Rep. Bill Carson

This Act clarifies what constitutes a sawmill in the State of Delaware and adds definitions related to agriculture and silviculture. This Act recognizes forest products as unadulterated materials and makes clear their importance to support a thriving industry that maintains sustainable and healthy forests. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

The Department of Agriculture recently responded to an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza impacting Delaware poultry farms in coordination with agencies and officials from Delaware, Maryland, and USDA APHIS, as well as individual farmers and independent contractors. In connection with that response, the Department received or drafted certain information regarding persons, animals, land, and emergency response plans that should be confidential. This Act will help to protect the safety and security of individuals, agricultural operations, and animals and avoid any vulnerabilities that disclosure poses on the control and eradication of disease among animal species. This Act also revises Title 29 to identify information regarding the control of disease as defined in § 106 of Title 3 as not being a public record under the Freedom of Information Act.

The Delaware Entertainment Job Act is intended to encourage jobs creation, artistic endeavors and investment in the film, television, esports and videogame industry in the State of Delaware, and the attendant benefits for the economy and job growth.  Delaware is one of the only states in the Mid-Atlantic and country without some form of tax credit at a time when production of original content for streaming and at theaters is at an all-time high. Thirty-three states have some sort of production incentive.   This legislation will provide for a thirty-percent, transferable tax credit for an investment in the state in a film, television, esports or videogame production. All qualified productions will be required to have an audit of their expenditures following the completion of production in the state before any credits will be awarded. Further, all qualified productions will be required to provide training through an internship program so that citizens may be able to gain a valuable trade. The credits will be administered by the Delaware Film, Television, and Digital Entertainment Office in cooperation with Department of Finance.

This resolution proclaims June 19, 2022 as Juneteenth Independence Day in Delaware and encourages the people of Delaware to reflect upon the significant roles and many contributions of African Americans and to celebrate this day with appropriate activities and events.

This Act narrows the meaning of “firearm” for purposes of the Delaware Criminal Code by aligning the definition of “firearm” with the definition in the federal criminal background check law. The reference to a BB gun is no longer necessary because a BB gun does not use an explosive force to propel a projectile. “Firearm” was defined in the Criminal Code for the first time in 1983 by Senate Bill No. 13, as amended, 132nd General Assembly, 64 Del. Laws, c. 17 (“Senate Bill No. 13”). Senate Bill No. 13 defined “firearm” to include “any weapon from which a shot, projectile or other object may be discharged by force of combustion, explosive, gas and/or mechanical means, whether operable or inoperable. It does not include a BB gun.” This definition is substantially the same as the definition for “firearm” in the Delaware Criminal Code today. During the Senate floor debate on Senate Bill No. 13, Senator Berndt noted the expansive nature of the definition due to the inclusion of “by . . . mechanical means,” which he noted meant that the definition would include cross bows and slingshots. Because of Senate Bill No. 13’s placement of “firearm” in the general definition section for the Delaware Criminal Code, the definition applied throughout the Delaware Criminal Code. When the Delaware Criminal Code was adopted in 1972 there were 9 mentions of “firearm” in the Delaware Criminal Code. Today, there are 194 mentions of “firearm” in the Delaware Criminal Code (Part I of Title 11). As the number of mentions of “firearm” has increased, it has done so with the definition of “firearm” as a backdrop, meaning that these new mentions have intentionally or unintentionally adopted the definition of “firearm.” Research reveals no other state with a similar definition of “firearm” in its laws. While at least 2 states had previously had a similar definition, those definitions were removed by their legislatures in 2015. In 1 of those states, Michigan, legislative history indicates the definition was changed as part of the state’s efforts to align its definitions of firearms with the definition found in federal law governing the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), the system through which criminal history checks are performed. For purposes of NICS, firearm is defined to mean as follows: “(A) any weapon (including a starter gun) which will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive; (B) the frame or receiver of any such weapon; (C) any firearm muffler or firearm silencer; or (D) any destructive device. Such term does not include an antique firearm.” See 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(3).

This bill increases the amount of the tax credit for active members of volunteer fire, ambulance and rescue service companies and their auxiliaries from $500 to $1,000.

This Act allows the Delaware Standardbred Breeder’s Fund Board to promulgate rules and regulations necessary or appropriate to implement or clarify the statutes related to the Standardbred Breeder’s Fund Program.

The Bill expands the availability of free feminine hygiene products at all public and charter schools.

This resolution congratulates the class 2021 Eagle Scouts for having attained the highest rank one can earn in the Boy Scouts of America.

This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment that would prohibit the regular session of the General Assembly from extending beyond 5:00 p.m. on the last day of June, unless the session is recalled by the Governor or the presiding officers of both Houses. This changes the time beyond which a regular session of the General Assembly may not extend from midnight on June 30 to 5:00 p.m., which changes the time at which the presiding officers of both Houses must act to recall the General Assembly into special session. This means the General Assembly no longer has to remain in session until midnight to recall itself into special session. This Act does not change the date of or process for “final adjournment,” as defined in Opinion of the Justices, 175 A.2d 543, 545 (Del. 1961) (“‘[F]inal adjournment’ . . . means the adjournment sine die of the second regular session, or, in the absence of such adjournment, the extinguishment of the particular General Assembly by reason of expiration of the terms of office of the members.”). In addition, this Act contemplates that each House will continue its traditional practice of recessing to the call of the chair. 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 to amend the Delaware Constitution.