 years, plus 3.5% for years beyond 20 years. The increased multipliers reflect increased costs, reduced benefits and the need to recruit and retain qualified and competent correction officers and specified peace officers with a modernized pension benefit. In addition, this bill amends the employee contribution for all correction officers and specified peace officers to a uniform 7%. Specified peace officers means (1) Probation and parole officers employed by the Department of Correction; (2) Capitol Police officers; (3) Department of Natural Resources police officers; (4) University of Delaware Police; (5) State Fire Marshal officers; (6) Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement agents; (7) Justice of the Peace Court constables; and (8) Probation and parole officers in the Serious Juvenile Offender Unit and senior probation officers employed by the Division of Services for Children, Youth, and their Families.
Individuals who are released from prison face many hurdles as they re-enter the community, including difficulty obtaining identification documents. Lacking identification imposes additional hurdles as these individuals attempt to find housing and employment. This Act requires the Department of Correction to provide individuals who are being released from the custody of the Department of Correction ("DOC"), after 6 months of incarceration following conviction, with a Delaware Personal Credential Card ("Personal Credential"). An individual may present the Personal Credential to receive one free certified copy of the individual's birth certificate and one identification card or driver's license, if otherwise eligible to receive those documents. This Act builds on the pilot that has been in place since 2012, when the DOC partnered with the Division of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Health and Social Services to obtain identification for individuals who volunteer to participate in the I-ADAPT re-entry program. Currently, individuals in I-ADAPT receive a Prisoner Re-Entry card, valid for 1 year, that can be used to obtain to obtain a free copy of their birth certificate, if they were born in Delaware, and a free identification card, if otherwise eligible to receive one.
