Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton

Of the 57 municipalities in this State, the following 12 municipalities currently have an agreement with the Department of Elections to use the State’s Voter Registration System to determine if a resident of the municipality is eligible to vote in a municipal election: Camden, Delaware City, Dover, Elsmere, Georgetown, Harrington, New Castle, Newark, Smyrna, Townsend, Wilmington, and Wyoming. The residents of the 45 other municipalities are required to register with the municipality before voting in a municipal election. While some municipalities are exploring ending municipal voter registration requirements, this Act would do so for all municipalities as it relates to resident voters. A municipality would continue to be required to maintain municipal voter registration requirements for nonresident voters, as those voters would not be included in the State’s Voter Registration System. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes the month of May 2021 as Mental Health Awareness Month.

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 establishes updated, detailed standards for the practice of hearing aid dispensing. A new scope of practice definition delineates permissible and prohibited activities and identifies when referral to a physician is required. The Board is given the authority to establish by rule and regulation standards for the sale of hearing aids. This Act will provide clarity and guidance for the public and for hearing aid dispensers. These changes track statutory language used in neighboring states, such as Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. This Act clarifies that a speech/language pathologist applicant must present a certificate of clinical competence issued by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Audiologist applicants are not subject to this requirement. The distinction is that ASHA evaluates the speech/language pathologist’s practicum and clinical fellowship, which are requirements for licensure. In contrast, an audiologist applicant is only required to establish receipt of a doctoral degree. This Act revises the reciprocity requirements in the interests of clarity. This Act sets forth requirements for licensure of applicants who were educated outside of the United States. This Act states that a hearing aid applicant may be supervised by either an audiologist or hearing aid dispenser during the training period. This Act amends provisions relating to examination to comport with current practice. This Act provides that audiologists licensed prior to July 10, 2009 do not need to meet the educational requirement of a doctoral degree as long as they have maintained Delaware licensure. This Act requires licensees to update their addresses with the Board. Finally, this Act removes the definitions of audiology aide and speech pathology aide on the basis that the Board does not license aides. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act authorizes the distribution of testing strips to determine the presence of fentanyl or fentanyl-related substances. Fentanyl testing strips could be distributed to the community along with opioid overdose reversal medication as a harm reduction strategy in the opioid addiction crisis. A number of states have authorized fentanyl testing strips distribution in recent years including Maryland, Rhode Island, the District of Columbia, and North Carolina. Twenty-seven states currently provide fentanyl testing strips through needle exchange programs. According to an April 2019 Delaware Health Alert published by the Department of Health and Social Services, fentanyl is a potent opioid that is increasingly being mixed into illicitly sold drugs, often without the buyer’s knowledge. In Delaware, fentanyl was involved in 72% of overdose deaths during 2018, up from 58% in 2017 according to the state’s Division of Forensic Science. During 2018, there were more fatal overdoses than any year on record with 400 deaths. This Act exempts fentanyl testing strips from the drug paraphernalia statute. This Act provides the limitations on liability for lay individuals and organizations in Section 1 of this Act because of the extraordinary epidemic of death that is occurring in Delaware as a result of fentanyl being mixed into illicit drugs. It is similar to liability exemptions under § 8135(b) of Title 10 and § 6801 of Title 16 of the Delaware Code for certain types of volunteers and Good Samaritans and is an exception to the general public policy against civil immunity.

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 Concurrent Resolution creates an Aging-in-Place Working Group that will develop a plan to guide policies designed to promote successful aging-in-place for seniors in Delaware. The group will deliver preliminary recommendations to the General Assembly by March 30, 2022.

Senate Bill No. 132 (SB 132) and Senate Bill No. 110 (SB 110) both revise the requirements for rent increases in manufactured home communities and the dispute resolution process when a rent increase is proposed. Many of the revisions to Chapter 70 of Title 25, which governs manufactured homes on rented lots in manufactured home communities, are identical in both SB 132 and SB 110. The main difference between SB 132 and SB 110 is that SB 110 clarifies when a manufactured home community owner can recover the cost of a capital improvement from the homeowners in the community by making the amount the community owner collects a capital improvement assessment fee that ends when the cost of the capital improvement is recovered, instead of a permanent rent increase. SB 132 does all of the following: 1. Adds definitions and clarifies how often a rent increase may occur or be requested. 2. Revises the requirements for when rent may be increased above the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. 3. Adds disclosure requirements to the rent increase dispute resolution process. 4. Clarifies the legal standard and scope of a court’s review of an arbitrator’s decision. 5. Clarifies when rent increases take effect. 6. Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual Senate Substitute No. 1 for SB 132 differs from SB 132 because it includes the revisions to Chapter 70 of Title 25 that are in SB 110, which are as follows: 1. Repeals the definition of “market rent” because that term is not a factor considered for justifying a rent increase under current law. 2. Clarifies that the amount the community owner collects from a capital improvement assessment fee ends when the cost of the capital improvement is recovered, instead of a permanent rent increase, consistent with a recent ruling by the Supreme Court of Delaware. 3. Adds a corresponding technical change that continues to allow a homeowner or homeowner association to dispute a capital improvement assessment fee under the existing rent increase dispute resolution process. Senate Substitute No. 1 for SB 132 differs from SB 132 and SB 110 as follows: 1. Restores changes in utility charges as a factor that may justify a rent increase above the CPI-U. 2. Reorganizes the notice requirements under § 7053(a) for clarity. 3. Allows a homeowner to receive income and operating expense statements from the community owner for a period of time longer than 3 years upon a showing of good cause. 4. Requires an arbitrator to use the standards in Chapter 70 of Title 25 in making a decision.

This Senate Concurrent Resolutions proclaims April 2021 as "Second Chance Month" in the State of Delaware.

This Resolution recognizes May 17, 2021 as the 67th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.