The purpose of this Act is to achieve 2 goals: (1) Allow a person who is 18 years or older to serve alcoholic liquors or otherwise work in a taproom if the taproom has separate dining facilities that seat at least 12 people, provides complete meals, does not have a history of violating a provision of Title 4 or related regulations or being convicted of committing a crime under Title 4, and has been approved by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner (“Commissioner”) as meeting these requirements. (2) Allow a person who is under the age of 21 years to enter or remain in a taproom until 9:00 p.m. if the person is accompanied by a parent or legal guardian and the taproom has separate dining facilities that seat at least 12 people, provides complete meals, has been found by the Commissioner to have no grounds to refuse a license under § 543 of Title 4, and has been approved by the Commissioner as meeting these requirements. Under this Act, a person who is under the age of 21 years and enters or remains in a taproom that has been approved by the Commissioner under this Act may not be fined if the taproom is out of compliance with the approval. This Act provides the Commissioner with the authority to refuse to grant an approval to a taproom under this Act if any of the grounds for license refusal under § 543 of Title 4 exist.
Sponsored bills
The Delaware Marijuana Control Act regulates and taxes marijuana in the same manner as alcohol. It allows adults over the age of 21 to legally possess and consume under 1 ounce of marijuana for personal use. It does not permit people to grow their own marijuana. Section 1: Amends Chapter 47 of Title 16 to provide that the offenses and penalties under Uniform Controlled Substances Act do not apply to marijuana-related conduct allowed under the Delaware Marijuana Control Act or the Delaware Medical Marijuana Act, Chapter 49A of Title 16. Section 2: Amends § 4764 of Title 16 to eliminate any penalty for possessing 1 ounce or less of marijuana for individuals over the age of 21 but maintains the existing civil penalty for possession of 1 ounce or less for adults age 18 to 21. Section 3: Amends § 4902A of Title 16 so that the definition of a registered safety compliance facility includes not just marijuana produced for medical use but also marijuana produced under the Delaware Marijuana Control Act. Section 4: Amends § Chapter 4 of Title 4 to expand DATE’s duties and powers to the Delaware Marijuana Control Act. Section 5: This Act creates the Delaware Marijuana Control Act. Subchapter I contains definitions and general provisions. Where definitions or analogous provisions exist in the Delaware Code, the definitions are referenced and the language from existing statutes is used. This section of the Act permits individuals over age 21 to possess, use, purchase, or transport 1 ounce (28 grams) or less of marijuana, no more than 5 grams of which may be concentrated, by individuals 21 years of age or older if the individuals are in compliance with this chapter. It permits the operation of marijuana businesses if they operate under licenses granted under Chapter 49A of Title 16, but imposes the same limits on hours and holiday sales as apply to sales of alcohol. It prohibits the use of marijuana in public, by drivers or passengers in vehicles, and prohibits the smoking of marijuana anywhere that smoking tobacco or ecigarettes is not permitted. Marijuana may not be sold in an establishment licensed to sell alcohol. Employers and some owners of residential housing can prohibit the use of marijuana. There are specific provisions imposing the same penalties as with alcohol sales, for individuals under the age of 21 using false identification to purchase marijuana, and for businesses that fail to verify the age of marijuana consumers. This Act creates the Delaware Marijuana Control Act Oversight Committee. This Oversight Committee will coordinate the implementation of this Act with the Medical Marijuana Program, the Division of Public Health, the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, and the public. The Oversight Committee will review the effectiveness of the Delaware Marijuana Control Act in regard to the safe operation of facilities licensed under this Act, the impact of this Act on public safety, and the impact of this Act on public health. The Commissioner must submit an annual report to the Governor and the members of the General Assembly setting forth all matters of interest and all statistics concerning marijuana regulation and control in the State including: the number of licenses of each variety issued with the State; including the name and address of each person licensed to cultivate, manufacture, or sell marijuana or marijuana products in the State; the amount of marijuana and marijuana products sold within the State; the number of licenses of each kind granted and the number cancelled during the year, and the outcomes and effective of the issuance of social equity licenses. Subchapter II creates the Marijuana Commissioner and Appeals Commission. The Commissioner has the power to establish health and safety regulations for marijuana cultivation that are consistent with applicable rules and regulations established by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the Department of Agriculture. The Commissioner must consult with the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement before adopting or establishing policies that concern enforcement. Finally, they must coordinate with the Division of Small Business, Development, and Tourism so that potential businesses licensed under this Act have access to programs, particularly those that support small businesses owned by minorities, women, and veterans. Subchapter III sets up the regulations and licenses under the Delaware Marijuana Control Act. The Marijuana Commissioner has the authority to adopt regulations to implement this Act and includes specific requirements that marijuana establishments must meet to obtain licenses. Regulations must require that products containing marijuana use of a symbol and a standard measurement to be used on all marijuana products so they are easily identified as containing marijuana and consumers can identify the amount of marijuana in different products; be in opaque, child-resistant packaging; and contain a warning label explaining evidence-based harms from consuming marijuana, including the impact on developing brains. The regulations must also contain security requirements, testing requirements, advertising restrictions, and require that food products comply with State food safety laws. There are separate licensing requirements for retail marijuana stores, marijuana testing facilities, marijuana cultivation facilities, and marijuana product manufacturing facilities. Licensing requirements also differ between open licenses, social equity licenses, and microbusiness licenses. The application fee is $5,000 for open licenses, $3,000 for microbusiness licenses, social equity licensees and microbusiness licensees. There is a $10,000 biennial fee for most open licenses, with reduced licensing fees for microbusinesses and social equity licenses. Cultivation licenses are determined square footage of the grow rates. As part of the competitive scoring process the Commissioner will use to determine which applicant may obtain licenses to operate each type of marijuana establishment, applicants for open licenses will submit an environmental and sustainability plan, as well as attestations affirming that (1) the applicant has a project labor agreement with a bona fide labor organization, and (2) the applicant has or will utilize a project labor agreement. Subchapter III establishes the criteria for a social equity applicant, requires the Commissioner to develop a financial assistance and technical assistance programming to aid social equity applicants. It also establishes the criteria for a microbusiness license. Subchapter VII provides the Commission the authority to refuse approval of changes in the ownership, officers, or directors, financial interest or lease in connection with any license. The subchapter also details the requirements when there is a change in ownership of a license or licensee, a change in officers and directors, and changes in the financial interest of a license or licensee. Subchapter VIII creates the Marijuana Regulation Fund. This fund will consist of fees collected, penalties imposed, and taxes collected under this Act. It creates the marijuana control enforcement tax on retail marijuana in the amount of 15% that will be appropriated as determined by the General Assembly. Section 6: Creates a State tax deduction for all ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred by a marijuana establishment to reflect the inability of a business licensed under this Act to deduct these expenses from federal taxes and thus state taxes. This creates a more level playing field with other businesses. Section 7: Provides that the initial regulations required under this Act be adopted not later than 12 months after the effective date of this Act. Section 8: This section allows for the expungement of prior marijuana related offenses as long as the individual has no convictions for violent felonies. Section 9: Removes possession of marijuana from the list of activities that prohibits a person from at the same time, possessing a handgun.
This Act expands the eligibility for Line-of-Duty disability benefits to all firefighters or emergency medical technicians (EMT) who are a member of a volunteer or municipal fire department in this State or a designated first responder, including firefighters and EMTs who are volunteers, partly paid or full-time employees, plus all fire service instructors or fire marshals employed by this State. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This bill extends the amount of years an identification card is valid from four (4) to eight (8) years. This bill is necessary for the Division of Motor Vehicles to maintain consistent business processes. The driver license is currently valid for eight (8) years, and this change would maintain consistency with the driver license requirement.
In 2009, New Hampshire was the first state to develop a statewide "Gun Shop Project," reaching out to gun shops regarding the role they can play in suicide prevention. In the years since, at least 21 other states have implemented similar campaigns. This Act establishes the Delaware Gun Shop Project. The Gun Shop Project's primary purpose is to develop, create, and provide suicide prevention education materials and training, to be made available for dealers and consumers of licensed deadly weapons in Delaware. The Delaware Suicide Prevention Coalition will oversee the Gun Shop Project and include the Project's annual report in the Coalition's annual report. The Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, which staff the Coalition, will staff the Gun Shop Project. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act creates the position of Deputy Commissioner of Correction.
This Act clarifies that a lay individual who administers naloxone under the Community-Based Naloxone Access Program is protected from civil liability for rendering emergency care under § 6801 of Title 16, the general Good Samaritan law.
This Act permits the extension of special education and related services to those students with a disability who turn 21 during the 2020-2021 school year to address unfinished learning as a result of the pandemic which resulted in the COVID-19 Declaration of a State of Emergency for the State of Delaware Due to a Public Health Threat declared by the Governor on March 12, 2020. The IEP for the child must be revised to reflect the specific basis for extending services and the specific education and related services that will be provided.
This Act creates the following new tax brackets: at $125,000, with a rate of 7.10%, at $250,000, with a rate of 7.85%, and at $500,000, with a rate of 8.6%.
This Act reduces risks to the environment and public health by doing all of the following: 1. Prohibiting the sale of containers, food service products, or packing material made of expanded polystyrene. 2. Prohibiting food establishments and public schools from providing ready-to-eat food and beverages in expanded polystyrene containers. 3. Limiting the use of single-service plastic items in food establishments. This Act allows restaurants to provide plastic straws at the request of a customer and does not apply to containers where the expanded polystyrene is wholly encased in more durable material. The term “food” includes beverages, under the Delaware Food Code. In addition, this Act encourages food establishments not to use or sell food that is pre-packaged in expanded polystyrene containers. This Act takes effect beginning July 1, 2022, except for public schools, for which it takes effect beginning with the 2022 – 2023 school year.