Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton

This Act provides that the Department of Correction must provide a copy of all policies relating to the accrual and forfeiture of good time to inmates, as well as a quarterly written accounting of good time credit earned and/or forfeited. The requirement that all accrued time must be forfeited upon conviction of any crime within custody, the complete forfeiture will apply only to commission of felonies. Forfeiture of good times for rule violations is changed to apply only to Class I disciplinary violations. The Act also updates § 4322 of Title 11 to allow dissemination of Department of Correction policies and procedures to inmates and the public where such dissemination would not endanger safety or security of a correctional facility, corrections staff, inmates, or the public.

Senate Bill No. 208 clarifies that an employer is liable to an employee for liquidated damages if the employer does not make wages available on the next payday after an employee quits, resigns, is discharged, suspended, or laid off. Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 208 revises these clarifications so it is clear which sections of existing law, §§ 1104 and 1107 of Title 19, provide the basis for an employer to have reasonable grounds to dispute that an employee is owed wages, and like SB 208, does not make any changes to existing law regarding when an employer may withhold or divert any portion of an employee’s wages: 1. Section 1104 of Title 19 requires that in a dispute over the amount of wages, the employer must pay all wages conceded by the employer to be due and the employee may pursue a claim for any balance claimed. 2. Section 1107 of Title 19 prohibits an employer from withholding or diverting any portion of an employee’s wages unless required or empowered to do so by state or federal law. Since 1979, Regulation 1328 of Title 19 of the Delaware Administrative Code has provided that an employer may, under written agreement, withhold wages for a cash advance or the value of goods and services, but withholding wages for damaged or unreturned property is a violation of § 1107 of Title 19. Specifically, Senate Substitute No. 1 for SB 208 differs from SB 208 by doing the following: 1. In subsection (a), includes the changes from Senate Amendment No. 1 to SB 208, which clarify the manner that final wages earned by a former employee must be provided and a date by which that payment must be made. The date by which an employer must pay final wages changes current law by extending the time, allowing an employer to make this payment the later of the next regular pay cycle or 3 days after the last day the employee worked. 2. In subsection (b), clarifies that §§ 1104 and 1107 of Title 19 provide the reasonable grounds that may be a basis for an employer to dispute that an employee is owed wages. 3. In subsection (c), revises the correction of the grammar in existing law so that it is clear that an employer is not in violation of Chapter 11 of Title 19 if the employer is unable to prepare payroll due to a labor dispute, power failure, weather catastrophe, epidemic, fire, or explosion. Like SB 208, this Substitute Bill also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual and revises the section heading to accurately describe the content of the section.

This Act prohibits the seller of consumer goods or services from refusing to accept cash payment, except in limited circumstances. Sales covered by this Act are those made at a retail store through an in-person transaction. The Act does not apply to sales of goods or services by electric or gas utilities, telephone, mail or internet sales, or for services provided at parking lots or garages. It creates graduated civil penalties for violations and provides consumers a private right of action to recover double damages, including consequential damages, for a second violation of the law and triple damages for subsequent violations. The Division of Consumer Protection has authority to enforce the law.

Recognizing the negative impact of criminal justice imposed financial obligations on defendants has led to reforms across the country to reduce the financial burdens that disproportionally impact the poor. This type of debt and the collateral consequences of suspending a driver’s license negatively impacts the rehabilitation of those in the criminal justice system and pushes those without an ability to pay further into the system unnecessarily. This Act does all of the following: (1) Prohibits a court from imposing a fine, fee, cost, or assessment on children without the means to pay them. (2) Provides the courts with the discretion to waive, modify, or suspend any fine, fee, cost, or assessment. (3) Prohibits a court or the Department of Transportation from suspending a driver’s license for nonpayment of a fine, fee cost, assessment, or restitution and from charging a penalty, assessment, or fee to a defendant for the cancellation of a warrant issued due to the defendant’s nonpayment of a fine, fee, cost, assessment, or restitution. (4) Prohibits a court from imposing an additional fee on a defendant for payments that are made at designated periodic intervals or late, or when probation is ordered to supervise a defendant’s payment. Nothing in this Act precludes the court from filing contempt charges against defendants who willfully fail to pay their fines. (5) Requires the Judiciary and the Delaware Criminal Justice Information System to report on the sum collected from fines, fees, costs, assessments, and restitution and make a public report of these totals. (6) Eliminates the Public Defender fee and the Probation Supervision fee. The collections from these fees currently go to the General Fund. (7) Creates the Criminal Legal System Imposed Debt Study Group to review the impact that court imposed financial obligations have on defendants and victims and make recommendations to promote access, fairness, and transparency in the imposition and collection of court imposed financial obligations. (8) Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act adds victims of human trafficking to the Address Confidentiality Act. Under this program, certain crime victims are provided a substitute address by the Department of Justice so as to protect the participant’s actual address from public disclosure. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act increases the civil penalty for violating the parking regulations in § 4180 from not less than $10 nor more than $25 to not less than $100 nor more than $500. This Act also increases the minimum fine for violating the requirements of Chapter 41 relating to size or weight of a vehicle or a combination of vehicles or restrictions regarding parking in residence districts from not less than $28.75 nor more than $230 for a first offense to not less than $100 and not more than $500 for a first offense. For a subsequent offense the penalty is increased from to not less than $115 nor more than $575 to not less than $400 and not more than $2,000. This Act allows the Secretary to prohibit or restrict the stopping, standing, or parking of any trailer, semi-trailer, or recreational trailer on roadways or sections of roadways. The Act requires the Department to provide a list of roadways or sections of roadways for which it has prohibited or restricted standing or parking to DSHS and law enforcement agencies across the state. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act establishes the Racial Equity Consortium (“Consortium”) for the purposes of studying and making recommendations to address the disparities and inequities faced by persons of color in this State. The African American Task Force, established by Senate Bill No. 260 of the 150th General Assembly (§ 39 of Chapter 243 of Volume 82 of the Laws of Delaware), recommended that the Consortium be established. The Consortium is charged, in part, with working to implement and continuing to study the findings of the Task Force. The Consortium’s membership includes representatives of organizations that are currently working on issues of racial justice to leverage existing resources and efforts, and to promote collaboration.

The societal implications of technological developments are pervasive, and the reach and influence of digital media platforms continue to expand. Media literacy skills are necessary for citizens to safely, responsibly, and critically consume and use social media and other forms of media. In addition, media literacy education prepares students to make informed civic decisions that affect them, their families, their communities, and the world. This Act requires the Department of Education to develop and maintain evidence-based media literacy standards for use by school districts and charter schools serving students in grades kindergarten through 12. The standards and materials must be age-appropriate and must address appropriate, responsible, and healthy online behavior. This Act is known as "The Digital Citizenship Education Act".

This Act establishes the Delaware Expanding Access for Retirement and Necessary Saving (“EARNS”) program to serve as a vehicle through which eligible employees may, on a voluntary basis, provide for additional retirement security through a State-facilitated retirement savings program in a convenient, cost effective, and portable manner. The EARNS program will be designed to serve small businesses who are unable to offer retirement plans to employees due to the cost and administrative burden. Because there are documented wealth gaps in Delaware, disproportionately impacting women and people of color, a state-facilitated savings plan aims to alleviate barriers small employers face in offering options, close the wealth gap among low to modest wage earners and keep Delaware competitive with neighboring states by attracting talented workers to Delaware. A state-sponsored savings plan, funded by employees, facilitated by employers, and overseen by the State, will offer one solution to the quickly emerging crises stemming from generations of workers without adequate savings. The Act creates the Delaware EARNS Program Board to oversee initial design and implementation of the program. The board will be disbanded no later than December 31, 2025, at which point all duties and functions of the board will be transferred to and assumed by the Plans Management Board. The effective date of the Act is contingent upon an appropriation by the General Assembly necessary to implement the Program. This Act also makes technical changes to the existing law to make it conform to the standards of the Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act will amend the Delaware Code relating to the powers of the Delaware Higher Education Office and the state authorization of private postsecondary institutions. The intent of the Act is to increase consumer protections for students enrolled in private postsecondary institutions as it relates to student loans, distance education, and predatory practices. The Act will also clarify the current functions of the Delaware Higher Education Office relating to student support for transitions into postsecondary education and execution of state financial aid programs through the elimination of functions that are no longer under the purview of the Delaware Higher Education Office. This Act establishes responsibilities for certain postsecondary institutions, private schools, and trade schools prior to ceasing operation. This Act changes the penalty for an individual violating chapter 85 from a fine not to exceed $500 to a fine of a minimum of $500 for each offense and changes the penalty for a person violating chapter 85 from a fine not to exceed $1,000 to a fine of a minimum of $1000 for each offense. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Finally, this Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 11 of Article VIII of the Delaware constitution requires the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to impose a fee.