Rep. Mike Ramone

This Act reflects the National Association of Insurance Commissioner’s revisions to the Model Credit for Reinsurance Act. The revisions make the law consistent with provisions of covered agreements with the European Union and United Kingdom with respect to reinsurance collateral requirements. The changes will also provide reinsurers domiciled in National Association of Insurance Commissioners-qualified jurisdictions other than within the EU (currently, Bermuda, Japan and Switzerland) with the possibility of similar reinsurance collateral reductions. This is an accreditation bill.

This bill will provide Delaware students with strong academic credentials and a demonstrated commitment to volunteer public service to receive scholarship monies sufficient to cover the full cost of tuition at Delaware State University. The intent of this bill is to increase the number of students in Delaware who not only attend the University but who successfully complete degree programs.

This Act makes students who attend homeschools eligible for the same services for children with disabilities as students who attend private schools in a manner that allows federal funds to pay for the services. This Act is the result of discussions regarding Senate Bill No. 19, which would make homeschool students eligible for speech therapy services, and accomplishes the goal of Senate Bill No. 19 because through meaningful consultation, speech therapy services are often included in the services provided to students who attend private schools. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act enhances 2 existing agricultural horse racing programs, the Delaware Standardbred Breeder's Program and the Delaware Certified Thoroughbred program, by providing additional funding. Under this Act, horsemen provide half of the additional funds from purse money and the State provides half of the additional funds with matching funds.

Section 1 of the Act amends subsection (b)(1) of section 12A-103 of Title 6 to remove a reference to testamentary trusts that is either a redundancy or otherwise might conflict with new section 3550 of Title 12 (which is a part of the Act). Section 2 of the Act addresses statutes under Chapter 33 of Title 12 and (i) amends section 3315(b) to make clear that a discretionary interest in a trust is not a property right and to define more clearly what constitutes a discretionary interest, and also to make clear that these clarifications do not affect the standard of review applicable to the discretion of a trustee or other fiduciary; (ii) amends section 3326 to expand its application to the resignation of officeholders (such as advisers under section 3313 or designated representatives under section 3339) and not just to the resignation of trustees; (iii) amends section 3327 to expand its application to the removal of officeholders (such as advisers under section 3313 or designated representatives under section 3339) and not just to the removal of trustees, and to permit other officeholders (in addition to trustors and beneficiaries) to petition to remove an officeholder; (iv) amends section 3331 to expand its application to governing instruments (beyond just wills and trust instruments, such that it is not intended to change the statute’s application to wills and trust instruments); (v) amends section 3339 to make clear that a designated representative begins to serve when the representative is appointed (and not merely when authorized) and has accepted the role (whether by written acceptance or through service or other action signifying acceptance), to prioritize appointment methods (that is, to provide that certain appointment methods are available if a designated representative is not appointed under previously-enumerated methods), to define for what purposes a designated representative may be appointed, to provide that the surviving parent or parents or custodial parent of a minor for whom a designated beneficiary has been appointed must be given notice of such appointment, to enable a trustor to appoint a designated representative to represent and bind beneficiaries who are minors or are otherwise described in paragraph (b)(2) of section 3339 in any nonjudicial matter, to enable a beneficiary to appoint a designated representative to represent and bind such beneficiary in any nonjudicial matter, and to provide that a person accepting appointment as a designated representative submits to personal jurisdiction in this State regarding any matter involving the trust (without precluding other methods of obtaining jurisdiction over the designated representative); (vi) amends section 3342 to make clear that, consistent with section 3303 of Title 12, a trustor may opt out of the application of section 3342 by express reference; and (vii) amends section 3344 to make clear that the statute applies unless a governing instrument expressly provides that a trustor may not be reimbursed by the trust for the trustor’s income tax liability, to expand the scope of permissible reimbursement to include county, metropolitan-region, city, local, foreign, and other income taxes (in addition to state income taxes), and to make clear that the statute does not apply if it would eliminate or reduce a marital or charitable deduction available to any person for state or federal income, gift, or estate tax purposes. Section 3 of the Act addresses statutes under Chapter 35 of Title 12 and (i) amends section 3536 to add to the flush language of subsection (c) to provide that a person who becomes a beneficiary of a trust due to the exercise of a power of appointment by someone other than such person is not considered under this title to be a trustor of a trust—even if the person who so became the beneficiary created and funded the trust and granted the power of appointment of another, such that if the trustor did not otherwise retain a beneficial interest in the trust that was otherwise reachable (e.g., the trustor did not name himself as a beneficiary of the trust at the time it was created), the mere fact that some other person exercises a power of appointment to later make the trustor a beneficiary will not create an interest that is reachable by the trustor’s creditors—which change would abrogate the common law relation back doctrine as it pertains to who is to be deemed the trustor of a trust created upon exercise of a power of appointment, if such doctrine were extant in Delaware, although the applicability of the common law relation back doctrine to this particular issue does not appear to have been adjudicated or acknowledged in any decisional case law in Delaware; (ii) amends section 3545 to add a new subsection (c), which confirms that other writings that create, modify, or revoke trusts and that are not described in subsection (a) of section 3545 are validly executed if they are executed in conformity with subsection (a), but also confirms that subsection (c) does not limit the creation, modification, or revocation of a trust by other means that Delaware law permits, and further confirms that subsection (c) does not apply to trusts formed under Delaware’s Statutory Trust Act and other trusts formed for the purpose of consummating a commercial transaction; and (iii) adds a new section 3550 providing that governing instruments and certain other trust-related documents, if validly executed under the sections of the Delaware Code that apply to those documents, may also be executed under Chapter 12A of Title 6 of the Delaware Code (the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act). Section 4 of the Act provides that Sections 2 and 3 apply to trust whenever created.

This resolution congratulates the class 2019-2020 Eagle Scouts for having attained the highest rank one can earn in the Boy Scouts of America.

Currently, blood lead level screening and testing rates are well below what the Division of Public Health would expect them to be based on the risk factors that determine when screening or testing is necessary. This Act simplifies the requirements and process for health-care providers and eliminates confusion that may be causing the low compliance rate for screening or testing. Specifically, this Act does the following: (1) Defines “screening” and “testing” for clarity. (2) Mandates screening, defined as a capillary blood test, at or around 12 and 24 months of age. (3) Clarifies insurance coverage for the costs of compliance with the Act. (4) Directs the Division of Public Health to report on elevated blood lead levels to the General Assembly annually and to develop regulations to implement and enforce the Act within 12 months of being enacted. (5) Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 243 (150th General Assembly) enacted § 10006A of Title 29, which allows an advisory body to hold a virtual meeting, if there is an anchor location that is open to the public, allows any public body to hold public meetings during a state of emergency, and clarified that public bodies must allow a member with a disability to attend a meeting electronically as a reasonable accommodation under § 4504 of Title 6, unless doing so would present an undue burden. Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 243 sunsets on June 30, 2021. During the last year, citizens and members of public bodies have become comfortable with virtual meetings and attendance and participation in public meetings has increased because virtual meetings are more convenient and accessible to many citizens. Thus, this Act makes permanent changes to the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), Chapter 100 of Title 29, that allow any public body to hold a virtual meeting if there is a physical anchor location where the public can attend the meeting in person and other notice and access requirements are met. Specifically, this Act does all of the following: 1. Repeals the current video-conferencing provision of § 10006 of Title 29 and the temporary provisions of § 10006A of Title 29 and replaces these sections with permanent virtual meeting requirements. 2. Maintains the requirement that a public body must allow a member with a disability to attend a meeting electronically as a reasonable accommodation except if doing so imposes an undue burden on a public body whose members are all elected by the public. 3. Requires that a virtual meeting conform to all requirements under FOIA, including adequate notice that includes information on how the public may view and provide comment, if public comment is accepted. 4. Provides that during a state of emergency, or to prevent a public health emergency, all public bodies may hold virtual meetings without an anchor location. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend a charter issued to a municipal corporation.

This Act makes changes to House Bill 202 from the 150th General Assembly creating a pilot program for the Red Clay School District to use external camera systems on their school buses to catch motorists that fail to stop when a school bus is stopped and displaying flashing lamps to take on or discharge school children and assess a civil penalty as punishment. The changes in this bill are necessary to make clear that the Act, which mirrors 21 Del. C. § 4101(d), the State’s Electronic Red Light Safety Program, only creates a civil, not a criminal penalty.

This Act does the following: (1) Removes the requirement that applicants for initial and continuing educator licenses obtain a passing score on an approved performance assessment. (2) In place of the performance assessment requirement, requires professional development and mentoring activities include a focus on acquisition of pedagogical knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge to meet student needs and requires the Department of Education (Department) to establish a committee of stakeholders to gather input and make recommendations on how to achieve professional development and mentoring activities that satisfy the requirements. (3) Removes requirements related to performance assessments, including reporting requirements and rulemaking requirements, from Chapter 12 of Title 14. (4) Allows individuals who serve in educator roles that are not teaching positions to receive their Delaware educator license by changing "teaching experience" to "experience as an educator" in § 1210(d) of Title 14 and § 1211(c) of Title 14. (5) Requires the Department to ensure there are a variety of professional development opportunities across different modes that meet a high standard of quality, including evidence-based programs. (6) In place of the performance assessment requirement for participants in alternative routes for teacher licensure and certification programs and participants in alternative routes to certification programs for teachers of students with disabilities, requires an assessment of program participants' abilities to apply pedagogical skills to meet the needs of students and requires the Department to establish a committee of stakeholders to gather input and make recommendations on how to assess the pedagogical skills of program participants. (7) In place of a performance assessment requirement, requires that educator preparation programs assess prospective educators' ability to apply pedagogical skills to meet student needs and requires the Department to establish a committee of stakeholders to gather input and make recommendations on how to assess the pedagogical skills of program participants. (8) Makes corrections, including standardizing references to the educator evaluation system and changing "certificate" to "license" in places where improperly used. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.