Rep. John A. Kowalko

The Delaware Department of Transportation currently uses a system to repair subdivision roadways in which a unit is dispatched only when a complaint is lodged with the Transportation Management Center. In order to avoid piecemeal repairs that waste valuable resources, the Delaware Department of Transportation will be directed by the Secretary of Transportation to review each subdivision roadway on a consistent basis that is in any subdivision that is at least 10 years old.

Section 1 of this Act increases the aggregate amount of Neighborhood Assistance Tax Credits that can be approved in any 1 fiscal year from $500,000 to $1 million. Section 1 of this Act also makes a technical correction to use “persons,” which is a defined term for purposes of the Neighborhood Assistance Tax Credit, instead of “firms,” which is not defined, and to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Section 2 of this Act provides the Delaware State Housing Authority with funds to administer the Neighborhood Assistance Tax Credit program.

This Act restores the Delaware Prescription Drug Payment Assistance Program (“Program”), which was eliminated in the Fiscal Year 2018 Annual Appropriations Act. This Act replaces Senate Bill 148 and makes the following additional changes: (1) Delays implementation of the Act until January 1, 2019, to coordinate with the Medicare Part D benefit year to enable the Department of Health and Social Services (“Department”) to make necessary system changes. (2) Makes changes to the defined term “prescription drugs.” (3) Removes provisions required to be included in rules and regulations promulgated by the Department. (4) Adds provisions that may be included in rules and regulations promulgated by the Department. (5) Makes technical corrections to conform the provisions of the restored Program to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This bill allows children under the age of 18 to be transferred to the Department of Corrections only after adjudication and an imposition of a sentence of incarceration. Currently, Delaware permits juveniles charged with adult offenses to be held in default of bail in the custody of the Department of Corrections. The trend nationwide is to hold juveniles charged with adult offenses in juvenile facilities pretrial as these facilities provide educational and rehabilitative programs.

This Act provides that all current employees, prospective employees, contractors and subcontractors of the Department of Labor with access to federal tax information shall be subject to appropriate background checks to ensure that the Department of Labor complies with obligations imposed by § 6103(p)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code and by the Internal Revenue Service in Publication 1075.

This Act creates a state mass layoff and plant closing notice requirement law that requires certain larger employers to provide their employees with adequate notice when they plan to go out of business, close a plant, or lay off a large number of employees. This Act requires employers to also notify the Department of planned mass layoffs and plant closings, so the Department can provide dislocated workers with services to assist them in returning to work as soon as possible. This Act imposes greater notice requirements on employers than the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN Act”). This Act authorizes the Department of Labor to investigate violations, conduct administrative hearings for employers who are alleged to have violated this Act, and pursue penalties for failure of an employer to comply with the notice requirements to its employees.

The Public Service Commission conducts an annual review of the process by which Delmarva Power obtains electricity to deliver to its customers. With 100% of supply coming from market based auctions, there has been little need to continue the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) planning process. Under current legislation, Delmarva Power must conduct a complete IRP every two years. The IRP, while helpful in exploring possible changes in long term approaches to electric supply, is an expensive process, the cost of which is added to utility rates. This Bill extends the filing time for future IRP’s to those occasions when Delmarva Power elects to make a significant change in its source of electric supply or as the Commission may direct. This will reduce the customer costs to complete an IRP every two years, along with Commission time and effort for review.

Birth control use is nearly universal among women of reproductive age in the United States and is a key part of preventative health care for women. Access to birth control provides health benefits for women and children, improves women's ability to control whether and when they have a child, and fosters women's ability to participate in education and the workforce. However, the cost of birth control, particularly the higher up-front costs of the more effective, longer-acting birth control methods, is often a barrier to women accessing the birth control they need. This Act codifies the current federal requirement that health insurance plans include coverage for contraceptives and applies this requirement to individual, group, State employee, and public assistance plans. This Act retains the current ability for religious employers to exclude coverage for the insertion and removal and medically necessary examination associated with the use of FDA-approved drugs or devices.

This Act creates the Delaware Advance Scholarship Program (“Program”). The goal of this Act is to encourage Delaware students with intellectual disabilities to pursue studies for a comprehensive certificate or degree at a Delaware institution of higher education in order to promote economic self-sufficiency. This will result in an economic benefit to the State in the form of a more diverse, well-prepared workforce that is less reliant on government support. This Act follows the Higher Education Opportunities Act of 2008, which authorizes comprehensive transition and post-secondary programs as a pathway to higher education for students with intellectual disabilities. The Program will be effective beginning in the 2018 through 2019 academic year.

This bill increases the minimum wage to be paid in this State beginning in 2018 and ending in 2021.