Rep. Stell Selby

This Senate Joint Resolution directs the Department of Services for Children, Youth & Their Families to explore participating in the federal title IV-E Guardianship Assistance Program to increase support to relative guardians and facilitate permanency solutions for Delaware youth in foster care.

Section 1 of this Act amends § 6504 of Title 10 to correct two erroneous cross-references (the cross-references will now correctly reference Title 12 rather than Title 10 of the Delaware Code). Section 2 of this Act corrects § 3301(d) of Title 12 by updating the definition of the term “fiduciary” to be consistent with 2019 updates to § 3322 of Title 12, the effect of which was that when an agent is delegated duties by a fiduciary, such delegation neither causes the agent to cease to be a fiduciary nor causes the agent to be a fiduciary. Section 3 of this Act amends § 3332(b) of Title 12 to add a cross-reference to, and incorporation of criteria from, § 3340 of Title 12, thereby emphasizing that satisfaction of the criteria of § 3340 of Title 12 means that a trust is administered in Delaware, but also emphasizing that § 3340 of Title 12 is a non-exclusive list of the criteria that may mean that a trust is administered in Delaware. Section 4 of this Act amends § 3338 of Title 12 to: (1) expressly state that a consent to a nonjudicial settlement agreement under this section must be in writing; (2) permit parties to issue a written nonobjection, rather than a written affirmative consent, to a nonjudicial settlement agreement under this section (much as parties can do under § 3342 of Title 12, which is a similar statute; and as also contemplated under Court of Chancery rules for consent petitions); (3) emphasize that the permitted subjects of a nonjudicial settlement agreement for a trust, including those expressly listed in subsection (e) of this section, remain subject to the material purpose requirement of subsection (c) of this section; (4) make it clearer that the ability of a nonjudicial settlement agreement to resolve the interpretation or construction of the terms of a trust under paragraph (e)(1) of this section applies to any (and not just all) of the terms of a trust; and (5) expressly state (and thus make it clearer) that, in addition to other types of modifications to the terms of a trust that were already expressly listed in subsection (e) of this section, the terms of a trust may be modified by a nonjudicial settlement agreement under this section—though, again, any such modification will continue to be subject to the “material purpose” requirement of subsection (c) of this section, as is already the case, including for those matters currently expressly listed in subsection (e) of this section. Section 5 of this Act amends § 3339 of Title 12 to make it clearer that: (1) a designated representative may be appointed via the methods specified in § 3339(a)(4) and (5) of Title 12, when those appointed under the methods given precedence under previous paragraphs of subsection (a) are not serving—in other words, when those appointed are unwilling or unable to serve (and not merely when such persons have been “appointed” in the sense of being named or nominated under the methods given precedence under previous paragraphs of subsection (a)); and (2) the limitation of § 3339(a)(4)b. of Title 12 that, in the stated circumstance under paragraph (4), does not allow a trustor to appoint a designated representative that is related or subordinate to the trustor, also applies to the trustor such that in such circumstance, the trustor cannot appoint himself or herself as the designated representative. Section 6 of this Act amends § 3340 of Title 12 to make it clearer that: (1) a trust’s satisfaction of any of the criteria listed in § 3340(1) through (3) of Title 12 conclusively means that the trust is administered in Delaware (such that satisfaction of such criteria does not lead merely to a rebuttable presumption); and (2) the criteria listed in § 3340(1) through (3) of Title 12 are not the exclusive means by which a trust is, or is considered to be, administered in Delaware. Section 7 of this Act amends § 3536 of Title 12 to make it clear that a former spouse of a trust beneficiary who has a claim against such beneficiary, such beneficiary’s estate, or such beneficiary’s property is considered a creditor of such beneficiary, thereby affording the beneficiary the protections of § 3536 of Title 12. The amendment is distinguishable from the factual situation addressed by, and is not intended to conflict with, Garretson v. Garretson, 306 A.2d 737, which held that a current spouse of a trust beneficiary who has a claim against such beneficiary is not considered a creditor of such beneficiary. Section 8 of this Act amends § 3570(4) of Title 12 to make it clearer that the term “disposition” under Delaware’s Qualified Dispositions in Trust Act can include a transfer to another trust (and not merely to a trustee or trustees). Section 9 of this Act amends § 3573 of Title 12 to provide that the limitations on qualified dispositions applicable to the spouse of a transferor as imposed by § 3572 of Title 12, do not include transfers to trusts for which the spouse: (1) is given (a) written notice of the transfer, (b) a copy of the Qualified Dispositions in Trust Act, (c) a copy of the trust instrument of the receiving trust, (d) a list of the property subject to the transfer, (e) disclosure of all material information relating to the value of such property; (f) disclosure of the estimated value of the property, and (g) the basis for such estimate; and (2) consents in writing to the transfer after receipt of the foregoing. Section 10 of this Act amends § 3585(c)(3) of Title 12 to update a cross-reference so that the current reference to § 3303(d) of Title 12 will now refer to § 3339 of Title 12, which is the more precise reference in light of recent statutory changes. Section 11 of this Act amends § 61-604(a)(5) of Title 12 to: (1) include limited liability companies and statutory trusts as entities whose ownership by certain types of charitable trusts will be treated in the same way as partnerships owned by such trusts; and (2) make it clearer that any of those types of entities will receive such treatment even if such entities are disregarded for federal income tax purposes. Section 12 of this Act amends § 1513 of Title 13 to make it clearer that a spouse’s beneficial interest in a trust created by another person is not included within the term “marital property,” which is defined by this statute, because such an interest falls within the statute’s exclusion of gifts from the term “marital property.” In addition, consistent with § 3315(b) of Title 12, language has been added to § 1513 of Title 13 to confirm that a discretionary interest in a trust is not a property interest under existing Delaware statutory law and, therefore, is not included in the definition of “property acquired” by a spouse (as such term “property acquired” is used in § 1513 of Title 13). Section 13 of this Act amends § 2704(e)(4) of Title 18 such that the term “trust-owned life insurance policy” now includes a policy owned by an entity that is disregarded for federal income tax purposes and that is wholly owned by a trust (in addition to such a policy that is directly owned by a trust). Section 14 of this Act provides an effective date.

Senate Bill No. 80 codifies the current practice in Delaware of not requiring proof of citizenship or a specific immigration status on an application for a professional license. By affirmatively providing eligibility for professional licenses regardless of immigration status, Senate Bill No. 80 brings Delaware into compliance with a federal requirement in place since August 22, 1996, under 8 U.S.C.S. § 1621(d), and provides public notice of this policy. Senate Bill No. 80 also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 80 differs from Senate Bill No. 80 by also codifying the current practice of allowing an applicant for a professional license who does not have a social security number to submit instead, an attestation stating that if the applicant obtains a social security number in the future, the applicant will update their application with that social security number.

This bill creates a special license plate for Whitetails Unlimited.

This Act revises the State's Gold Alert Program to include missing children and increase dissemination of information to the public to better assist the State's search efforts. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act establishes a Delaware Educator Apprenticeship Program to be developed by the Department of Education. The Department of Education will work with the Department of Labor to create a program that places aspiring teachers in paid positions in schools, while the teacher candidates complete the training and schooling necessary to become a Delaware credentialed teacher. This program will complement the Grow Your Own Educator Program and teacher residency programs to create a low-cost pathway for aspiring teachers to earn their teaching credentials and will address the educator shortage in Delaware. A pilot program will be created for the 2023-24 school year between 1 institute of higher education and 1 district or charter school. The program shall be expanded if interest and funding is available for the 2024-25 school year and thereafter.

This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 87. Like Senate Bill No. 87, this Act does the following: (1) Clarifies that the exemption from the realty transfer tax for conveyances to or from an organization exempt from tax under § 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code when the purpose of the conveyance is to provide owner-occupied housing to low and moderate income households applies to rehabilitating residential properties and reselling the properties without profit and to constructing residences on properties and reselling the properties without profit. (2) Exempts any portion of a conveyance in which it is the grantee’s intent to construct affordable housing units and the conveyances are financed using funding provided by the federal government, this State, or a county or municipality of this State for the purpose of constructing affordable housing units, defined as a residential dwelling for a household whose income does not exceed 80% of the median income for the area as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. (3) Clarifies that individuals are first-time homebuyers if they intend to occupy the property being conveyed as their principal residence after the construction of a residence on the property to include circumstances where the residence cannot be built within 90 days after the property is purchased. (4) Corrects the first-time homebuyer definition related to individuals purchasing as joint tenants or cotenants to replace “none” with “neither” to conform the number of joint tenants or cotenants indicated by the indefinite pronoun to the number indicated by the use of “both” later in the sentence. (5) Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 87 by removing the exemption created by Senate Bill No. 87 for any portion of a conveyance financed through the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.

This Act prohibits food establishments from providing consumers with ready-to-eat food or beverages in polystyrene foam containers or with single-service plastic coffee stirrers, cocktail picks, or sandwich picks. It also prohibits food establishments from providing single-service plastic straws, unless requested by a consumer. These restrictions take effect on July 1, 2025. This Act provides the following exemptions to the prohibitions on single-service plastic implements and polystyrene foam containers: 1. The definition of "polystyrene foam food service packaging" excludes coolers or ice chests used for the processing or shipping of seafood and containers used to contain, transport, or package raw, uncooked, or butchered meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, fruits, or vegetables. 2. The prohibition on plastic straws does not apply to patients or residents of hospitals or long-term care facilities and for plastic straws that are attached to pre-packaged goods, such as juice boxes. 3. The restriction on providing ready-to-eat food in polystyrene foam food service packaging does not apply to any of the following: • Fire companies. • Health-care providers that provide long-term, acute, and outpatient health-care services. • Nonprofit organizations, including religious institutions. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act amends Chapter 25, Title 24 of the Delaware Code relating to the Practice of Pharmacy. The amendments authorize pharmacists to engage in “collaborative pharmacy practice” with one or more “practitioners” meaning individuals who are authorized by law to prescribe drugs in the course of professional practice. Pharmacists may also do so pursuant to a “collaborative pharmacy practice agreement,” which means a written and signed agreement between one or more pharmacists and one or more practitioners that provides for a collaborative pharmacy practice.

According to a recent CDC survey, the COVID pandemic exacerbated an existing mental health crisis for students. One in 5 school aged children has a mental health condition, and 45% of children may have experienced a traumatic event. This bill provides for excused absences for the mental or behavior health of a student and requires that any student taking more than 2 such excused absences will be referred to a behavioral health specialist. This bill provides a supplemental tool to identify students struggling with mental and behavioral health issues and legitimizes these struggles faced by many students. Moreover, this bill makes clear that the mental and behavioral health of students is a priority in this State.