This Act seeks to establish the Office of State Inspector General in Delaware. The governor would nominate a candidate to serve as inspector general, with the Senate needing to confirm the nomination. The term of office for the post would be five years. The inspector general created under this act would be charged with investigating complaints of waste, fraud, abuse or corruption regarding state employees or state executive branch agencies. State agencies would be required to cooperate with any investigation conducted by the office of inspector general, including full access to the personnel, records, and the premises under agency control. The inspector general would have subpoena powers and would employ police officers for the purpose of conducting potential criminal investigations. The office of inspector general would be mandated to share general audit and investigation reports with the public, excluding only that information needed to comply with Delaware confidentiality laws or which might compromise an ongoing criminal investigation. Audits, investigations, inspections and reviews conducted by the office of inspector general would be subject to independent quality assurance reviews every three years, with the results shared with the public. This Act would become effective 180 days after it is enacted and upon appropriate funding being budgeted for the office’s operations.
Sponsored bills
House Bill No. 96 prohibits multiple service charges for residential trash collection service except if the charge is for any of the following: 1. Late or nonpayment of an amount due. 2. Replacement of a container. 3. Collecting waste that cannot be collected using the container. House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 96 differs from House Bill No. 96 as follows: 1. It clarifies that a bill may include multiple charges if the charges in addition to basic rate if each additional charge is in compliance with § 2737 of Title 6. 2. Requires that a contract list the basic rate and each additional charge and the amount of the charge. 3. Requires that all charges in a bill that includes a fee allowed under § 2737 of Title 6 be itemized. 4. Requires 90 days notice before a new fee is added, the amount of a fee increases, or the base rate increases and allows a consumer to terminate or not renew the contract with no penalty or additional fee. 5. Clarifies the applicability of this Act. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Concurrent Resolution encourages Delaware sports organizations to utilize services offered by the U.S. Center for SafeSport. This Concurrent Resolution describes the authority of SafeSport and its initiatives to protect athletes in every sport.
This bill increases the penalties for a second offense of a firearm owner’s failure to report the loss of theft of a firearm pursuant to the statute from just a civil penalty to a Class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by a fine of up to $2,300 and incarceration of up to 1 year.
This Act requires candidates for either House of the General Assembly to obtain a criminal history background check to ensure that they have not been convicted of or plead guilty to any crime that, per the Delaware state constitution, disqualifies them from holding said office. The results of the background check are provided to the Commissioner of the Department of Elections who has the duty to review the results and ensure that individuals are qualified under § 21, Article II of the Delaware Constitution before the individual may be considered a candidate for election to either House of the General Assembly. The Act makes any and all information revealed by the background check obtained by the Commissioner of Elections confidential and not a public record. The cost of the criminal history background check is the responsibility of the candidate and may be paid from campaign funds.
This Act creates additional partnership and employment opportunities, as opposed to the current framework of employment-only opportunities within the corporate employment setting, and gives the same parity to Delaware physical therapists, physicians, and podiatrists as exists in all other 49 states who already permit this. This Act permits physical therapists, physicians, and podiatrists to organize as a professional corporation on the basis that they are licensed professionals "legally authorized to render... qualified related professional services." Further, this Act enables professional fees to be divided with physical therapists, physicians, and podiatrists who practice within the same corporate entity. Finally, this Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act increases funding for preschool children with disabilities who are not counted in either “intensive” or “complex” special education units by revising the current ratio of 12.8 students per unit to 8.4 students per unit for children 3 years of age and older enrolled in a preschool program. This is the same ratio that will be in effect for K-3 basic special education after the passage of HB86 in 2021. The Act also creates a new “preschool 2” unit with a ratio of 7 students per unit. This is to accommodate 2-year-olds with disabilities who are enrolled in school district programs. The Office of Child Care Licensing requires a 1:7 ratio for classrooms that have 2-year-olds in them. The preschool funding change is effective July 1, 2022.
This Act creates the Delaware Education Right to Know Act to give parents, guardians, and other education stakeholders more information and opportunities to evaluate public and charter school education in Delaware and to express concerns to school officials.
This Act allows Delaware voters who are not affiliated with a political party to vote in a political party's primary election. Currently there are approximately 170,000 registered Delaware voters who are not affiliated with a political party. Members of a political party are not allowed to crossover and vote in another political party's primary election.
This Resolution expresses the General Assembly's strong support for Ukraine in its war against the invasion by the Russian Federation (“Russia”) and for the severe economic sanctions imposed on Russia by President Biden's administration. This Resolution further demands that Russia immediately cease its violent, illegal, and immoral assault on the sovereign nation of Ukraine.