Rep. Shannon Morris

This Act does all of the following: (1) Imposes a 5 cent per gallon tax on certain aviation jet fuel. (2) Provides the procedures for collecting the tax. These procedures are the same as the procedures under Subchapter II of Chapter 51 of Title 30; however, this Act makes technical corrections to those procedures to conform the law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. (3) Gives the Department of Transportation ("Department") authority to establish regulations and otherwise enforce the collection of the new tax. (4) Requires the Department to deposit the proceeds of the tax into the Transportation Trust Fund. (5) Requires the Department to file a report with the Controller General by September 1 of each year detailing the revenue received under this subchapter and the expenditures associated with the Department's responsibilities concerning aviation in this State. This Act takes effect on July 1, 2019.

This concurrent resolution encourages the Department of Education to establish RAVE security systems in all public and charter schools.

This bill creates a Delaware personal income tax credit, not to exceed $500 per year per individual for interest paid on student loans.

This bill will allow marinas in Sussex County to sell gasoline that does not contain ethanol. Sussex County comfortably meets the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ground level ozone, and removing ethanol from marine fuel will have no significant impact on ambient ozone levels. The State of Maryland now allows the sale of non-ethanol gasoline in certain counties that are adjacent to Sussex County and Delaware businesses are losing sales to their Maryland counterparts.

The purpose of the Bill is to protect farmers and ranchers from nuisance lawsuits filed by individuals who inhabit areas where agricultural operations lawfully exist, and who exercise nuisance actions to attempt to stop operation and production. This Bill protects farms and agricultural operations that use commonly accepted agricultural practices from being considered a nuisance in areas zoned for agricultural uses and operations that have existed for a period of 1 year or longer. This will enable the State to protect the production of food, fuel and fiber within the state. AR Districts provide for a full range of agricultural activities and protect agricultural lands, as one of the State’s most valuable natural resources, from the depreciating effect of uses deemed objectionable, hazardous or unsightly (Kent County Zoning Code Chapter 205-60 Article VI and Sussex County Zoning Code Chapter 115-19 Article IV). Moreover, AR Districts serve as a transitional buffer zone between agricultural and residential uses and are also intended to protect watersheds, water resources, and forest areas. Kent and Sussex county ordinances permit specified land uses within AR Districts to provide for a wide range of agricultural uses and farm related services while also providing for low-density residential development in areas that are rural in character and where farming may not be the optimum land use activity. New Castle County Unified Development Code (UDC) permits agricultural uses in eight Urban and Suburban-Transition Districts and seven Suburban and Special Character Districts (UDC Chapter 40). Permitted uses within these districts include crop production and animal production, and any other agricultural uses as recognized by Delaware law. Additional uses, permitted for Limited Review, include Farm Market and Clearing activities (UDC Land Use tables 40.03.110 A and 40.03.110 B). It is the express intention of this act to establish as the policy of this State the protection of agricultural operations from nuisance actions, where recognized methods and techniques of agricultural production are applied, while, at the same time, acknowledging the need to provide a proper balance among the varied and sometimes conflicting interests of all lawful activities in Delaware.

This resolution honors USO Delaware for their important and inspiring work supporting military members and their families.

This Act expands applicability of the Delaware State Fair Centennial Limited Edition Special License Plate to vehicles with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of up to 26,000 pounds, and clarifies that vehicles owned by artificial entities qualify for this plate. This Act also removes a provision regarding vans, as that language is antiquated and no longer necessary.

This bill defines Street Rods to correspond with the same age requirement as used for antique motor vehicles, and would remove a fender requirement. Historically Street Rods are open-wheeled vehicles. Additionally, no equipment shall be required on a Street Rod if such equipment was not a condition of sale when the vehicle was manufactured unless such equipment is specifically required by this section.

This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment to establish the right to hunt and fish in Delaware. Twenty-one other states have preserved the rights of their citizens to hunt, fish, or trap wildlife. This Act is modeled after the constitutional provisions of Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee. This Act specifically acknowledges Delaware’s valued, natural heritage of hunting, fishing, and trapping, and declares hunting, fishing, and trapping as the preferred methods of managing and controlling wildlife in this State. This Act may not be applied to do any of the following: 1. Affect rights to divert, appropriate, or use water, or to establish a minimum amount of water in any water body. 2. Lead to a diminution or abrogation of a public or private right or of the State’s power to regulate commercial activities. 3. Prevent the suspension or revocation, under a law enacted by the General Assembly, of an individual’s hunting, fishing, or trapping license. 4. Alter a burden of proof requirement otherwise established by law for a challenge to a law or regulation pertaining to hunting, fishing, or trapping the wildlife of this State.

This Act increases the penalties for parking in an area designated for a vehicle being used by an individual with a disability. For a first offense this Act increases the monetary penalty from $100 to $200. For a subsequent offense, this Act increases the monetary penalty from $200 to $300. The offenses subject to these increased penalties are included without change in lines 4 through 27 to add context. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.