Rep. Stell Selby

This resolution recognizes March 7, 2024, as "Delaware Giving Day."

This resolution recognizes the Easterseals/CAI Volleyball Challenge occurring March 9 at William Penn High School and April 20 at Delaware State University, an event that raises funds for an organization providing services and support to Delawareans with disabilities and senior citizens and their families.

This concurrent resolution establishes the Classroom Behavior and School Discipline Task Force.

This is the first leg of a Constitutional Amendment to constitutionally authorize 10 days of early in-person voting in Delaware. Additionally, at least 21 in-person early voting places, with 1 being located in each State Senate District, are required. Further, this Constitutional Amendment requires all administrative or procedural laws, rules, policies, or regulations applicable to safeguarding the security of in-person voting that apply to the general election shall be applicable to in-person early voting days.

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes March 5, 2024, as Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated or “Alpha Phi Alpha Day at the Capitol” in Delaware. It honors Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated as an organization that has provided a voice and a strong vision to the struggle of African Americans and people of color in the State of Delaware and around the world.

This Act requires Delaware Medicaid to provide an enhancement to the acute care per diem rate for psychiatric facilities for hard to place pediatric behavioral health inpatients. The per diem enhancement is limited to an inpatient stay of 14 days. The applicability of the per diem enhancement is determined based on whether admission criteria is met. This Act also creates a Quality Oversight Committee designed to identify quality metrics for facilities admitting patients as well as provide biennial recommendations to the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee regarding eligibility categories and enhancement rates.

This Act creates the Joint Committee on Oversight of Agency Regulations (“Committee”) to engage in review and oversight of regulations adopted by State agencies. Like laws in states such as Colorado and Utah, this Act does all of the following: (1) Requires that all regulations adopted by an agency between each November 1 and October 31 expire at 5:00 p.m. on the following June 30 unless the General Assembly enacts a law to remove the expiration of the regulation. (2) Establishes criteria for the Committee’s review of State agency regulations. (3) Establishes a process for the Committee’s review and oversight of State agency regulations, including the requirement of a staff report, public hearings, and Committee recommendations to the General Assembly. (4) If the Committee recommends a regulation not be allowed to expire, requires the Committee to draft and introduce a bill that removes the expiration of each regulation the Committee recommends not be allowed to expire. (5) The Committee Chair, Vice Chair, and members receive the same additional compensation as the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee.

This Act creates penalties for misrepresentation of a service animal under the Delaware Equal Accommodations Law and misrepresentation of an assistance animal under the Delaware Fair Housing Act. The language of these penalties is different because under both federal and State law, a broader range of animals must be allowed as a reasonable accommodation in housing to an individual with a disability and more disability-related information may be requested, than in places of public accommodation. However, the penalties are the same: a first violation is a civil penalty in the amount of $500 and each subsequent offense is an unclassified misdemeanor. In addition, this Act updates the terms, definitions, and requirements for assistance animals under the Delaware Fair Housing Act to align with federal law and makes corresponding changes to the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code. This Act also makes corresponding changes and technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act does not require a greater than majority vote for passage because Superior Court already has jurisdictions over all criminal violations under Chapter 46 of Title 6.

This Act enhances the General Assembly’s oversight of regulations adopted by state agencies by doing all of the following: (1) Making clear that the Registrar of Regulations is required to provide notice of each regulation proposed by a state agency to each member of the appropriate standing committee of each House of the General Assembly and to provide any comments collected from members of the standing committee to the state agency. (2) Making clear that the Chair of a standing committee may also schedule a committee meeting during the regular session of the General Assembly to consider a rule, regulation, or amendment to a rule or regulation that impacts or is within the subject-matter jurisdiction of the committee. (3) Requiring the Chair of a standing committee to hold a committee meeting when a majority of the members of a standing committee of either House of the General Assembly believe in good faith that the rule, regulation, or amendment to a rule or regulation impacts or is within the subject-matter jurisdiction of the committee and the committee should meet to consider the rule, regulation, or amendment to a rule or regulation. (4) Making clear that a standing committee or joint committee may draft legislation to propose action by the General Assembly related to recommendations made by the committee. (5) Making clear that a standing committee or joint committee may request the President Pro Tempore of the Senate or Speaker of the House of Representatives to call from recess of a special session the Senate, the House of Representatives, or the General Assembly, as the case may be. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Of the 41 states with a state income tax, 27 states fully exempt military retirement pay from state income taxes and 12 states partially exempt military retirement pay. In 2022, Delaware increased the pension exclusion for military pensioners under 60 to $12,500. This Act phases in, over 3 years, an increased exemption for military pensions from state income taxation, regardless of age, so that in taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, the exemption will be $25,000 for all military pensioners.