Rep. Helene M. Keeley

This bill creates a new type of liquor license for beer gardens. Beer gardens are outdoor venues that operate at least 5 months, of each year and are independent of any other licensed establishment. The licensing and operation of beer gardens provides new business creation opportunities and a chance to enhance retail areas in Delaware. However, the General Assembly is also mindful of concerns that by creating a license for outdoor space, existing businesses could be affected. For this reason, the definition of a beer garden includes stringent requirements that will limit the number of establishments that could be eligible for a license issued pursuant to this Act. The biennial fee for a beer garden license is set at $2,000.

This Bill adds 3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)cyclohexyl]-N-methylbenzamide (U-47700) to Schedule I of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. U-47700, also known as “Pink,” is a synthetic opioid recently encountered by law enforcement and public health officials and is being abused for its opioid properties. It is available over the Internet and is marketed as a “research chemical.” The safety risks to users are significant and the public health risks include large numbers of drug treatment admissions, emergency room visits and fatal overdoses. On November 14, 2016, the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency temporarily placed U-47700 in Schedule I for a two-year period, finding that this synthetic opioid has a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States and lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision. By Emergency Order dated December 15, 2016, the Secretary of State temporarily placed U-47700 in Schedule I. This Order is effective for 120 days. The permanent addition of U-47700 to Schedule I is required in the interest of public protection.

This Act extends the Office of Foreclosure Prevention and Automatic Residential Foreclosure Mediation Program an additional two years, from January 18, 2018 until January 18, 2020. The Office of Foreclosure Prevention and the Automatic Residential Foreclosure Mediation Program were originally scheduled to sunset on January 18, 2014, two years after their enactment. The sunset date was extended to January 18, 2018 (six years) in 2013 via 79 Del. Laws c. 27 (House Bill No. 40, as amended by Senate Amendment No. 1, 147th General Assembly).

This bill would require that a resident 65 years of age or older claiming a tax credit against school taxes must be a resident of the state for at least 10 years before qualifying for such credit. The current requirement is only for 3-year residency. This bill makes a conforming change in the Code provision governing reimbursements from the General Fund. It also eliminates language related to 2001 taxes, which is no longer relevant. This change will be effective for tax and fiscal years after January 1, 2017. Those residents who would have become eligible over the last three years under the prior version of the statute will remain eligible.

This legislation amends the Delaware Code to establish the Department of Human Resources by transferring various divisions and other organizational units from the Office of Management and Budget to the newly established Department of Human Resources. The powers and duties of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Secretary of the Department of Human Resources are aligned to reflect the transfers of the divisions and other organizational units of the newly established Department of Human Resources. Various sections of the Delaware Code are amended to reflect changes in titles and nomenclature. This bill also establishes Office of Women's Advancement and Advocacy. This bill sets forth that the Office of Women's Advancement and Advocacy will be a unit of the Department of Human Resources. The purpose of this Office is to promote the equality of women in all areas of society. Functions of the Office include fostering and facilitating collaborations between all facets of government and private businesses to eliminate gender-based bias and discriminatory practices, study and report on the status of women in the State, compile and analyze statistics, advise executive and legislative bodies on the effect of proposed legislation, make specific legislative proposals and submit a report to the Governor, Secretary of the Department of Human Resources and the General Assembly at the beginning of every General Assembly of the Office’s activities and recommendations. The bill establishes that the governing body of the Office is the Commission for Women comprised of 9 members. This bill provides that the Office of Women’s Advancement and Advocacy oversees the Delaware Women’s Hall of Fame Committee and the Delaware Women’s Workforce Council. The Delaware Women’s Hall of Fame Committee shall have 7 members and the Delaware Women’s Workforce Council shall be comprised of 11 members. Delaware Women’s Workforce Council shall conduct a study of gender-based inequities in workplaces in Delaware, recommend policies to remove gender-based inequities in the workplace, and develop and publish best practices for employers to achieve gender equality.

This Act removes the requirement that a psychiatrist be the physician who signs the written certification in support of an applicant's application for medical marijuana and adds anxiety to the list of debilitating conditions which a person can have to be eligible for medical marijuana. This Act also makes technical corrections to the statute.

This bill implements across-the-board increases to the filing fees associated with Department of Insurance filings, including for insurer Certificates of Authority, producer and adjuster licenses, annual statement filings, and rate and rule filings.

This resolution creates the Administrative Law Improvement Task Force, which is charged with reviewing Delaware’s Administrative Procedures Act and other related statutes for the purpose of making recommendations to modernize Delaware’s administrative tribunal process, including judicial review of administrative tribunal decisions and processes for disputes involving land use and real property, including the Landlord Tenant Code.

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes June 2017 as LGBTQ Pride Month in the State of Delaware.

This Resolution creates an Adult Use Cannabis Task Force to study issues surrounding the possible future legalization of non-medical, adult use cannabis in Delaware, including local authority and control, consumer safety and substance abuse prevention, packaging and labeling requirements, impaired driving and other criminal law concerns, and taxation, revenue, and banking issues and to submit a report to the Governor and General Assembly by January 31, 2018.