Rep. Ed Osienski

This Act removes the requirement that a psychiatrist be the physician who signs the written certification in support of an applicant's application for medical marijuana and adds anxiety to the list of debilitating conditions which a person can have to be eligible for medical marijuana. This Act also makes technical corrections to the statute.

This Act is intended to implement the recommendations in the December 9, 2015 Report of the Work A Day Earn A Pay Task Force. The Act will create a Work A Day Earn A Pay Public Works Jobs Program in Delaware.

Recognizing a fundamental economic change toward businesses that require innovation, The Honorable John C. Carney, Governor of the State of Delaware, issued Executive Order One on January 18, 2017 creating a Working Group of business and government leaders to study methods to improve coordination between the public and private sectors, attract growing businesses and foster economic development throughout the State. The Governor appointed members of the Working Group representing government, business leaders and the community. The Working Group conducted public meetings in the State to receive input from the public on issues related to business development and retention in the changing economy. The Working Group considered research and input from experts in the area of public/private partnerships as well as statutes and data from other states. The Working Group issued a report to the Governor on April 7, 2017 recommending the establishment of a public/private partnership in Delaware to focus on investment attraction, entrepreneurship and innovation, talent development and retention, and research and analysis. Upon consideration of the Working Group report, the General Assembly intends to appropriate funding for the Public/Private Partnership, a nonprofit public/private partnership comprised of leaders in the public, business and the community to build a stronger entrepreneurial environment in the State. The Public/Private Partnership will focus on leveraging private resources to improve business recruitment, retention and expansion, identify and develop a talented workforce, connecting with the global economy and building a stronger entrepreneurial environment. To ensure public accountability the Partnership will submit to the Governor and the General Assembly tax returns, financial statements, organizational polices and will make available for inspection meeting minutes. To make the most efficient use of available resources, this legislation eliminates the Delaware Economic Development Office because the public/private partnership will be conducting business attraction and development functions formerly performed by that Office. This legislation transfers tourism, the Delaware Motion Picture and Television Commission and duties related to administration and the financial analysis of proposed economic development projects to the Department of State. The transfer will improve efficiency, eliminate redundancy and foster business attraction, innovation, tourism, small business development, business retention, minority, women, disadvantaged and veteran owned businesses. Sections 3 through 21 of this Act simply make conforming changes throughout Title 29 and other titles of the Delaware Code where references to the Delaware Economic Development Office appear. The Division of Small Business, Development and Tourism is referenced in its place. The bill also removes some Code Sections that reference funds and functions that no longer exist.

This bill lowers the current tax rate by .05% for each bracket. The bill creates a new tax bracket at $125,000 with a rate of 7.05% and an additional bracket at $250,000 with a rate of 7.80%. The bill also provides a tiered reduction of the otherwise available itemized deduction based upon the individual's taxable income.

This Act authorizes the Family Court to interview a child outside the presence of the parties for the purpose of obtaining the child's testimony and ascertaining the truth of a matter asserted by a party to a Protection from Abuse proceeding. The Court may permit counsel to be present during the interview and ask the child questions. The Court may also permit a party who is not present for the interview to submit questions of fact for the Court to use in interviewing the child. Interviews under this Act must be made a part of the record.

This Act requires children 2 years of age or younger to be secured in a rear-facing child passenger restraint system, until the child outgrows the maximum weight and height limits designated by the car seat manufacturer or until the child weighs 40 or more pounds or is 40 or more inches tall. The law takes effect 1 year after its enactment into law to allow residents of this state sufficient time to become aware of the rear-facing car seat requirement.

Delaware's Community College System, operated by Delaware Technical and Community College (“the College”), plays a critical role in the State's economy by providing workforce development and transfer education that connects Delawareans with good paying jobs within the State and region. This Act gives the College’s Board of Trustees the authority to issue bonds to finance the cost of major and minor capital improvements, deferred maintenance, and the acquisition of related equipment and educational technology and establishes the Community College Infrastructure Fund (“the Fund”) to pay the principal and interest on such bonds. This Act adopts the county Vo-Tech structure to finance the Fund by authorizing the College's Board of Trustees to collect a local property tax, subject to a cap. All money raised in a county must be placed in a segregated account and spent exclusively on projects in that county; this eliminates any possibility of applying this Act in an unconstitutional manner. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

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 histories are a hindrance to employment, education, housing and credit. This act modifies Delaware’s discretionary expungement provisions to allow more children, and adults with only juvenile records, the ability to petition the Court for an expungement. An adult conviction automatically disqualifies someone from seeking an expungement to their juvenile record. These changes would allow the Court to consider an expungement where a person with a juvenile record has demonstrated rehabilitation. These provisions will enable a greater number of deserving youth, and adults with only juvenile records, the ability to move beyond their past and recognizes that most youth mature out of offending behavior. This legislation builds on a bill passed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers during the 148th General Assembly. Senate Bill 198 streamlined the process for an individual to expunge their juvenile record. This proposed expansion removes certain prohibitions that prevent an individual from ever seeking a discretionary expungement, streamlines the scenarios of which a person with a juvenile record is eligible to seek a discretionary expungement, and creates a fair catch-all provision for those seeking an expungement to their juvenile record in cases where they were found delinquent in multiple cases, but had not been adjudicated or convicted of another crime since. This allows for eligible juveniles, and adults with only juvenile records, to seek discretionary expungements, wherein the Court would decide whether or not a person had rehabilitated.

This concurrent resolution commends the Food Bank of Delaware for its contributions towards ending hunger and resolving the root causes of poverty in the State of Delaware through its increased statewide impact.

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes Ramadan and Muslim residents of this State as they observe Ramadan.