This Act removes the broad exemption in the Freedom of Information Act for the University of Delaware and Delaware State University and creates the following specific exemptions for some records of public institutions: 1. Confidential letters or statements related to admission, employment, or honors. 2. Proprietary information related to study or research. 3. Personal fundraising strategies relating to and confidential financial and personal information about identifiable donors or prospective donors. 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 corporation for educational purposes sustained in whole or part by the State, including the University of Delaware and Delaware State University.
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This bill creates a pilot program for the Red Clay School District to utilize external camera systems on their school buses to catch motorists that illegally pass school buses and to punish these motorists by issuing them a civil penalty. The purpose of this bill is to protect children as they are in the process of boarding and exiting the school bus and to spread awareness of school bus traffic safety. At least 16 states have implemented similar legislation, including Pennsylvania in 2018. As Red Clay School District already has these cameras in operation, this program grants the authority to begin issuing violations to motorist that illegally pass school buses in their district.
Individuals who are at very high risk of getting HIV can take pre-exposure prophylaxis (“PrEP”) medication to reduce the risk of HIV transmission. PrEP medication reduces the risk of HIV transmission by up to 99% if taken daily. This Act prohibits discrimination because an individual takes PrEP medication in the issuance or renewal of disability, long-term care, and life insurance.
This Act allows any qualified voter evidencing a desire to vote by mail in writing to the State Elections Commission to vote by mail in primary, general, and special federal elections. The State Elections Commission shall administer the program, creating rules and regulations that allow processing and scanning of mail ballots ahead of Election Day without tabulation until Election Day, dropping off mail ballots at any polling place on Election Day and dropping off mail ballots in a secure drop box of each county Department of Elections office before and leading up to Election Day.
This Act is the first leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution to prohibit the imposition of the death penalty. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly when the General Assembly amends the Delaware Constitution.
This Act establishes employment practices for call centers, including: • Requiring that a call center immediately notify the Secretary of the Department of Labor (“Secretary”) if staffing levels fall below 70% of customer volume of communications, based on the call center’s previous 6-month average volume. • Requiring that a call center notify the Secretary at least 90 days prior to relocating the call center or transferring 1 or more facilities or operating units comprising of at least 20% of a call center’s total operating volume of communications as measured against the previous 12-month average volume of the operation. • Establishing a civil penalty of up to $7,500 per day for each day an employer violates notification requirements. The civil penalty is collectible by the Secretary, and the Secretary has the discretion to waive the penalty. • Requiring the Secretary to compile and maintain a list of employers who provide notification required by this Act. •Requiring the Secretary to update the list, make the list available to the public, and post the list prominently on the Department of Labor website. • Prohibiting an employer that is added to the list from receiving a direct or indirect State grant, guaranteed loan, tax benefit, or other financial support for 36 months after being added to the list. Grants for specified training programs or other employment assistance are exempted. • Requiring an employer that has been added to the list to remit to the appropriate governmental entity the unamortized value of a direct or indirect State grant, guaranteed loan, tax benefit, or other financial support that the State governmental entity provided to the employer. Grants for specified training programs or other employment assistance are exempted. • Providing that when a State department or agency makes or awards a contract for call center service, the department or agency shall grant preference to qualified businesses. “Qualified business” is defined as a business that is located in and employs residents of this State. • Requiring the Secretary to promulgate regulations that identify qualifying businesses and establish limits on the amount of preference granted to qualified businesses. • Specifying that nothing in this Act may be construed as permitting the withholding or denial of payments such as unemployment benefits, disability benefits, or worker retraining or readjustment benefits for certain employees. This Act applies to the relocation of a call center or transfer of a facility or operating unit of a call center that occurs after the effective date of this Act. And, this Act takes effect on the first day of the month 6 months after the date of enactment.
This bill clarifies that the definition of employees who receive gratuities also includes employees that receive tips, that these employees earn more than 50% of their income from tips or gratuities. This bill clarifies that employers may continue to pay a tipped minimum wage to primary direct service employees under this bill. Employers cannot direct employees to engage in tip pooling in Delaware—tip pooling arrangements must be controlled by the employees themselves. It also clarifies that tips automatically added to a bill or added to credit card charges are to be treated like tips or gratuity and must be paid by the employer directly to the employee at the next pay period as opposed to being held by the employer waiting to receive payment from the credit card company and that the employer may not deduct service fees from the employees tips or gratuities.
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.
Current Delaware regulations provide that transportation benefits must be provided for students in grades K through 6 who live 1 or more miles from the schools to which district administrators would normally assign them. In grades 7 through 12, the same students are entitled to transportation benefits if they live 2 or more miles from their assigned public schools. See 14 Del. Admin. C. § 1150-12.1. This Act expands transportation benefits to students in grades 7 and 8 who live 1 or more miles from the public schools to which district administrators would normally assign them. This Act takes effect 1 year after enactment. It also and makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
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 licensed deadly weapons dealers and consumers in Delaware The Delaware Suicide Prevention Coalition will oversee the Gun Shop Project and include the Gun Shop Project’s annual report in the Coalition’s annual report. The Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, which staffs 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.